ICE Polls Better Than Democrats — Seriously

Adriana Stone 0 1 min read

ICE Polls Better Than Democrats — Seriously

Polls can surprise you. This one hurts. NBC News asked registered voters how they feel about parties, people, and institutions. The results are clear and awkward for Democrats.

The Democratic Party scored just 30% positive and 52% negative. That adds up to a -22 net favorability. It’s a small rebound from March 2025, when Democrats hit -28. But it’s still bad.

By comparison, President Donald Trump came in at a -12 net rating, with 41% positive and 53% negative. The Republican Party landed at -14 (37% positive, 51% negative). ICE, the immigration agency Democrats have pushed to abolish, scored a -18 net rating — 38% positive to 56% negative.

Put another way: after months of fierce attacks from Democrats and much of the media, ICE still polls better than the Democratic Party itself. Only one tested entity did worse than Democrats: Iran, which clocked in at a -53 net rating (8% positive, 61% negative).

That gap matters. Voters are sending a message. Messaging and media campaigns can move opinions. But in this poll, Democratic attacks on ICE didn’t flip the needle enough to make the party look stronger than the agency they want gone.

The results also show how fragile the Democratic brand remains. If your party polls worse than a federal law-enforcement agency — and only narrowly better than a hostile foreign state — you’ve got problems.

Expect the numbers to be weaponized. Opponents will use them to argue Democrats are out of touch on border and security issues. Supporters will point to slight recoveries as signs of a turnaround. Either way, these numbers will shape the coming fights.

Here are the tweets reacting to the poll.

No spin will erase the basic fact: this poll hands Democrats a tough headline. They can debate causes and fixes. But the public has already put its verdict on the table.

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