A new poll conducted by Reuters news agency and Ipsos research firm has revealed that a majority of Americans believe US President Donald Trump and his family improperly profited from cryptocurrencies after returning to power and that their personal business dealings influenced their political decisions.
The four-day survey, completed Monday, marked a remarkable result for a leader who has vowed to clean up corruption in Washington.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey, held online between August 14 and August 17, was conducted with the participation of 1,166 adults across the United States.
The survey's margin of error is 3 percentage points for all Americans; It was calculated as 5 points for Democrats, Republicans and independents.
Accordingly, half of Trump's own party, the Republicans, think that the president guides his decisions by considering his business interests.
Trump, who was born into a New York real estate family and turned his name into a world-renowned brand before entering politics, earned more than $1.4 billion last year from his family's cryptocurrency ventures, including World Liberty Financial, which he publicly supports, and the "meme coin" issued in his name.
In March 2025, the second month of his second presidential term, Trump drew attention to his own brand of cryptocurrency on social media, describing this asset as "the biggest of them all."
While 63 percent of those surveyed found it inappropriate for Trump and his family to earn money in this way, 32 percent argued that it was appropriate; The remaining participants did not answer the question.
About three-tenths of Republican respondents viewed the trade moves as inappropriate, while seven-tenths said they were appropriate.
While Democrats regularly raise allegations of corruption in the administration ahead of the November midterm elections that will determine who will control Congress for the next two years, the Trump administration also promises to investigate allegations of corruption in states governed by Democrats.
Trump, who accepted funds from the crypto industry throughout his election campaign, pursued pro-crypto policies in his second term.
Trump also received support from the White House, arguing that he did not have a daily role in his family's companies and that their investments were managed independently after returning to office.
In her statement, White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly rejected accusations of impropriety, stating that Trump's investments were managed by independent financial institutions.
Kelly said, "There is no conflict of interest. Mr. President acts solely in the interests of the American people."
"NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS BEEN SEEN BEFORE"
Presidential ethics experts, on the other hand, consider the current political and trade union in the White House as an unprecedented situation.
"We've never seen anything like this before; even in the first Trump administration, there weren't as many complex business interests as in the second Trump administration," Richard Painter, the chief ethics lawyer under Republican President George W. Bush, told Reuters.
69 percent of Americans, two-thirds of independent voters and nine-tenths of Democrats say Trump's personal business interests influence his presidential decisions.
The public is divided on whether corruption under Trump is worse than under other recent presidents.
While most Democrats think corruption is increasing, Republicans are split almost right down the middle.
While 56 percent of Republicans say the situation has gotten at least slightly better, the rest think corruption has remained the same or worsened.
"This is concerning. He should focus on his presidency rather than his business activities," said Thomas Schmidt, a semi-retired school crossing guard who lives in Cudahy, Wisconsin, who voted for Trump in 2024 but has cooled off from the president this year.
Stating that their biggest concern is Trump's inability to control inflation and his inability to withdraw the United States from the war with Iran, which he helped start, Schmidt said that Trump is no different from other presidents in mixing trade and politics, and commented, "I think every president has done similar things."
In his campaign before his election victory in 2016, Trump promised to fight corruption in Washington and, in his words, "drain the swamp."
Public sentiment toward Trump's personal enrichment could put a strain on his party in the November midterm elections that will determine who controls Congress for the final two years of his term.
While Americans say corruption is widespread at all levels of government, four-in-ten Democrats and a quarter of Republicans say they are extremely angry about corruption.
When respondents were asked which party was more corrupt, 41 percent pointed to the Democratic Party and 49 percent pointed to the Republican Party.
