WASHINGTON - Americans want US President-elect Donald Trump to quit using Twitter.

According to an NBC/WSJ poll, nearly seven-in-10 Americans reckon Trump's use of Twitter is a bad idea.

Only 9 per cent say they strongly support his use of the 140-character medium to announce policy positions and express his personal point of view, said NBC News on Wednesday (Jan 18).

Sixty-nine per cent of respondents in the survey said that Trump's tweeting is bad, agreeing with the statement that "in an instant, messages can have unintended major implications without careful review."

Just 26 per cent said that his use of Twitter is good, agreeing with the statement that "it allows a president to directly communicate to people immediately".

Democrats overwhelmingly give Trump's tweets a thumbs down, said NBC, with 89 per cent saying his use of the medium is bad, while just 8 per cent say it's good.

But Republicans are divided: 46 per cent says it is good, while 47 per cent call them a bad idea.

Among independents, it's 67 per cent bad, 27 per cent good.

A majority of Americans - 55 per cent - also say that they strongly oppose how Trump uses Twitter to announce policy decisions and his own views on the news of the day, a significant departure from his predecessor.

In contrast, just 17 per cent call his tweeting strategy acceptable, and only 9 per cent of Americans say they strongly support it, reported NBC.

A New York businessman and former reality TV star, Trump often used Twitter during the election campaign to communicate his views, including his sometimes scathing opinions of rivals.

Since winning the November election he has delivered a steady stream of tweets - often focused on countering critics.

The Republican President-elect has said he plans to keep on tweeting when he takes office on Friday (Jan 20).

"Look, I don't like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing. But I get very dishonest media, very dishonest press. And it's my only way that I can counteract," he said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer slammed Trump's use of the medium earlier this month (Jan) saying the US could not afford a "Twitter presidency".

"'Making America Great Again' requires more than 140 characters per issue," Mr Schumer said in his first speech as Senate Minority Leader. "With all due respect, America cannot afford a Twitter presidency. We have real challenges and we need to get real things done."

Trump also told the Sunday Times over the weekend that he continues to use Twitter because he believes he doesn't get fair treatment from journalists.

"I thought I'd do less of it, but I'm covered so dishonestly by the press - so dishonestly - that I can put out Twitter," he told the paper.

"I can go bing bing bing and I just keep going and they put it on and as soon as I tweet it out - this morning on television, Fox - 'Donald Trump, we have breaking news.'"