Half of Americans say the Trump administration is not committed to protecting Americans’ rights and freedoms, according to a ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos Poll conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
Additionally, majorities say President Donald Trump is not committed to protecting freedom of the press (61%), freedom of speech (57%), a fair criminal justice system (56%), or free and fair elections (56%). About half say they are not committed to protecting freedom of religion (49%). However, a majority of 73% say they are committed to protecting the freedom to own firearms.
Most Republicans say Trump is committed to all rights measured; Most Democrats and independents say they are not committed to any of them except gun ownership, the poll found.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport, October 31, 2025 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
At the same time, a slim majority of Americans say the Democratic Party is committed to protecting freedom of the press (53%), speech (53%), religion (52%), and free and fair elections (51%).
Americans are divided over whether the Democratic Party is committed to a fair criminal justice system. And a majority of Americans (60%) say Democrats are not committed to protecting the freedom to own guns.
Most Democrats say their party is committed to protecting all rights measured, while most Republicans say Democrats are not. Independents are divided on most issues, but a majority say Democrats are not committed to protecting the freedom to own guns.
Protecting Americans
While 50% of Americans say the Trump administration is not committed to protecting the rights and freedoms of Americans, that number rises to 56% who say it is not committed to those same protections for people who are Democrats. A 65% majority of Americans say the Trump administration is committed to protecting Republicans.
Majorities of Democrats (84%) and independents (56%) say the Trump administration is not committed to protecting the rights and freedoms of Americans. An 87% majority of Republicans say yes.
$230 million compensation from the Department of Justice
Last month, Trump said the Justice Department should pay him about $230 million as a settlement for investigations he faced during the Biden administration. But more than 6 in 10 Americans oppose Trump receiving that payment from the Justice Department, including 53% who strongly oppose it.
Majorities of Democrats (89%) and independents (57%) strongly oppose Trump receiving $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department. Just under half of Republicans (48%) say they support a payment, but only 23% say they strongly support it.
Judges and court orders
Six in 10 Americans say federal judges are trying to enforce existing limits on Trump’s legal authority, while just over a third say federal judges are trying to interfere with Trump’s legal authority. These results are similar to a April ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
Majorities of Democrats (87%) and independents (65%) say judges are trying to enforce existing limits on Trump’s legal authority, while a majority of Republicans (65%) say federal judges are trying to interfere with his legal authority.
By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans say the Trump administration is trying to avoid complying with court orders (64%) rather than trying to comply with court orders (32%), also unchanged from the April survey.
Majorities of Democrats (94%) and independents (73%) say the administration is trying to avoid complying with court orders, while majorities of Republicans (68%) say it is trying to comply.
Revenge
Most Americans think Trump is going “too far” in taking action against his political opponents (58%). That includes 90% of Democrats and 63% of independents. A majority of Republicans (59%) say he is handling this correctly.
When asked about the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, accused of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, 38% of Americans say the charges are politically motivated, while 25% say they are justified and 36% are unsure. Comey denies the charges.
Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in before testifying before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States, June 8, 2017.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
This corresponds similarly with the proportion who say the charges against former national security adviser John Bolton for allegedly illegally transmitting and retaining classified documents are politically motivated (36%), while 22% say they are justified and 41% are unsure. Bolton denies the charges.
For Comey, 65% of Democrats say the charges are politically motivated and 54% of Republicans say they are justified. Some 44% of independents say they are unsure, but many more (40%) say they are politically motivated rather than justified (15%).
When it comes to Bolton, Republicans are split between saying the charges are justified (43%) or unsure (42%), while most Democrats say they are politically motivated (58%). Nearly half of independents (46%) say they are unsure about the Bolton case, but again, more say they are politically motivated (36%) than justified (17%).
Methodology — This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® from October 24-28, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,725 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, including the design effect. The margins of error are greater for subgroups. The partisan splits are 28% Democrats, 31% Republicans and 41% independents or something else.
See more details about ABC News’ survey methodology here.
