Trump’s approval rating stands at 41 percent, the lowest recorded for any newly elected president at the 100-day mark since at least Dwight Eisenhower, including during Trump’s first term.

Public approval of Trump’s presidential performance has decreased by 4 points since March, and it has dropped by 7 points compared to late February. Only 22 percent of people express a strong approval of Trump’s job performance, marking a new low, while around double that number—45 percent—express strong disapproval.

“I’m actually quite glad he said that there’s only male and female. I was actually quite glad when that came out, when he put that into law, that there’s only male and there’s only female, that there’s no binary, he, she, they. There’s no they,” said Lisa Munson, a Maryland mother-of-three who voted for Trump, when asked what she considers to be Trump’s biggest accomplishment.

Trump’s efforts at shaping arts, culture and American history, though, are far less popular, with 64 per cent considering it inappropriate for him to take actions like seizing control of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and seeking changes in exhibits at Smithsonian Institution museums, an effort he delegated in part to Vice President JD Vance.

Vance matches Trump’s 41 per cent job approval rating overall in the poll, with 58 per cent disapproving. Neither Trump nor Vance is viewed favourably by most Americans. Just 40 per cent say they have a favourable view of the president and 34 per cent a favourable view of Vance.

Overall, Americans’ confidence in Trump to use the power of the presidency responsibly (46 per cent confident, down 8 points) and to provide real leadership for the country (50 per cent confident, down 9 points) have dropped sharply since December. Trump has issued a slew of executive orders directing changes to government practices and policy that have faced myriad challenges in court.

“I’m not a big fan of these executive orders that Trump and all the other presidents issue constantly. In Trump’s case, I think that he goes overboard on these executive orders, and that’s why a lot of them get shot down by the courts, you don’t have the authority to do that,” said George Mastrodonato, a Trump voter and partially retired lawyer who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and participated in the poll.

“I wish he would be a little more discreet and focus on the executive orders that he writes and issues that he could win in court. He seems to be like Yosemite Sam, you know? Blasting off with two guns in both hands, and some of them stick and some of them don’t.”

Just over half of Americans (52 per cent), including majorities of both Democrats and Republicans, say Trump’s second presidency will fundamentally change the country in a lasting way. A little more than a third (36 per cent) say any significant changes Trump makes will fade once he leaves office, and only 12 per cent say Trump’s second term will not result in significant changes to the country.

Still, Americans are closely split on whether Trump has kept important campaign promises. Just shy of half, 48 per cent, say he’s doing a good job of it, 51 per cent a bad job – numbers that closely mirror this point in his first term. A 55 per cent majority say he’s taken at least some actions to effectively address the nation’s problems, though only 28 per cent believe he’s done things that have already started to help address the country’s problems.

Mastrodonato, the Trump voter from New Mexico, also largely sees Trump as keeping his promises. “He’s doing what he said he would do. Some of his approaches, I would take a different approach, but, you know, he’s Donald Trump so, he’s going to do whatever he wants to do.”

The CNN poll was conducted among 1678 adults nationwide by SSRS from April 17-24, using a combination of online and telephone interviews. The survey samples were originally drawn from two sources – a probability-based online panel and a registration-based sample – and combined. Respondents were initially contacted by mail, phone or email. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 points.