Key Takeaways
- • A nationally representative Carnegie survey of 1,000 Indian American adults, conducted by YouGov between November 25, 2025 and January 6, 2026 (±3.6 percent margin of error), finds large majorities disapprove of President Donald Trump's first year in his second term, including his handling of the economy, international economic policy, and immigration.
- • Indian Americans remain disproportionately Democratic, but Democratic identification has declined since 2020 while Republican identification has risen modestly; moderates are the largest ideological group.
- • Trump gained ground with the community in 2024 compared with 2020, narrowing the Democratic margin from roughly 70-20 to about 60-30, particularly among young men, and in 2026 support for Trump has softened without a commensurate rebound for Democrats, signaling dissatisfaction with both parties.
- • Perceived discrimination is widespread and frequent online racism is reported, though the share reporting direct personal discrimination has not changed significantly since 2020.
- • Most respondents do not plan to leave the United States and a majority still recommend the U.S. for employment, even as many alter how they speak or participate in public life.
Summary
A new Carnegie Endowment for International Peace study, the 2026 Indian American Attitudes Survey (IAAS), examines how the roughly 5.2 million people of Indian origin in the United States are responding to a period of political and policy turbulence. Authored by Milan Vaishnav, Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur and Andy Robaina, the survey was fielded by YouGov and builds on earlier waves conducted in 2020 and 2024. Because the 2026 wave added multiracial respondents and uses a revised sample frame, the authors caution that trend comparisons should be interpreted with care.
The survey finds that Indian Americans offer a largely negative assessment of Trump's second term. Large majorities disapprove of his job performance on the domestic economy, international economic policy and immigration. Evaluations of his management of U.S.-India relations are also negative, although many respondents expressed no opinion, which the authors read as evidence of limited salience of foreign policy in electoral decisions. The study notes that the Trump administration's tariffs and immigration curbs have strained a relationship once described as the "defining partnership of the twenty-first century."
Partisan attachment is weakening. Indian Americans continue to identify with the Democratic Party by wide margins, but the Democratic share has declined since 2020 while Republican identification has increased modestly. Trump's 2024 gains, particularly among young men, narrowed the Democratic advantage from roughly 70-20 to about 60-30. The authors argue that softening support for Trump in 2026 has not translated into a Democratic rebound, pointing to rising dissatisfaction with both major parties.
On identity and belonging, the report finds that perceptions of bias, frequent encounters with online racism and marked levels of personal harassment are defining features of Indian American life. Respondents also report changing how they live, speak or participate publicly to avoid harassment, yet most do not plan to leave the country. The survey also finds that reactions to Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City are driven mainly by ideology rather than shared ethnicity or religion, while remarks by Vice President JD Vance on religion and marriage drew strong negative reactions tied to concerns about religious inclusion and belonging.
The Carnegie study frames these findings as evidence of a community navigating electoral volatility, policy uncertainty and heightened identity-based politics, with the full PDF and methodological appendix available from the Endowment.
The survey finds that Indian Americans offer a largely negative assessment of Trump's second term. Large majorities disapprove of his job performance on the domestic economy, international economic policy and immigration. Evaluations of his management of U.S.-India relations are also negative, although many respondents expressed no opinion, which the authors read as evidence of limited salience of foreign policy in electoral decisions. The study notes that the Trump administration's tariffs and immigration curbs have strained a relationship once described as the "defining partnership of the twenty-first century."
Partisan attachment is weakening. Indian Americans continue to identify with the Democratic Party by wide margins, but the Democratic share has declined since 2020 while Republican identification has increased modestly. Trump's 2024 gains, particularly among young men, narrowed the Democratic advantage from roughly 70-20 to about 60-30. The authors argue that softening support for Trump in 2026 has not translated into a Democratic rebound, pointing to rising dissatisfaction with both major parties.
On identity and belonging, the report finds that perceptions of bias, frequent encounters with online racism and marked levels of personal harassment are defining features of Indian American life. Respondents also report changing how they live, speak or participate publicly to avoid harassment, yet most do not plan to leave the country. The survey also finds that reactions to Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City are driven mainly by ideology rather than shared ethnicity or religion, while remarks by Vice President JD Vance on religion and marriage drew strong negative reactions tied to concerns about religious inclusion and belonging.
The Carnegie study frames these findings as evidence of a community navigating electoral volatility, policy uncertainty and heightened identity-based politics, with the full PDF and methodological appendix available from the Endowment.
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