Editor’s Note: Beginning at 11 a.m. ET, the video player above will feature live analysis of the latest Emerson findings on public sentiment at the end of the Biden Administration.

(NEXSTAR) – On the eve of President Trump’s return to the Oval Office, Emerson College Polling conducted a survey to gauge public sentiment on a swath of issues including the popularity of Presidents Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter, the criminal proceedings against former President Trump and the potential expansion of United States territories.
A January 10-11 survey of 1,000 registered voters found President Joe Biden with a 37% approval rating in the final week of his presidency, 12 points lower than when Emerson first
polled his approval in 2021.

A deeper look into the number reveals continued perceptions of a struggling economy likely dragging on Biden, as they did during the General Election last year. The economy remains the top issue for voters (36%) followed by Immigration (17%) and healthcare (12%).
The poll does offer hope for Mr. Biden’s legacy over time, as respondents held broadly positive feelings about fellow one-term Democrat Jimmy Carter. Of those surveyed, 59% held a favorable opinion of Carter, who died on December 29th, with only 16% stating a negative opinion of the Georgia lawmaker.

President-elect Trump enjoys 52% approval as he returns to the White House, but a majority of those same voters (55%) stated it was appropriate to hold the future president accountable in court for falsifying business records.
“Trump’s conviction continues to highlight partisan divides, independents aligning more with Democrats on this issue,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling said in a news release. “Eighty-seven percent of Democrats and 57% of independents think the trial was appropriate to hold Trump accountable, while 79% of Republicans hint the trial was a political witch hunt.
One of Trump’s most headline-grabbing proposals, expanding the footprint of the United States, earned a cool response from survey participants. Sixty-seven percent of those polled believe the US should stay the size it is, while 20% think the country should add states or additional territories. Thirteen percent were neutral on the proposition.

More broadly, November’s election seems to have done little yet to convince Americans that the country is moving toward a brighter future. Two-thirds of respondents said America is now “headed in the wrong direction,” with the other third saying the U.S. is on the right track. At the beginning of Biden’s term, 54% felt the country was headed in the wrong direction and just under half felt things were getting better.
“All political parties consider the country on the wrong track heading into 2025: 62% of
Democrats, along with 70% of Republicans and 69% of independents,” Emerson wrote in a news release.