Republican attitudes toward tech billionaire Elon Musk appear to have cooled after his bitter public row with President Trump last week, as a new poll found fewer respondents saying they have “very favorable” views of the former head of the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency compared to April.
About a fourth of Republicans surveyed in the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll said they have “very favorable” views of Musk — down from 38 percent of those surveyed in April.
But many of them appear to have shifted to a “somewhat favorable” opinion of Musk, suggesting GOP supporters haven’t completely rebuffed the world’s wealthiest man.
The AP poll found that while 29 percent of Republicans in April voiced mild support for Musk, the number climbed to 38 percent in June.
Combined, the “somewhat” and “very” favorable opinions remained high and nearly unchanged — 64 percent this month versus 67 percent in April.
Ten percent of Republicans said they had “very unfavorable” views of Musk in both polls; and “somewhat unfavorable” ratings shifted by just 3 percentage points, from 15 percent in April to 18 percent in June.
Musk was a top ally and campaign donor to Trump until a messy falling out rocked the White House, starting with Musk’s criticism of the tax and spending megabill that carries much of Trump’s domestic policy agenda.
Trump and Musk’s feud erupted with blistering public digs last Thursday. Both have appeared to tone down the tension, with Musk issuing a mea culpa days after their relationship imploded.
“I regret some of my posts about President [Trump] last week. They went too far,” Musk wrote Wednesday on his social platform X.
Similar to Republicans, overall and Democratic views of Musk also showed little change, with majorities continuing to view him unfavorably.
About a third of all adults surveyed this month said they have “very” or “somewhat” favorable opinions of Musk, while 32 percent held favorable opinions in April.
Ten percent of Democrats surveyed said they had “very” or “somewhat” favorable views of Musk in June, compared to 9 percent in April.
The AP poll was conducted June 5-9 and included results from 1,158 adults across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
