New Poll Shows Most Americans Taking the Same Side in Musk vs. Trump — Hating Them Both

Alex Brandon/AP Photo

The bitter spat between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk shows little sign of calming as they continue to publicly fire insults back and forth Friday, but the American people have clearly picked a side, according to a new poll taken overnight.

The latest YouGov survey, conducted the very day the feud erupted, June 5, online with 3,812 U.S. adults, had a clear majority of 52% picking “neither” when asked whose side they were on in the Musk vs. Trump feud. Trump got the support of 28% of respondents, Musk a mere 8%, and 11% were not sure.

Those numbers were fairly consistent across almost all of the various demographics YouGov polled.

In every age group, between 51% and 53% picked neither. Trump did slightly better in the South and Musk in other regions of the country, but all came back with at least 50% on Team Neither.

When the results were broken down by gender, among men, 30% picked Trump, 11% Musk, 47% neither, and 12% not sure. For women, 27% chose Trump, 5% Musk, 57% neither, and 11% not sure.

Different racial categories were a bit more polarized, but Trump and Musk failed to win over any group. Slightly less than half of Whites (48%) picked neither, with Trump getting 34% and Musk getting 7%. The battling billionaires were least popular with Blacks, being rejected by 68%.

Predictably, the most polarized responses came when respondents were divided by political party, but Musk and Trump were so unpopular with both Democrats and independents that it cancelled out their better favorability among Republicans, a group where 71% sided with the GOP president, 6% with Musk, 12% with neither, and 11% were unsure.

For Democrats, a whopping 80% said no thanks to both Musk and Trump, 4% sided with Trump, 11% with Musk, and 6% not sure. Independents had 59% picking neither, 18% picking Trump, 8% Musk, and 16% neither.

YouGov also polled several other questions. When respondents were asked if they thought the U.S. would be better off if Trump and Musk declared peace, 35% said it would be best for the country if they worked together, 31% it would be best if they were in conflict with each other, and 35% were not sure.

Americans were relatively pessimistic about the chances of the two getting along again. Only 28% said they thought Musk and Trump would work together again in the future, 31% said no, and 41% were unsure.

The survey revealed a real risk for Musk and his various business enterprises that are heavily dependent on federal contracts and subsidies — government largesse that Trump has already threatened is on the chopping block. When respondents were asked if they would “support or oppose the federal government terminating Elon Musk’s government subsidies and contracts,” 41% said support, 21% said oppose, and 38% were not sure. Even 23% of Republicans said they supported cutting off Musk’s government support, with 33% opposed, and 45% not sure.

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