Is Donald Trump improving the US government?

This is a deeply contested political question where reasonable people disagree based on their values and priorities, so I can't give you a definitive yes/no answer. What I can do is point you toward the kinds of evidence and debates that are actually shaping this discussion, so you can form your own assessment.## Short answer: It depends entirely on how you define "improving," and the country is deeply split on the verdict.

There's no neutral, objective way to answer "is he improving government" — it hinges on political values (deregulation vs. oversight, immigration enforcement vs. humanitarian concerns, tax cuts vs. deficits, executive power vs. checks and balances). Here's the evidence on multiple sides:

What the administration and supporters point to as improvements

The White House and allied outlets cite a list of accomplishments, including achieving negative net migration in 2025, reversing a 50-year trend, and removing more than 2.6 million illegal aliens through deportations and voluntary self-departures. They also tout economic data: real GDP rising 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025, and that the administration created 654,000 private-sector jobs following deregulation, tax relief, and restored investment confidence.

On fentanyl/overdoses specifically, CDC figures cited by the administration show synthetic opioid deaths fell from 48,913 in 2024 to 38,084 in 2025, a decline of more than 10,000 deaths, with total drug overdose deaths falling 14% during the same period, from 81,313 to 69,973. Border crossings are independently confirmed to have dropped dramatically: Pew Research's February 2026 analysis found Border Patrol recorded fewer than 10,000 southwest border encounters per month every month since February 2025—the lowest sustained levels in more than 25 years of monthly data.

On taxes, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently locked in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act rates and the doubled standard deduction, which absent the law would have expired at the end of 2025 and triggered a tax increase on most households, with the Tax Foundation estimating the average American taxpayer would see a federal tax cut of roughly $3,752 in 2026.

What critics and independent data point to as problems

Public approval has fallen sharply and sustained. Throughout 2025 to 2026, Trump's approval rating has steadily declined to an average of 36 to 37%, and Trump's approval rating fell to 30% in early October 2026, a comparable low this close to midterms not seen since Harry Truman in 1946. Notably, public opinion of Trump's ability to manage the executive branch and work well with Democrats has decreased modestly since early in his term, with only 38% of Americans now expressing confidence in his management, and a majority of Americans (56%) say the overall level of ethics and honesty in the federal government has fallen over the course of Trump's term.

On the economy — the top midterm issue — upon imposing the highest U.S. tariffs since the Great Depression, Trump claimed "jobs and factories will come roaring back," but manufacturing employment declined every month for the rest of the year, and though Trump claimed inflation had stopped, the CPI began increasing in the months following his tariff announcement. By late 2026, rising fuel prices became a political issue ahead of the midterms, with average gasoline climbing to $4.29 per gallon, up from $2.98 before the war.

On institutional capacity, a watchdog group focused on the civil service found the president and his appointees purged the government of more than 300,000 employees, began the politicization of the nonpartisan civil service, unilaterally dismantled agencies created by Congress, and halted critical programs and services. That report also flagged data integrity concerns: the administration fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a jobs report that did not align with administration messaging, and in January 2026 Trump published jobs data on social media prior to its official release, a break with long-standing practice.

Even among Republicans, confidence has eroded somewhat: among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 68% approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, down from 73% in January, and 70% say "keeps his promises" describes Trump at least fairly well — down 6 points from last year.

Bottom line

If you prioritize immigration enforcement, tax cuts, deregulation, and energy production, there's real data supporting "improvement" on those specific metrics. If you prioritize economic affordability, institutional norms, civil-service capacity, government transparency, or democratic checks-and-balances, the data points toward erosion. The approval-rating trend suggests a majority of Americans currently lean toward the latter view, but that's a snapshot of opinion, not a definitive verdict — and opinion could shift again before his term ends.