Shock Post-Election Poll Shows Massive Approval Spike for Donald Trump and His Cabinet Picks

In a surprising turn of events, a post-election survey is revealing a seismic shift in the way Americans view Donald Trump.

A CBS News poll released Monday found a majority of Americans are either happy or, at a minimum, satisfied Trump won the election and are either excited or optimistic about his second term.

On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Stu Burguiere, host of Stu Does America, and Stephen L. Miller, host of Versus Media, to discuss the president-elect’s newfound approval among unexpected demographics and the excitement over his diverse cabinet selections.

The Data

A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted between November 19 and November 22 found 59 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s “handling of presidential transition” while 41 percent disapprove. A similar poll from January 2017 found just 37 percent approved of his transition team’s work at the time.

Some 55 percent of respondents are either “happy” or “satisfied” Trump won the election compared to 44 percent who are “dissatisfied” or “angry.” Republicans are (unsurprisingly) more “excited” and “optimistic” about what “Trump will do as president” than Democrats, but the poll found the enthusiasm on the GOP side to be even higher than it was in 2016 when Trump was first elected. 

Trump’s diverse array of cabinet picks are also feeling the love. Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio is +19 on the “good choice” versus “not a good choice” scale. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is +13 in the poll as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. And Tulsi Gabbard, who has been tapped for director of national intelligence, is up nearly 10 percentage points.

Perhaps most interesting is where this support for Trump is coming from. The cross tabs show 65 percent of Americans under the age of 30 now approve of Trump, as do 56 percent of independents and even 22 percent of Democrats.

What It Means

While those sentiments will undoubtedly change once Trump starts governing, there is no denying he is starting his next administration with more good will and political capital than expected. 

Burguiere believes the difference between the 2016 and 2024 numbers have to do with the fact that Trump is now a known quantity. “Trump coming in the first time was a real shock, I think, to the nation that he won… [But] in 2024, people are looking back at his term as president as positive,” he said. “I think people are seeing the fact that he is willing to maybe reach out across the aisle as a positive, and I think that is helping him as well.”

To that point, Megyn wondered if the jump in support among the under 30 crowd has to do with some of Trump’s cabinet picks. “My guess, in part, is I think they like the RFKJ, Marty Makary, MAHA strain of this. I think they like Elon [Musk] and Vivek [Ramaswamy],” she explained. “I think they like people who are going to go in there and bust it up. And I actually think they probably like Tulsi [Gabbard], and J.D. [Vance], and people who are pushing back on some of the forever wars, which are not popular with the young people.”

Overall, Miller said the poll may pick up on a trend Megyn has been noticing, which is that Trump and MAGA are increasingly being seen as cool. “Trump has kind of been mainstreamed now. I mean, you have athletes doing his goofy dance on pitches and on fields,” he noted. “[People] don’t feel like they are in the minority anymore. It is kind of like they can exhale and just say and believe what they want.”

You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Burguiere and Miller by tuning in to episode 953 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.