President Donald Trump listens as White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, speaks next to a Tesla Cyber Truck and a Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 31-April 2, Musk's favorable rating stands at 39% among Americans, with 57% viewing him in an unfavorable light.
And only 36% of respondents said the Trump administration was doing a competent job in reducing the number of federal employees. Even fewer — 31% — offered that the Trump administration was competently downsizing the federal government without affecting vital services.
According to a Marquette Law School national survey, 41% approve of the job Musk is doing at DOGE, with 58% giving him a thumbs down.
And Musk's favorable rating was in negative territory — at the 38% to 60% — in the poll, which was conducted March 17 through 24.
AMERICANS WANT SMALLER GOVERNMENT BUT NEW POLLS SHOWS WHETHER THEY LIKE HOW MUSK IS GOING ABOUT IT
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk arrives for a town hall wearing a cheesehead hat at the KI Convention Center on March 30, 2025, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
With a massive infusion of money from Democrat- and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House, and on Musk's efforts.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, the liberal-leaning candidate, ended up defeating Brad Schimel, the conservative-leaning Trump-backed candidate, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County, by roughly ten points.
The large margin was not expected, in a race that was expected to be close, in a state that last November had an extremely tight margin in the presidential race.
Musk, who last year was Trump's top donor, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.
ELON MUSK HANDS OUT MILLION-DOLLAR CHECKS AMID 'SUPER IMPORTANT' WISCONSIN JUDICIAL RACE
Elon Musk, right, sparked controversy as he presented million-dollar checks to two attendees during a town hall ahead of the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In a controversial move, Musk handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."
Musk's lighting rod efforts in Wisconsin are being blamed for partially contributing to the 10-point shellacking Schimel suffered.
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The White House confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday that Musk will exit his role with DOGE on schedule later this spring, once his efforts are complete.
The White House, pushing back against reporting by Politico that Trump had told his inner circle and cabinet members that Musk would be "stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role," said that Musk had long been anticipated to step back from DOGE when his 130 days as a "special government employee" run out in May.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/musks-political-baggage-polls-show-americans-sour-trumps-most-visible-advisor