Republicans are changing their minds on Elon Musk
The number of Republicans who want tech mogul Elon Musk to have substantial influence in the Trump administration has fallen since November’s election, according to a poll.
A survey from The Economist/YouGov released Wednesday showed the number of Republicans who want Musk to have “a lot of influence” currently stands at 26 percent, down from 47 percent in a previous poll conducted soon after President Donald Trump‘s victory.
Newsweek has contacted Musk via the press office of X, the social media platform he owns formerly called Twitter, for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The shift in opinion on Musk comes amid continuing concerns about how much power and influence the unelected tech billionaire has in how the country is run.
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What to Know
The latest Economist/YouGov poll shows that 13 percent of adults want the man leading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to have “a lot” of influence on the Trump administration.
The poll was conducted February 2-4 among 1,604 adults. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
In the previous poll, conducted November 9-12, 2024, among 1,743 adults, a total of 27 percent said they wanted Musk to have a lot of influence in the Trump administration. The results had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
The latest survey suggests Republicans still largely want Musk to play a role in how the country is run, except not as much as previously.
The February poll shows 43 percent of Republicans want Musk to have “a little” influence, up from 29 percent in November. It appears that some who wanted him to have a lot influence in November would now prefer that he have less.
The share of Republicans who want Musk to have no influence at all rose from 12 percent in November to 17 percent in the latest survey.
Musk’s net favorability rating among Republicans has fallen slightly over the last three months. In November, 81 percent of Republicans said they viewed Musk favorably, with 12 percent saying they had an unfavorable view of him.
The latest survey shows 80 percent of GOP voters still have a favorable view of Musk, with the number who hold an unfavorable view rising to 15 percent.
A majority of Americans continue to believe Musk will have a lot of influence in the Trump administration. In the latest survey, a total of 51 percent of adults, including 35 percent of Republicans, said Musk will have a lot of influence.
In November, these numbers were 52 percent among all adults and 32 percent among GOP voters.
Trump announced the formation of DOGE on January 20 as part of plans to “dismantle” government bureaucracy and reduce federal spending. And Musk has been the focal point of critics in recent months as his influence in Trump’s inner circle appears to grow.
There have been concerns that DOGE was permitted potentially unrestricted access to Treasury Department payment system information that controls trillions of dollars in federal payments, as well as the personal details of federal employees.
Musk was also accused of making a Nazi salute on stage during an event celebrating Trump’s January inauguration.
Musk denied the accusations. His defenders said his raised movement was a “heart goes out to you” gesture.
What People Are Saying
Taylor Orth, director of survey data journalism at YouGov, and senior data journalist David Montgomery wrote in their analysis of February’s survey: “Fifty-one percent of Americans believe that Elon Musk has a lot of influence within Trump’s administration, while only 13 percent say they want him to have a lot of influence. Nearly half—46 percent—say they’d prefer for Musk to have no influence in the administration, while only 4 percent say he has none. Most Democrats (78 percent) think Musk has a lot of influence, while only 6 percent want him to; 80 percent want him to have none. Republicans are more divided: The vast majority perceive Musk as having at least a little influence, and slightly fewer prefer for him to have influence (85 percent vs. 69 percent).”
Vice President JD Vance posted on X Wednesday: “‘No one voted for Elon Musk.’ (They did, however, vote for Donald Trump, who promised repeatedly to have Elon Musk root out wasteful spending in our government.)”
