The Economist and You Gov have a new poll out that’s quite thorough and well worth looking at in depth. (Cross tabs here if you’re so inclined.) Trump and his policies are quite unpopular overall, with support from Independents dropping like a stone. That is a problem for the GOP going into 2026. But it’s also interesting that far fewer Republicans “strongly approve” of Trump on any number of issues than Democrats who “strongly disapprove.” I don’t know how that plays out in elections but the conventional wisdom is that enthusiasm is key to turnout and that would indicate that a fair number of Trump voters aren’t feeling the magic they used to feel. We’ll see.
But there is still a whole lot of cognitive dissonance among them. Take for instance their attitudes about Trump’s assault on higher education:
Few Americans believe that the federal government should control universities’ faculty hiring (10%), research topics (11%), curricula (12%), speech policies (13%), rules for student organizations (15%), and admissions criteria (17%). Majorities say each of these things should be outside of the federal government’s control
More Americans would like federal funding for scientific research done by American universities to increase (39%) than decrease (13%); 31% want it to stay the same and 17% aren’t sure.
Sounds promising, right? Larger majorities of Americans, including Republicans, don’t want Trump and his henchmen to destroy higher education the way they’ve been doing.
However, look at the Republican response to this question:
- The approval question did not specify why the universities were being asked to pay large fines. The following question asked Americans why, in their own words, they think “the Trump administration is asking universities to pay large fines to the federal government.”
- With the help of an AI tool to analyze responses among Democrats and Republicans, we find that:
- Many Democrats see the fines as rooted in greed, corruption, and authoritarianism — a way for Trump to enrich himself and his allies, punish liberal universities, and exert control over higher education. Democrats frequently describe the fines as extortion, retaliation, and part of a broader anti-intellectual agenda aimed at silencing dissent, dismantling DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs, and weakening institutions that challenge Trump
- Republicans more often frame the fines as a matter of accountability and enforcement, saying universities have violated laws, misused taxpayer money, tolerated antisemitism, or pushed biased DEI policies. They see the measures as justified efforts to protect Jewish students, curb left-wing indoctrination, and ensure compliance with federal rules, though some also describe them as heavy-handed or politically motivated
So, Republicans don’t think the federal government should interfere with Universities’ curricula, research, speech codes, faculty, student organizations but a majority approve of Trump extorting vast sums of money and making demands in all those areas.
They reflexively cling to their old ideology about small government but support Trump’s authoritarian power grabs. It’s incoherent but then that’s a defining feature of the MAGA movement.