Trump's popularity is at its highest point in his political career

With just five days to go before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, his popularity is officially through the roof, as never before in his political career, with Americans supporting by wide margins his handling of the transition of power and several of his proposed measures in recent weeks.

According to a recent Fox News poll, 52% of Americans approve of President Trump's handling of the transition, while 46% disapprove. The change is absolutely remarkable from 2017, when only 37% approved and 54% disapproved.

According to the survey, non-whites (+26 points), voters under 30 (+18), voters with a college degree (+17), Republicans (+16) and independents (+15) are those who most favorably view the handling of the transition. Also, approval among Democrats improved eight points over 2017.

Where Trump can't celebrate as much is in the number of Americans who view his election victory this past November over Kamala Harris as a "popular mandate" or validation of his figure.

According to the poll, only 41% of Americans see the most recent presidential election as a validation of Trump. In contrast, 54% see the Republican leader's victory as a referendum on the management and harmful policies of the Biden-Harris administration. That figure includes 71% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 34% of Republicans who say Trump's win was more of a rejection of Biden and Harris.

Likewise, a slim majority of 51% of Americans disagree that November's victory was a "popular mandate" for Trump, while forty-two percent do consider it a popular mandate.

The poll also shows that several of the policy proposals and measures publicly discussed by the president-elect have garnered significant support among the population. According to the data, 30% of voters support the deportation of all illegal immigrants and 59% agree with the expulsion of those who committed crimes.

The elimination of daylight saving time, a recent measure proposed by Trump, is widely supported by 62%. In addition, the extension of the 2017 tax reform has the support of 54% of those polled by Fox News.

However, some of the president-elect's recent foreign policy proposals generate some division. For example, the takeover of the Panama Canal and the imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico to pressure these countries to combat the migration and drug trafficking crisis receive 42% support each.

Likewise, investigating the prosecutors who prosecuted and persecuted Trump is backed by only 41% of respondents.

The least popular proposal of all is the purchase of Greenland, with just 37% support.

Another view of respondents favoring Trump is that, beyond specific policies, most voters want commitment from the parties to govern and cooperate, especially Democrats. According to the data, 78% of Americans believe Democrats should seek opportunities to work with Trump, versus 20% who prefer that they clearly oppose his agenda and create division. This position reflects a 58-point difference in favor of cooperation.

The same is true on Trump's side with Democrats, with 65% of respondents believing the president-elect should also prioritize compromise with the rival party in order to govern under consensus.