AAPI Data survey finds 39% of Filipino Americans approve of Trump's job performance, highest among Asian groups

A new AAPI Data commentary by sociologist Sharon Quinsaat says Filipino American approval of President Trump remains the highest among Asian ethnic groups, and explores migration, moral values and social media as reasons behind it.

Filipino Americans continue to give President Donald Trump stronger approval than any other Asian ethnic group, according to a commentary published by AAPI Data on Oct. 28. Sociologist Sharon Quinsaat wrote that the latest AAPI Data | AP-NORC survey shows 39% of Filipino Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president.

The survey was conducted by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and AAPI Data from Sept. 8 to 15, with 1,023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults living in the United States. Across all AAPI adults, AP-NORC reported that just 25% approve of how Trump is handling his job.

Immigration views

Quinsaat wrote that 43% of Filipino Americans approve of Trump's handling of immigration, and 65% said immigration is one of the important issues that would shape their vote in the upcoming election. She noted that the majority of Filipino Americans still lean Democratic.

She attributed support for the immigration crackdown to a sense among many Filipino Americans that they arrived in the country "the right way". Interviewees in her research voiced frustration over delays in their family members' visas.

"Many Filipino Americans feel that they followed the rules and waited in line to come to the U.S., and 'it is only fair for others to do the same,'" Quinsaat wrote.

Values carried from home

Drawing on research with Nico Ravanilla of the University of California, San Diego, Quinsaat said most Filipinos arrive in the US as adults whose political views were shaped in the Philippines, including values such as hard work, discipline, obedience to authority and hiya (shame). She said memories of the Marcos dictatorship also lead some to prioritise law and order.

The role of social media

The commentary said Filipino Americans have the highest consumption of news and information from social media platforms among Asian groups in the survey, at 25%. Quinsaat also cited a study of 1,900 Facebook posts by Filipino American Trump supporters from 2020, which found a significant echo chamber effect.

Quinsaat, an associate professor of sociology at Grinnell College, called the results "just the tip of the iceberg" and urged more mixed-methods research into how politics shapes the daily lives of Filipino Americans.

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