DECEMBER HARVARD CAPS / HARRIS POLL: TRUMP APPROVAL RATING RESETS TO 47% POST-SHUTDOWN; AFFORDABILITY AND INFLATION TOP ECONOMIC WORRIES HEADING INTO 2026

62% OF VOTERS SAY REPUBLICANS WON THE SHUTDOWN FIGHT, AND 68% APPROVE OF THE DEAL THAT ENDED IT

55% TRUST TRUMP AND THE GOP TO MANAGE THE ECONOMY, 10 POINTS AHEAD OF THE DEMOCRATS, YET MOST VOTERS THINK TRUMP IS LOSING THE BATTLE ON INFLATION

59% SAY INFLATION AND COST OF LIVING MATTERS MOST TO THEM WHEN THINKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY

MOST VOTERS MISINFORMED ON THE ECONOMY WITH MAJORITY SAYING ECONOMY IS SHRINKING AND 71% OVERESTIMATING INFLATION

72% OF VOTERS SUPPORT THE GRANTING OF H1-B VISAS

85% SUPPORT THE REMOVAL OF MADURO FROM VENEZUELAN OFFICE

78% SUPPORT TRUMP'S 21-POINT PEACE PLAN FOR ISRAEL-GAZA, BUT 68% WORRY HAMAS IS NOW REARMING

64% OF VOTERS SAY UKRAINE SHOULD RECEIVE DIRECT SECURITY GUARANTEES FROM THE U.S. IF IT MAKES TERRITORIAL CONCERSSIONS

NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today released the results of the December Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.

President Donald Trump's approval rating is at 47%, up 3 points from November. The bump is reflected across each policy issue. Trump's job approval is highest on fighting crime in U.S. cities (51%) and returning America to its values (50%), and lowest on handling inflation (40%) and tariffs and trade policy (42%). This month's poll also covered public opinion on the government shutdown, economy, H1-B visas, drug boat strikes, Israel-Hamas conflict, war in Ukraine, and Venezuela. Download the key results here.

"This poll is a clear bounce back from the government shutdown when attitudes of the American public were really going off of a cliff," said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. "But the concern for inflation – and what's perceived as the administration's failure to deal with it – is the dominant thing weighing down the administration. The State of the Union will be an important opportunity for the President to address some of these issues."

GENERAL ATTITUDES REVERSE TO PRE-SHUTDOWN LEVELS

MOST TRUMP POLICIES CONTINUE TO SEE MAJORITY SUPPORT

VOTERS VERY NEGATIVE ON SHUTDOWN, APPROVING OF COMPROMISE AND MORE NEGOTIATIONS THROUGH MODERATES IN THE FUTURE

DESPITE TRUSTING TRUMP AND GOP OVER DEMOCRATS TO HANDLE THE ECONOMY, MAJORITY STILL SEE TRUMP LOSING BATTLE AGAINST INFLATION

VOTERS PERCEIVE THE LAST TIME THE ECONOMY WAS "GOOD" WAS PRE-PANDEMIC 2020

BROAD SUPPORT FOR H1-B VISAS

INCREASING SUPPORT FOR MADURO'S REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

BROAD RECOGNITION FOR DRUG OVERDOSE AS A MAJOR PROBLEM, WITH TWO-THIRDS OF VOTERS IN SUPPORT OF U.S. DESTROYING DRUG BOATS

MAJORITY SUPPORT FOR TRUMP'S PEACE PLAN, BUT VOTERS WORRY HAMAS IS REARMING

VOTERS BACK U.S. SECURITY GUARANTEES IF UKRAINE COMPROMISES

The December Harvard CAPS / Harris poll survey was conducted online within the United States on December 2-4, 2025, among 2,204 registered voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX. Follow the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.

About The Harris Poll & HarrisX

The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. It works with clients in three primary areas: building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. One of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., The Harris Poll has tracked public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963, and is now part of Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing.

HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that conducts multi-method research in the U.S. and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

About the Harvard Center for American Political Studies

The Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) is committed to and fosters the interdisciplinary study of U.S. politics. Governed by a group of political scientists, sociologists, historians, and economists within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, CAPS drives discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of U.S. politics. CAPS encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal mathematical modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts. More information at https://caps.gov.harvard.edu/.

Contact:

Carrie Hsu

[email protected]

SOURCE Stagwell Inc.