Most Americans think Trump is profiting from presidency unethically or illegally

Most Americans believe US President Donald Trump is profiting from his presidency in ways that are either illegal or unethical, while a majority also think he has prioritised his personal financial interests over helping ordinary people, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.The survey found that around six in 10 US adults believe Trump is either illegally profiting from the presidency or engaging in unethical conduct that does not break the law.

Around four in 10 believe he is doing something illegal, while about two in 10 think his conduct is unethical but not illegal.Only around two in 10 respondents said Trump was doing nothing wrong, while a similar proportion said they did not know enough to assess the allegations, according to the AP-NORC poll.The findings come as Trump's family business expands into new ventures, including cryptocurrency, following his return to the White House.The poll also found that Americans were more likely to believe Trump had prioritised his own financial interests than the country as a whole or people like them.

Majority believe Trump prioritises personal wealth

The survey found that 56% of US adults believe Trump has placed “a lot” of emphasis on his personal businesses since returning to the White House.

A similar share, 54%, said he had given the same level of attention to the business interests of his friends and family.By comparison, only around one-quarter of respondents said Trump had prioritised the country as a whole “a lot”, while about one in 10 believed he had given that level of attention to people like them.Barbara Thaxton, an 87-year-old independent voter from Florida, expressed concern about the contrast between Trump's wealth and the financial pressures faced by ordinary Americans.“His wealth increases,” she said, “but the people in the country are just barely getting by.”The White House has repeatedly rejected allegations that Trump and his family are benefiting financially from his position, maintaining that he has no conflicts of interest and acts in the country's interests.Trump, meanwhile, dismissed concerns about conflicts of interest at the beginning of his second term, telling The New York Times that “I found out that nobody cared.”Unlike during his first term, he has lifted a self-imposed restriction on his family pursuing private-sector deals overseas and launched several new cryptocurrency businesses.

Financial disclosures, crypto ventures under scrutiny

According to a federal financial disclosure filed in June, Trump reported receiving more than $1 billion from new cryptocurrency businesses after his administration eased regulations governing the industry,.One of his major crypto ventures received a $500 million investment after his election from a United Arab Emirates business linked to the country's royal family.The venture also received assistance from a cryptocurrency company founded by a Chinese billionaire facing legal trouble in the US.The Trump Organisation has also struck eight foreign real estate deals during the first year of his presidency.Several involved authoritarian or one-party states whose governments have influence over private businesses and have an interest in maintaining favourable relations with Washington.The poll, however, measured public perceptions of Trump's conduct and did not establish whether any of the activities were illegal.

Democrats more likely than Republicans to allege wrongdoing

Political affiliations shaped respondents' views of the allegations. Around eight in 10 Democrats believed Trump was doing something illegal, according to the AP-NORC survey.Independents and Republicans were less likely to believe he had broken the law. Around three in 10 independents and one in 10 Republicans said Trump was doing something illegal.

About two in 10 independents and a similar share of Republicans believed his conduct was unethical but not illegal.Most Republicans either believed Trump was doing nothing wrong or said they did not know enough to judge the allegations.Audra Pelsue, a 52-year-old Republican from New York, said she believed Trump's family may have benefited from his position but did not think he had done so personally.“His family has probably benefited, but I don’t think he has,” she said, dismissing his critics as suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome”.Pelsue also questioned what she saw as a double standard in the criticism, pointing to Hunter Biden's position as a director at Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father, Joe Biden, was vice-president.

Americans divided over Trump's priorities

The poll found differences among Republicans themselves over how Trump has balanced his personal interests with those of the country. Around half of Republicans said he had placed “a lot” of emphasis on the country, while roughly one-quarter said he had given the same level of attention to his personal business interests.

Only around one-quarter believed he had focused “a lot” on people like them.John Bartus, a resident of Idaho, said Trump's decision to donate his presidential salary of USD 400,000 a year was a factor in his assessment of the president's priorities.“It seems like his business interests are a part of his life, but it doesn’t seem like he lets that interfere with what’s going on in the country,” he said. “He puts it on the back burner.”Lisa Fernandez, a 57-year-old Democrat from Texas, offered a contrasting view, accusing Trump of using the presidency to benefit himself and his family.“He's exploiting it for his own needs and his family and making a profit off the people who he is supposed to be serving,” she said. “His whole reason for being is to enrich himself and take what he can take without consequences.”The AP-NORC findings come amid broader dissatisfaction with Trump's presidency. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found his overall approval rating had fallen to 32%, its lowest level in his political career, amid concerns about the cost of living and the war involving Iran.That survey also found that just 17% of respondents approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living, while his overall approval rating had fallen from 35% in the previous week's poll.