The United States federal government has spent more money than it has brought in nearly every year for the last half century — and the national debt has ballooned as a result. Currently, the federal government has accumulated a total of $36.2 trillion in outstanding debt — and the costs associated with government borrowing are a growing cause for concern, both for policymakers and the public at large.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

• The early months of the second Trump administration have been largely defined by a wave of federal spending cuts, designed in part to reduce the national debt.
• While these policies are popular with millions of voters, certain demographic groups are highly critical of the president’s approach to debt reduction.
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In fiscal 2024, for the first time in the post-World War II era, interest payments on government borrowing exceeded the U.S. defense budget. Congressional Budget Office projections indicate this trend will continue for the foreseeable future, as borrowing costs will likely hit $952 billion in fiscal 2025 — eclipsing defense spending by about $100 billion — and could rise to as much as $1.8 trillion by 2035.

In the early months of the second Trump administration, the new president has taken aggressive measures to reduce government spending. Through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, President Donald Trump is downsizing the federal workforce with the ultimate goal of cutting government spending by $1 trillion per year. Trump has also called for steep cuts in U.S. foreign aid, paused American military assistance to Ukraine, and ordered the end of government funding for diversity and clean energy programs. (Here is a look at the biggest geopolitical conflicts Trump will have to deal with.)

Spending cut initiatives have not been matched by efforts to raise government revenue, however. In fact, Trump has proposed a series of tax cuts which, if enacted, could add to the national debt by as much as $11 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan think tank.

While cuts in government spending will help reduce the deficit, they will also have a range of foreseeable, negative consequences — both in the United States and globally. Additionally, when paired with proposed tax cuts, many Americans are dubious of the Trump administration’s approach to reigning in the national debt.

Using survey data from public opinion research company Morning Consult, 24/7 Wall St. identified the Americans who are most likely to disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt. We reviewed polling results among multiple demographic groups and subgroups — including gender, race, religion, educational attainment, employment status and sector, income, age, voting history, and political ideology and affiliation, among others — and ranked them on the net approval rating of Trump’s handling the national debt, or the share of voters who approve of his policies less those who disapprove. All survey data was collected between Feb. 21 and Feb. 24, 2025.

Only demographic groups with which Trump has a negative net-approval rating for his handling of the national debt were included on this list. Among these 15 subsets of Americans, net-approval of Trump’s approach to reducing the national debt ranges from -1.7% to -53.4%.

The strongest predictors of public opinion towards the president’s budget policies are political. The highest ranking demographic groups on this list include registered Democrats, Americans who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and Americans who identify as ideologically liberal. While distinct, these groups have overlapping membership. (Here is a look at the Americans most likely to approve of the Trump administration so far.)

For other, non-political demographic categories, the survey’s findings were less obvious. Non-Christians, for example, disapprove of Trump’s debt policies by a 9.3% margin, and atheists, by over 40%. Homemakers, Black Americans, and those who did not vote in 2024 are also unlikely to approve of President Trump’s approach to debt reduction.

Why It Matters

In his first few weeks in office, Donald Trump has done more to reshape the federal government than any president in recent history — and many actions taken by the new administration have been carried out with an eye towards reducing the national debt. While a majority of Americans support the administration’s efforts, members of certain demographic groups are far more likely to be critical of the president’s approach to debt reduction.

15. Ideological moderates

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -1.7%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 42.6% (22.0% strongly approve; 20.6% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 44.4% (33.7% strongly disapprove; 10.7% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 13.0%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -18.6% (38.7% approve, 57.4% disapprove, 3.9% have no opinion)

14. Registered Independents

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -2.0%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 40.1% (23.1% strongly approve; 17.0% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 42.1% (32.3% strongly disapprove; 9.8% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 17.8%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -14.7% (39.1% approve, 53.9% disapprove, 7.0% have no opinion)

13. Unemployed Americans

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -5.0%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 41.0% (29.7% strongly approve; 11.4% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 46.0% (40.2% strongly disapprove; 5.8% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 13.0%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -8.4% (43.3% approve, 51.7% disapprove, 5.0% have no opinion)

12. Religious agnostics

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -5.7%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 40.3% (24.1% strongly approve; 16.2% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 46.0% (38.5% strongly disapprove; 7.5% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 13.8%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -19.4% (38.3% approve, 57.7% disapprove, 4.0% have no opinion)

11. Independent women

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -7.0%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 34.7% (20.7% strongly approve; 14.1% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 41.7% (34.6% strongly disapprove; 7.2% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 23.6%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -16.7% (38.1% approve, 54.8% disapprove, 7.1% have no opinion)

10. Homemakers

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -8.3%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 37.6% (24.5% strongly approve; 13.1% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 45.8% (40.3% strongly disapprove; 5.6% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 16.6%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -8.9% (41.6% approve, 50.5% disapprove, 7.9% have no opinion)

9. Non-Christians

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -9.3%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 41.5% (24.4% strongly approve; 17.2% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 50.9% (38.8% strongly disapprove; 12.1% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 7.6%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -11.6% (43.5% approve, 55.1% disapprove, 1.3% have no opinion)

8. Americans who did not vote in 2024

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -9.5%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 30.4% (20.0% strongly approve; 10.4% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 39.9% (25.1% strongly disapprove; 14.8% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 29.7%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -24.4% (31.6% approve, 56.1% disapprove, 12.3% have no opinion)

7. Black Americans

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -12.3%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 35.9% (21.2% strongly approve; 14.6% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 48.1% (38.1% strongly disapprove; 10.0% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 16.0%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -33.0% (30.4% approve, 63.4% disapprove, 6.3% have no opinion)

6. Democratic men

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -33.3%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 30.6% (16.9% strongly approve; 13.7% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 63.9% (52.6% strongly disapprove; 11.3% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 5.5%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -47.1% (26.0% approve, 73.1% disapprove, 1.0% have no opinion)

5. Atheists

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -41.8%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 27.1% (13.8% strongly approve; 13.3% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 68.9% (64.4% strongly disapprove; 4.5% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 4.0%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -56.3% (21.8% approve, 78.2% disapprove, 0.0% have no opinion)

4. Ideological liberals

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -44.4%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 23.6% (13.3% strongly approve; 10.3% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 68.0% (57.8% strongly disapprove; 10.2% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 8.4%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -54.5% (22.1% approve, 76.6% disapprove, 1.3% have no opinion)

3. Registered Democrats

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -45.4%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 22.2% (11.3% strongly approve; 10.9% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 67.6% (55.7% strongly disapprove; 12.0% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 10.1%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -65.5% (16.3% approve, 81.9% disapprove, 1.8% have no opinion)

2. Americans who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -51.5%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 19.3% (7.8% strongly approve; 11.5% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 70.8% (59.0% strongly disapprove; 11.8% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 9.9%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -74.6% (11.7% approve, 86.3% disapprove, 2.0% have no opinion)

1. Democratic women

• Net-approval rating of Trump’s handling of the national debt among demographic group: -53.4%
• Share of demographic group who approve of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 16.5% (7.5% strongly approve; 9.0% somewhat approve)
• Share of demographic group who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the national debt: 69.9% (57.4% strongly disapprove; 12.6% somewhat disapprove)
• Share of demographic group with no opinion Trump’s handling of the national debt: 13.5%
• Trump’s overall, net-approval rating among demographic group: -78.3% (9.6% approve, 87.9% disapprove, 2.4% have no opinion)

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