Months after being tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency attack on the federal government, billionaire Elon Musk has been rated by the public as one of the least-liked figures by Americans.
On Tuesday, Gallup released the results of a poll taken July 7-21, and of the 14 global “newsmakers” people were asked about, Musk had an abysmal net favorable rating of -28. Of those surveyed, only 33% had a favorable opinion of the key Republican backer, while 61% viewed him unfavorably.
Musk was so unpopular that his unfavorable rating outweighs Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (both at -16). Musk even performs worse than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (-23), who has been widely condemned for his actions against Hamas.
The highest-rated figure in the poll is Pope Leo XIV (+46) followed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (+18) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (+11).
His time leading DOGE matches the precipitous drop in support for Musk. When the same poll was taken at the beginning of the Trump administration in January, Musk had a net favorable rating of -4, meaning he has dropped 24 points in the ensuing months. Rubio had a similar fall while Trump fell 14 points.
The result of Musk’s DOGE tenure probably explains why he is so disliked.
A recent report from Senate Democrats revealed that policies put in place by DOGE have cost taxpayers $21.7 billion, including over $14.8 billion spent to pay federal workers not to work.
DOGE installed a group of Musk acolytes across federal agencies, giving them access to sensitive and previously protected private data. Among Musk’s flunkies were open racists and bigots given free reign to disrupt longtime federal systems and procedures.
DOGE’s actions have been frequently challenged for overstepping constitutional authority and courts have ruled that the group has been in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Fueling the backlash is the fact that while at least Trump was elected to his position, Musk was not, and unlike Cabinet secretaries and other appointees, he was not vetted by Congress. Musk was given his power as a payback for bankrolling Trump and other Republicans.
Trump eventually soured on Musk, who generated a torrent of negative headlines, including protests at Tesla dealerships that precipitated a drop in the carmaker’s sales. Musk and Trump had an acrimonious public breakup that the entire world was effectively forced to cringe and watch. Trump even said he would look into deporting Musk.
Musk has left DOGE but despite the mess the board of directors at Tesla—which he controls—just voted to give him $26 billion in shares. He is also still bankrolling Republican campaign efforts and in spite of his disagreements with Trump, he is still in the GOP’s tent.