Indian Americans largely disapprove of Trump’s first year job performance, but Democrats do not benefit: Survey

A survey reveals Indian Americans largely disapprove of Trump’s performance, but Democrats see declining support from this demographic.

A significant majority of Indian Americans disapprove of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first year job performance as per the results of a new survey, Indian Americans in a Time of Turbulence, released on Thursday (February 19, 2026) by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. However, the disapproval for Mr. Trump’s job performance has not translated into gains for the Democratic Party, which, while having stronger support among Indian Americans relative to the Republican party, is witnessing lower levels of support from this demographic.

Just 29% of Indian Americans approved of Mr. Trump’s performance – the same proportion compared to 2020. The results are based on the 2026 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS), which surveyed the attitudes of 1000 Indian American adults between November 25, 2025, and January 6, 2026. The survey data have a margin of error of +/- 3.6%.

In terms of party affiliation, the Democratic Party has seen a decline in support among Indian Americans from 52%(2020) to 48% (2024) and then to 46%(2026). The affiliation to the Republican Party, while on the up from 15% to 19% between 2020 and 2024, has remained at 19% in 2026. More than a quarter or 29% of Indian Americans surveyed identified as Independent, up from 23% in 2020 and 25% in 2024, suggesting that the loss to the Democratic party in support has caused an increase in the share of Independents.

The Indian American approval rates for Mr. Trump’s first year in office are lower (disapproval rates are higher) compared to all Americans, for whom data was collected in a contemporaneous survey by YouGov.

Broken down by policy areas, the disapproval rates are 64% for immigration policies, 68% for domestic economic policy and 70% for international economic policy (trade, tariffs, sanctions).

However, there is a sharp contrast across party lines, i.e., among Indian Americans who are Republicans and those who are Democrats. A large majority of Republican Indian Americans, 76% people, approved of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies and 62% approved of his international economic policies. Some 84% of Indian American Democrats disapproved of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, and 86% disapproved of his international economic policies.