Most Americans believe Trump has inappropriately profited since returning to power: poll

A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency since his return to power.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll also found most respondents believe his policy decisions are influenced by his private business dealings.

How many Americans think Trump has profited inappropriately?

Some 63% of respondents said it was inappropriate for Trump and his family to have profited from cryptocurrency, while 32% said it was appropriate.

The four-day poll, completed on Monday, found that half of Trump's own Republicans believe the president lets his business interests influence his decisions, a striking result for a leader who pledged to clean up corruption in Washington.

What crypto ventures has Trump profited from?

Trump was born into a New York real estate family and built his name into a globally recognized brand before running for office. He earned more than $1.4 billion last year from his family's cryptocurrency ventures, including World Liberty Financial and the Trump meme coin, digital assets he has publicly championed. In March 2025, two months into his second term, he called attention on social media to his self-branded crypto coin, describing it as the "Greatest of them all."

About three in 10 Republican respondents called the crypto deals inappropriate, while seven in 10 said they were appropriate. Democrats have regularly highlighted alleged corruption in the administration ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, while Trump's administration has vowed to investigate alleged corruption in Democratic-run states.

How has the White House responded to the corruption allegations?

Trump says he has had no day-to-day role in his family's business since returning to office and that his investments are independently managed. He has pursued crypto-friendly policies in his second term, after courting crypto cash on the campaign trail. The White House dismissed any allegations of impropriety, saying Trump's investments were managed by independent financial institutions.

"There are no conflicts of interest," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. She added that Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public. Presidential ethics experts, however, called the current mix of business and politics in the White House unprecedented.

What do ethics experts say about Trump's business interests?

"We have seen nothing like this before. Even the first Trump administration did not have as many complex business interests as the second Trump administration," said Richard Painter, the top ethics lawyer for Republican President George W. Bush. Some 69% of Americans, including two-thirds of independents and nine in 10 Democrats, said they believe Trump's private business interests are influencing his presidential decisions.

Americans are divided on whether corruption is worse under the Trump administration than under other recent presidents. Democrats largely think there is more graft, while Republicans are split, with 56% saying corruption is at least a little better and the rest saying it is steady or worse.

How could this affect the midterm elections?

"It's concerning," said Thomas Schmidt, a semi-retired crossing guard in Cudahy, Wisconsin, who voted for Trump in 2024 but has soured on the president this year. "He should be more concerned with his presidency than with his business practices." Schmidt said his biggest worries are Trump's inability to control inflation and the war with Iran, though he does not think Trump differs from other presidents in mixing business with politics.

Trump campaigned ahead of his 2016 victory on a promise to fight corruption in Washington, or "drain the swamp." Public views on his personal enrichment could weigh on his party in the November midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for the last two years of his term.

Americans say corruption is prevalent across all levels of government. Four in 10 Democrats say they are extremely angry about graft, compared with one in four Republicans. When asked which party is more corrupt, 41% pointed to the Democratic Party and 49% to the Republican Party.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online among 1,166 US adults nationwide between August 14 and August 17. The results carry a margin of error of 3 percentage points for all Americans and 5 points for Democrats, Republicans and independents.