Most Americans say Trump profiting off return to power, survey finds

Updated Aug. 19, 2026, 5:44 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans believe President Donald Trump and his family have inappropriately profited from cryptocurrency since his return to power and that his policy decisions are influenced by his private business dealings, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The four-day poll, completed Aug. 17, found that half of Trump's own Republicans believe the president allows considerations for his business interests to influence his decisions, a striking finding for a leader who pledged to clean up corruption in Washington.

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, the president called attention on social media to his self-branded crypto coin, describing it as the "Greatest of them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Some 63% of respondents said it was inappropriate for Trump and his family to have profited in that way, while 32% said it was appropriate and the rest did not answer the question. About 3 in 10 Republican respondents called the deals inappropriate, while 7 in 10 said they were appropriate.