Poll finds declining AAPI trust in Trump and Republicans — South China Morning Post
In the United States, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are increasingly losing trust in President Donald Trump and the Republican Party ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. South China Morning Post reports that this is indicated by a survey conducted by AAPIVote jointly with AP-NORC on September 8–15.
Economy and health care
Nine out of ten surveyed members of the AAPI community named the economy as a decisive factor in their choice in the midterm elections. Health care was an important issue for 73% of respondents.
When asked about their attitude toward the upcoming vote, 18% of participants said they felt excitement. About 40% said they were either interested or disappointed, while 27% said they felt fear. Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, 29% of surveyed AAPI members said they felt excitement, while 37% said they felt fear.
Changing political attitudes
According to the survey, in March 2025, adult AAPI members rated the Republican and Democratic parties almost equally in their ability to address economic and immigration issues. Now, nearly twice as many respondents trust Democrats as Republicans in these two areas.
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About a quarter of adult AAPI members have a favorable view of Trump or approve of his performance as president. By comparison, this figure is about one-third among all U.S. voters.
AAPIVote founder Karthick Ramakrishnan said that after the 2024 election, Trump had a brief period of support in the Asian American community that lasted two months. He linked the subsequent decline in support to the president's administration's immigration orders.
Immigration and electoral risks
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project and Stop AAPI Hate, ICE detained 21,078 people of Asian descent from January 2025 through August 2026. This is 436% more than during the comparable previous period. People of Indian descent accounted for 29% of those detained, and people of Chinese descent for 26%.
About two-thirds of survey participants also called potential attempts by foreign governments to influence U.S. elections a serious problem. More than half of respondents are concerned about valid ballots being rejected or eligible people being prevented from voting.
