Exclusive: Most Americans see Trump as "dangerous dictator," poll says

Zoom in: Only four in 10 Americans expressed favorable views of Trump after his first 100 days in office, according to the survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

• And 52% agreed with the provocative statement that Trump "is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy," the survey said.
• That question provided a big warning sign for Trump: Most independents (56%) agreed that Trump is a "dangerous dictator," suggesting that middle-of-the-road voters who helped put him back in office are abandoning him.

Zoom in: The survey is among those that have shown the most dissatisfaction with Trump's push for mass deportations, sweeping tariffs, more control of colleges, and firing or laying off more than 100,000 federal employees.

• Those priorities have led the new administration to unilaterally end diversity and equity programs, cancel student visas, and continue to keep at least one mistakenly deported man in a notorious El Salvador prison despite a court order to return him.

The big picture: The survey found that 83% of Republicans — a relatively low number for Trump — had favorable views of him and his actions, while 35% of independents and 8% of Democrats did.

• Many respondents expressed alarm over his moves to reshape government, impose his tariffs and deport people without due process.
• A majority of Black Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans agreed that Trump is a "dangerous dictator," compared to 45% of white Americans — a reflection of the racial divisions Trump and his actions engender in such surveys.

What they're saying: "Most Americans view Trump in dictatorial terms, and I think most Americans are concerned that American democracy is on the line," PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman tells Axios.

• "It's only been 100 days into the Trump administration, yet we've really seen a pushback among most Americans to the Trump agenda."

The other side: 81% of Republicans surveyed said they still believe that "Trump is a strong leader who should be given the power he needs to restore America's greatness."

• 51% of white Americans agreed.
• Trump has attacked several polls by media outlets showing his approval ratings sinking, posting Monday on Truth Social that they were "fake" and saying the organizations behind them should be "investigated for election fraud."

State of play: Americans remain evenly divided on Trump's broad immigration goals, Deckman said, but the survey shows most people strongly disagree with unconstitutional or inhumane practices.

• For example, most Americans (61%) disagree that the federal government should place immigrants who are in the country illegally in internment camps guarded by the U.S. military until they can be deported.

A majority of Americans also agree that "President Trump has overstepped his authority by ordering the mass firing of federal employees across multiple agencies."

• More than seven in 10 Americans oppose closing or drastically shrinking all major federal agencies, especially if it means things like airline travel, medicine, and water may be less safe.
• Two-thirds of Americans oppose new tariffs, or taxes, on imported goods from other countries.
• Trump's efforts at fixing economic problems are "running into the headwind of public opinion," Deckman said.

Methodology: The American Values Survey was conducted online from Feb. 28 to March 20. The poll is based on a representative sample of 5,025 adults (age 18 and older) living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia who are part of Ipsos' Knowledge Panel®.

• The margin of sampling error is +/- 1.69 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.