Most Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive speech
Seven-in-ten Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language because it could encourage some people to take violent action.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Seven-in-ten Americans say elected officials should avoid heated or aggressive language because it could encourage some people to take violent action.
Half of U.S. adults say they disapprove of selective colleges and universities taking prospective students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds into account when making admissions decisions. 33% approve of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at the schools, while 16% are not sure.
The share of U.S. workers who belonged to a union in 2023 stood at 10%, down from 1983 when 20.1% of American workers were union members.
57% of Americans say they would prefer to live in a community where houses are larger and farther away from amenities — compared to 42% who say the opposite.
The share of adults who say their side is losing more often than winning is up 15 percentage points since early 2020.
Democrats hold the edge on many issues, but more Americans agree with Republicans on the economy, crime and immigration. Inflation remains the top concern for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 77% saying it is a very big problem. For Democrats and Democratic leaners, gun violence is the top concern, with about 81% saying it is a very big problem.
Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
About six-in-ten Americans (62%) say they follow professional or college sports not too or not at all closely.
Americans express highly negative views of President Joe Biden, congressional leadership in both parties and Congress more broadly. Views of the economy remain overwhelmingly negative, and there has been a sharp rise in the share who say the country cannot solve many of its important problems.
68% of U.S. adults who voted in the 2020 presidential election turned out to vote in the 2022 midterms. Former President Donald Trump’s voters turned out at a higher rate in 2022 (71%) than did President Joe Biden’s voters (67%).
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