Most Americans view Supreme Court as partisan: Poll
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An exterior view of the Supreme Court on June 20, 2024, in Washington, DC. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
While Americans have conflicting opinions on the Supreme Court, a majority agree that the Trump administration must comply with federal court orders, two recent polls found.
The big picture: The high court is slated to make a slew of rulings in coming weeks on issues Americans remained deeply divided on, including on judicial power, birthright citizenship and gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Zoom in: Americans are divided on their views of the Supreme Court: 55% have a strongly or somewhat favorable view of the high court, while 45% have a somewhat or strongly unfavorable view, an NBC News Decision Desk Poll poll found.
- There's a partisan divide in how Americans view the judicial body, per a separate Reuters-Ipsos poll: 67% of Republicans viewing the high court favorably, compared to only 26% of Democrats.
- Something that both sides agree on: Neither Republicans nor Democrats see the court as politically neutral, according to the Reuters poll.
Between the lines: The Supreme Court in recent months has been clearing away many of the hurdles lower courts have put in President Trump's path.
- The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has three justices appointed by Trump during his first term.
- Still, legal battles over many aspects of his second-term agenda remain.
Zoom out: The Trump administration has defied a number of court orders, particularly related to immigration policies. Americans are not on board, a NBC News Decision Desk Poll found.
- 81% of respondents believe the administration must follow federal court rulings and stop actions deemed illegal.
- Meanwhile, 19% believe the administration can ignore court rulings.
Details: The Reuters-Ipsos poll, conducted June 11-12, was based on responses from 1,136 U.S. adults. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. The NBC News Decision Desk Poll was conducted from May 30-June 10 among a national sample of 19,410 adults aged 18 and over. The error estimate is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
Go deeper: SCOTUS comes to Trump's rescue
