A shows a majority of Vermonters disapprove of President Donald Trump鈥檚 job performance and are opposed to many of the executive orders his administration has put forward, including on revising birthright citizenship and withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
The results mirror larger partisan divides between Republicans and Democrats, with Republicans in Vermont strongly supporting the president.
The latest Green Mountain State Poll, released Wednesday by UNH鈥檚 Survey Center, tallied responses from just under 950 residents who took an online survey between Feb. 13 and Feb. 17. The margin of error is +/- 3.2%.
鈥淭here are absolutely no surprises here,鈥� said Rich Clark, a professor and program coordinator of political science at Castleton University. Clark, a longtime pollster, took the survey, but was not involved in tabulating the results.
鈥淥ur views are really solidified by party,鈥� he added.
Indeed, the poll found just under one-third of Vermonters approve of Trump鈥檚 performance after a month in office.
However, when broken down by party, 86% of Republicans thought the 47th president was doing a good job. By contrast, 18% of independents approved of Trump鈥檚 job performance, while less than 1% of Democrats agreed.
UNH pollsters also surveyed Vermonters鈥� opinions on eight of the president鈥檚 executive orders. On five 鈥� pausing foreign aid, creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), leaving the World Health Organization, revising birthright citizenship and renaming the Gulf of Mexico 鈥� more than 90% of Democrats and more than 60% of Independents disapproved, while a majority of Republicans supported those efforts.
There were three orders that pulled in less starkly partisan responses.
Vermonters were split over Trump鈥檚 move to reinstate members of the armed forces who were discharged for refusing COVID vaccinations. On Trump鈥檚 decision to pause a ban on the social media platform TikTok, 40% of Vermonters said they were neutral or unsure, while just 25% supported the move and 34% opposed it.
When it came to Trump鈥檚 order to declassify and release records about the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., a majority of those polled supported the action. Clark said for this question, a surprisingly high percentage of people with postgraduate degrees selected 鈥渄on鈥檛 know鈥� 鈥� usually a response that decreases as education levels increase.
"I鈥檓 imagining what's going on in the heads of some of these people with postgraduate degrees who are anti-Trump, but it sounds like a good idea to release these records,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, it's transparency. It sounds great, but Trump's doing it. What's he up to?鈥�
The poll also asked about former President Joe Biden鈥檚 decision to pardon members of his family before leaving office. Republicans and Independents disapproved strongly, by 85% and 71%, respectively. Almost half of Democrats also disapproved of the move.
Clark said he interprets that finding as Democrats feeling less connected to their party鈥檚 leaders, whereas conservatives deeply support Trump.
Republicans picked up support across the ticket in November. Democrats lost their supermajorities in the Vermont Statehouse, incumbent Gov. Phil Scott got the highest percent of the vote of anyone on the ballot and more Vermonters voted for Trump in 2024 than in the previous two elections he ran in.
Clark said while Vermont voters remain open to splitting their tickets, a trend that has fallen away in most places, 鈥渨hen we react to national politics, we seem to be reacting like a lot of the country in our partisan ways.鈥�
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