Majority of Americans See President Trump’s Business Interests as Undue Influence on Government

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted August 14-17 2026 surveyed 1,166 U.S. adults and found that 63 % of respondents believe President Donald Trump’s private business interests are influencing his presidential decisions.

Ipsos Polling

President Trump returned to office in 2024 and has promoted several cryptocurrency projects linked to his family, including World Liberty Financial and the “Trump meme coin.” In March 2025 he publicly praised the coin as the “Greatest of them all.” Critics note that the Trump family earned more than $1.4 billion from these ventures in 2025. The administration has also pursued crypto-friendly policies, prompting scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest.

Rappler

• Perceived influence of business interests: 63 % of all respondents; 50 % of self-identified Republican respondents said Trump allows his business considerations to affect his decisions.

ColoradoPolitics

• Comparative corruption rating: 51 % view corruption under Trump as worse than under other recent administrations; 22 % say it is better, 24 % say it is about the same.

Ipsos Polling

• Party-specific views: 49 % describe the Republican Party as “more corrupt” versus 41 % for the Democratic Party.

Rappler

• Approval of Trump’s performance: 33 % approve, 64 % disapprove.

ColoradoPolitics

• Margin of error: ±3 percentage points for the overall sample; ±5 points for partisan sub-samples.

Ipsos Polling

President Trump has asserted that he has had no day-to-day role in his family’s businesses since taking office and that the investments are managed by independent financial institutions.

Rappler

• “We have seen nothing like this before, even the first Trump administration did not have as many complex business interests as the second Trump administration,” — Richard Painter, the top ethics lawyer for Republican President George W

Rappler

• “He should be more concerned with his presidency than with his business practices.” — Thomas Schmidt

Rappler

The poll’s methodology notes an online sample of 1,166 adults, but the margin of error for partisan sub-groups (±5 points) leaves some uncertainty about the precise level of Republican belief that Trump’s business interests influence his decisions. No independent audit of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency earnings has been released, leaving a gap in verification of the $1.4 billion figure cited by media reports.

Rappler

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, where public concern over perceived corruption could affect voter turnout and party performance. No further polling dates have been announced.

Ipsos Polling