Standing in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, President Donald Trump captured the vibes buoying Republicans and the American right writ-large as he promised a lengthy list of crackdowns and policy reversals.My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, Trump said. As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda, with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society.As he takes office, it can feel like Trumps movement has the cultural and political upper hand. Republicans won the popular vote in both the presidential and congressional races. Trumps popularity has never been higher. Broligarchs, celebrities, and big business are lining up behind him.But another way of looking at it is that Trumps popularity is probably at its peak and modern presidents tend to start off their terms with high support before the public gets disillusioned. He did, after all, barely win the election. Republicans only control Congress by tiny majorities. And most of his high-profile policy proposals arent as popular as he claims.Most of the American public isnt outright rejecting everything Trump is offering (at least, not yet). On at least three different issues, Trumps position is significantly popular. But theres a difference between what the public supports and the mandate Trump claims.Where Americans back Trump Earlier this month, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Marist College, and the public opinion and market research firm Ipsos (in partnership with the New York Times) conducted polling to gauge Americans feelings about a range of Trumps proposed actions or positions. The results are clear, if not that helpful in giving Trump a mandate: Americans are pretty much split evenly on most issues. But they back Trumps side in at least three areas: pursuing an isolationist foreign policy, being less accommodating of transgender people, and pursuing a restrictionist immigration policy.For example: Six in 10 Americans think we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home, according to the Ipsos poll. And majorities think the federal government is spending too much money on aid to both Israel (53 percent) and Ukraine (51 percent).The views on both countries are reversals from earlier in 2024, when Ipsos polling found slight majorities supported continued military aid to both.On gender identity and trans rights, majorities also side with Trump. The highly politicized issue of transgender female athletes competing in womens sports, for example, isnt necessarily a top of mind concern for many Americans, but about 80 percent in the Ipsos poll think this should not be allowed. And, about seven in 10 Americans say that doctors should not be allowed to prescribe puberty-blocking drugs or hormone therapy to anyone under the age of 18, including nearly all Republican respondents, and most Democrats.Opinions on immigration policy are a different beastPublic polls over the last two years capture a much more muddled picture on Trumps plans for immigration and border enforcement. They show an overall sense of antipathy for the status quo: Americans are angry at the influx of legal and illegal immigrants over the course of the Biden presidency, afraid about the state of security at the southern border, and willing to turn away from a welcoming approach to migration.But when asked more specific questions, Americans become more critical. The AP-NORC poll and the Ipsos poll both show an overwhelming majority of respondents support some kind of legal immigration, meaning the public believes theres some value in welcoming outsiders. About 30 percent of respondents, primarily Republicans, think the US legal immigration should be reduced a lot or a little, while 24 percent think the government should increase legal immigration. That breakdown mirrors some of the tensions inside the Trump alliance, as some in the pro-business wing, like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy argued with anti-immigration Trump acolytes in late December. When it comes to illegal immigration, opinions are also nuanced. Some 55 percent of Americans in the Ipsos poll, including a third of Democrats, support deporting all immigrants who are here illegally. A plurality 43 percent in the AP-NORC poll say the same thing. That support increases significantly when specifically suggesting the deportation of those who have criminal records or those who crossed the southern border during the post-pandemic surge: 87 percent support the former, while 63 percent support the latter in the Ipsos pollAnd yet that support changes when you ask about exceptions: 63 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat support protecting DACA recipients those immigrants who were children when they entered the US illegally.This complexity doesnt come across in the way Trump and his supporters talk about mass deportations and raids. They speak, and will likely act, as if theres overwhelming support for removing every undocumented immigrant. But whats been pretty constant over the last few years is that Americans have warmed up to the idea of mass deportations in theory. To see them actually play out, however, will likely change that opinion.What the public doesnt seem to wantAnd then theres the stuff the American public isnt really excited about: tariffs, prosecuting political opponents, pardoning January 6, 2021, rioters, and trying to get rid of birthright citizenship.The Ipsos poll captures something relevant to the executive order Trump is signing that seeks to overturn the 14th Amendments guarantee of birthright citizenship that anyone born on US soil is American to the children of undocumented immigrants. A solid 55 percent of the country rejects this.Theres also a mandate against Trumps plans for political retribution: Nearly three-quarters of Americans reject the idea that Trump should use the government to investigate his political opponents, while a separate AP-NORC poll shows that just two in 10 Americans support his proposed pardoning of people who participated in the January 6 Capitol attack. Six in 10 oppose those pardons.And finally, Americans are not excited for either broad or targeted tariffs that Trump has said he wants to enact. The AP-NORC polling shows almost half of US adults somewhat or strongly oppose new tariffs on all foreign goods. A slight majority also opposes more scaled back tariffs that specifically target China and Mexico, per the Ipsos survey.It might just seem like semantics to argue that the numbers for support of Trump support arent so cut and dry. But the nuance here matters: The next few months are likely to be packed with attempts by the new administration to push for big changes under the guise of having a mandate. A closer look, though, reveals what policy shifts the public might actually support and which it might not.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: