After 10 months of Trump, AAPI conservatives second-guessing their choice

Donald Trump lights a candle to commemorate Diwali at the White House.

The so-called shift to the right  by Asian American and Pacific Islander voters  is tilting  leftward after Donald Trump's authoritarian attempts to weaken American institutions have been exposed and his policies have failed to live up to his hype. 

Any inroads the Republicans had gained among AAPI voters in the 2024 elections has all but disappeared, according to recent polls which show a range of favorability ratings for Trump drop among Asian Americans.

As of July 2025, Donald Trump's favorability had declined among Asian American adults, with 71% holding an unfavorable opinion of him. According to an AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll from July, 71% of Asian American adults had an unfavorable view of Trump. This marked an increase from 60% who felt this way after the 2020 election.

Most AAPI adults prioritize the economy, jobs, and inflation, but few approve of how Trump is handling these issues. AAPI support for the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics is also low. 

As the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement of policies targeting illegal immigration, a new AAPI Data/AP-NORC Poll shows growing disapproval among AAPI adults of its approach. More AAPI adults now disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration than six months ago (71% vs. 58%), and two-thirds say Trump’s deportation policies have gone too far. 

Only about 2 in 10 support targeting neighborhoods with higher immigrant populations, deploying the military or National Guard to carry out arrests and deportations, detaining immigrants at their workplaces, or allowing agents to cover their faces during arrests. Roughly 6 in 10 oppose these tactics. 

While about half of AAPI adults favor deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally who have been charged with misdemeanors, fewer favor deporting all immigrants living in the United States illegally (35%), those who express views that the federal government disagrees with (30%), or those who have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade (24%). 

Foreign-born AAPI adults tend to be older and less Democratic leaning than those who were born in the United States. They are more likely to approve of Trump’s handling of crime (43% vs. 24%) and immigration (33% vs. 22%) and are more in favor of deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally (39% vs. 28%) and those charged with misdemeanors (56% vs. 41%). 

Key details from the July 2025 AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll include:Declining favorability: 

• The number of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) with an unfavorable view of Trump rose to 71% in July, up from 60% seven months prior.

• AAPI adults are particularly worried about the economy, citing high costs and the fear that new tariff policies will increase expenses. Economic issues appear to be a central factor in the shift in opinion.

• The poll highlighted that AAPI adults who identify as independent have become especially negative toward Trump. About 7 in 10 AAPI independents viewed him unfavorably, a 20 percentage point increase since December.

Factors potentially contributing to shifts in opinion could include economic concerns or views on trade policies.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders widely disapprove of the Trump administration’s handling of immigration, even more so than earlier in this year,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data and a researcher at UC Berkeley.

“Most AAPI adults believe that the administration has gone too far on immigration enforcement, and they oppose various tactics that immigration agents have used in large-scale enforcement operations.”

Most AAPI adults prioritize the economy, jobs, and inflation, but few approve of how Trump is handling these issues. AAPI support for the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics is also low.

“On the economy, you saw AAPI voters shift — not in a big way, but shift nonetheless — toward Trump” in the 2024 election, Ramakrishnan tells the Associated Press. “They are not seeing big economic benefits pan out. Quite the contrary, they are seeing big economic risks on the horizon based on Trump’s action on tariffs.

As the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement of policies targeting illegal immigration, a new AAPI Data/AP-NORC Poll shows growing disapproval among AAPI adults of its approach. More AAPI adults now disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration than six months ago (71% vs. 58%), and two-thirds say Trump’s deportation policies have gone too far. 

Only about 2 in 10 support targeting neighborhoods with higher immigrant populations, deploying the military or National Guard to carry out arrests and deportations, detaining immigrants at their workplaces, or allowing agents to cover their faces during arrests. Roughly 6 in 10 oppose these tactics. 

While about half of AAPI adults favor deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally who have been charged with misdemeanors, fewer favor deporting all immigrants living in the United States illegally (35%), those who express views that the federal government disagrees with (30%), or those who have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade (24%). 

Foreign-born AAPI adults tend to be older and less Democratic leaning than those who were born in the United States. They are more likely to approve of Trump’s handling of crime (43% vs. 24%) and immigration (33% vs. 22%) and are more in favor of deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally (39% vs. 28%) and those charged with misdemeanors (56% vs. 41%). 

AAPI adults also express large disapproval of Trump’s handling of several major issues. Compared to the general public, more AAPI adults disapprove of his approach to trade with other countries (75% vs. 63%), the IsraeliPalestinian conflict (75% vs. 60%), foreign policy (74% vs. 59%), immigration (71% vs. 56%), the economy (74% vs. 62%), and crime (63% vs. 53%). 

Asian Americans joined the anti-Trump No Kings march.

And while few AAPI adults approve of Trump’s handling of key issues, most say these topics are important to them personally, particularly those related to the economy. Ninety-two percent say the economy is extremely or very important to them, followed by inflation (89%), and jobs (79%). A majority also say crime (73%), trade negotiations (68%), immigration (63%), and foreign policy (59%) are important. 

When it comes to various political and economic ideologies, AAPI adults tend to view left-leaning positions more favorably. Economically, capitalism is viewed more positively than socialism. A majority hold a favorable view of capitalism (57%), while about half feel the same about the progressive movement (51%) and liberalism (47%). Fewer express favorable views of socialism (44%), conservatism (35%), or the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement (26%). 

Reflecting their ideological positions, many AAPI adults support government action on market-based issues such as prescription drug prices and housing costs. Most AAPI adults support the federal government capping prescription drug prices (85%), providing free daycare to children (71%), and requiring new housing developments to include affordable units (70%). About half favor the government forgiving student loan debt for low-income borrowers (53%). 

“These findings underscore the nuanced political and economic perspectives within the AAPI community,” said Jennifer Benz, deputy director of The Associated Press-NORC Center. “While the community embraces capitalism, their more progressive ideologies mean they support government action when the private sector falls short on issues like housing and prescription drug costs.” 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

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Survey: AANHPI voters more politically aware than popularly portrayed

Democrats and their positions on health care, gun control, the environment and race relations is still overwhelmingly favored by Asian American and Pacific Islander voters despite mainstream media's reports emphasizing divisions among AANHPI communities.

“Asian Americans are part of a diverse community comprising over 50 different ethnicities and 100 different languages, so it is critical that we conduct this survey every two years because often we are either left out of the polling data or considered an afterthought in the numbers that get reported,” said Jiny Kim, Vice President of Policy and Programs at Asian American Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center (Advancing Justice – AAJC), one of the organizations who conducted the survey. 

“The Asian American Voter Survey ensures that we know where the Asian American community stands on a whole host of issues, including their overwhelming support for race-conscious admissions/affirmative action policies and support for inclusive teaching of the histories of communities of color in our schools,” Kim continued.

The tendency for AANHPI voters to favor Democrats over Republicans wasn't even close: 44% of Asian American registered voters surveyed think of themselves as Democrat, 19% think of themselves as Republican, and 29% consider themselves Independent. The remainder (“do not think of themselves in terms of political parties,” identify with another party, or said they don’t know), according to the survey done in partnership with AAPIData, APIAVote and MomsRising.org.

One of the reasons AANHPI prefer Democrats, from the White House, Congress and state legislators is tied to the rise in hate crimes and racial incidents against AANHPI.

For example, support for Democratic House candidates is higher among those concerned about hate crimes. Those who say they worry “very often” plan to support Democrats over Republican House candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

Those findings suggest that the Donald Trump-led GOP have made race relations worse by its anti-immigrant policies and Republicans' perceived support of White grievances.

The bi-aannual report released July 25 measured Asian American sentiment and attitudes on the issues for the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections. 

The survey revealed insights into one of the fastest-growing racial groups in the United States, including their voting plans for House and Senate races in 2022, and various issue priorities such as education, healthcare, gun control, environment, and the state of the economy. In addition to election-related topics, the survey also contains key opinion data on affirmative action, the inclusion of Asian American history and the history of other non-white groups in public school curricula, and attitudes on federal spending.

The survey was conducted between April 19, 2022 and June 19, 2022. The survey included 1,610 registered Asian American voters. 

2022 ASIAN AMERICAN VOTER SURVEY

Among the other survey highlights are:

• More than two-thirds of registered Asian Americans surveyed say they plan to vote, but only about half have been contacted by either of the major parties. 52% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Democratic Party in the past year, and 60% of Asian Americans said they had not been contacted at all by the Republican Party in the past year.

• About half (51%) of Asian American registered voters surveyed say they prefer to cast their ballots by mail or drop-off box, rather than in-person at a polling place.

• Asian American registered voters as a whole were more likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates compared to Republican candidates in House and Senate elections. 

• Among national origin groups, Indian Americans were the most likely to say they would vote for Democratic candidates. Vietnamese Americans were split (Senate) or leaned toward the Republican candidates (House).

• Asian American respondents ranked health care (88%), jobs and the economy (86%), crime (85%), education (82%), gun control (73%) and the environment (75%) as “extremely important” or “very important” issues for deciding their votes in November. Voting rights and addressing racism were also important issues.

• On addressing issues of health care, gun control, the environment, voting rights, and racism, Asian American respondents said Democrats were doing a better job than Republicans. 

• On addressing economic issues, crime, and foreign-policy, respondents were more split in their assessment of the two parties’ handling of the issues.

• 77% of those surveyed agree the United States should have stricter gun laws, with 61% agreeing “strongly.” A strong majority (59%) also said they “agree somewhat” or “agree strongly” that undocumented immigrants should have an opportunity to eventually become citizens in the United States.

• By a 2-to-1 margin, Asian American registered voters oppose bans on books and bans on lessons about racism in American history by state/local governments or school boards

• 56% of Asian American respondents held a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Joe Biden compared to 29% who expressed either a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Donald Trump.

• Television was the most common news source for Asian American respondents (65%) and Facebook (32%) was nearly as common a news source as traditional print newspapers (36%). For some groups, especially Vietnamese Americans (51%), YouTube was regularly consulted as a news source.

• 73% of Asian Americans worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination at least “sometimes” and 24% said they worry about it “very often.”

• Among those who say they worry “very often” about hate crimes, support for Democratic House candidates is higher than support for Republican House candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

2022 ASIAN AMERICAN VOTER SURVEY

FYI: Read the 2022 AAPI Voter Survey here.

“Asian Americans are among the fastest growing segments of the American electorate, and it is critical that our understanding of these communities is grounded in accurate survey data,” noted Janelle Wong, co-director of AAPI Data.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder and co-director of AAPI Data added, “Our survey data show remarkable stability over time on issues like environmental protection and gun control, but they also show that more recent anxieties over hate crimes might also sway voters in their candidate choices.”

This year’s Asian American Voter Survey also showed that a significant majority of Asian Americans believed that Congress and the president should pass stronger legislation to reduce the effects of climate change, and that public schools should include lessons on Asian American history and the histories of other non-white groups.

“Asian Americans are a more and more influential voting bloc and lawmakers would be wise to pay attention to our concerns,” said MomsRising Senior Vice President Gloria Pan. 

“Gun safety is especially important to this community, as are federal investments in the kind of care infrastructure President Biden and congressional Democrats are still trying to pass, and moms and families urgently need: paid family and medical leave, child care, and home- and community-based services. The results of this survey provide a roadmap for how to address the issues the Asian American community prioritizes.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.