Months after a public fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the US President came to the defense of the Tesla CEO following a poll that ranked Musk as the “most unpopular public figure in America,”
according to a report in NDTV.
NDTV reported that a recent survey by a global research firm Gallup, conducted from July 7 to July 21 with 1,000 respondents, revealed Musk’s popularity had plummeted by 24 points since January.
In response to a question about the survey, Trump told a reporter, “I don’t know [if] that poll’s accurate. I think he’s a good person. I think he had a bad moment, a really bad moment. But he’s a good person. I believe that.”
Trump claims Musk ‘really bad moment’
‘Poll accurate that Elon is America’s most unpopular figure?’ pic.twitter.com/RnRhE6mxzr
— RT (@RT_com) August 7, 2025
The Tesla boss net favorability fell from -4 to -28, with 61 per cent of participants expressing an unfavorable opinion of him. Despite this, 33 per cent still had a positive opinion about Musk while 6 per cent of the respondents had no opinion.
In the survey, Americans were asked to rate 14 prominent global figures, including former US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is facing accusations related to humanitarian crisis in Gaza—and Pope Leo XIV.
The relationship between Musk, once known as Trump’s close ally and dubbed his “first Buddy,” and the US President turned sour earlier this year. The rift began after Musk publicly criticized Trump’s tax and spending bill. Tensions escalated in June, with both of them trading personal attacks on social media.
Musk accused the Trump administration of hiding documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, implying Trump’s name was in them. Trump responded harshly, suggesting the South African-born billionaire should “go back where he came from.”
