---
title: "As Democrats’ anger spikes, Americans’ feelings about the federal government grow more polarized"
description: "Frustration is common across the political spectrum regardless of which party holds the presidency."
date: "2025-12-04"
authors:
  - name: "Shanay Gracia"
    job_title: "Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/shanay-gracia/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/12/04/as-democrats-anger-spikes-americans-feelings-about-the-federal-government-grow-more-polarized/"
categories:
  - "Political & Civic Engagement"
  - "Political Issues"
  - "Political Parties & Polarization"
  - "Political Polarization"
---

# As Democrats’ anger spikes, Americans’ feelings about the federal government grow more polarized

Frustration has long been Americans’ dominant emotion toward the federal government.

### Frustration toward the federal government declines, while both anger and contentment tick up

*% who say they feel ___ toward the federal government*

| Date | Angry | Frustrated | Basically content |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct ’97 | 12 | 56 | 29 |
| Feb ’00 | 10 | 54 | 33 |
| Nov ’01 | 8 | 34 | 53 |
| Mar ’04 | 13 | 52 | 32 |
| Oct ’06 | 20 | 54 | 21 |
| Sep ’10 | 23 | 52 | 21 |
| Aug ’11 | 26 | 60 | 11 |
| Oct ’13 | 30 | 55 | 12 |
| Feb ’14 | 19 | 62 | 17 |
| Oct ’15 | 22 | 57 | 18 |
| Mar ’16 | 21 | 57 | 20 |
| Dec ’17 | 24 | 55 | 17 |
| Mar ’19 | 21 | 57 | 18 |
| Aug ’20 | 24 | 57 | 18 |
| Apr ’21 | 17 | 52 | 29 |
| May ’22 | 18 | 60 | 22 |
| Jun ’23 | 21 | 59 | 18 |
| May ’24 | 21 | 60 | 18 |
| Sep ’25 | 26 | 49 | 23 |

Note: No answer responses are not shown.Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 22-28, 2025. Trend data: Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (2020-25), Pew Research Center phone surveys (2019 and earlier).

We regularly ask Americans whether the federal government makes them feel basically content, frustrated or angry. Today, 49% say they feel frustrated. Another 26% say they are angry, and 23% say they are basically content, according to a Pew Research Center survey of 3,445 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 22-28 (just before the 43-day government shutdown).

***Interactive:*** *[Public Trust in Government, 1958-2025](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/12/04/public-trust-in-government-1958-2025/)*

**How we did this**

Pew Research Center asked these questions to understand Americans’ feelings toward the federal government. For this analysis, we surveyed 3,445 U.S. adults from Sept. 22 to 28, 2025.

Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection.

Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, presidential vote (among voters) and other factors. [Read more about the ATP’s methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/our-methods/u-s-surveys/the-american-trends-panel/).

Here are the [questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PP_2025.12.4_trust_questionnaire.pdf), the [topline](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PP_2025.12.4_trust_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/10/30/political-parties-methodology/).

Frustration is common across the political spectrum regardless of which party holds the presidency. But the shares of Republicans and Democrats feeling anger and contentment shift dramatically depending on who’s in the White House.

Still, the partisan gaps in these views are wider now than at any point since we first asked this question in 1997. **The share of Democrats who are angry toward the federal government has hit a new high:**

- 44% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they feel angry

- 47% say they are frustrated

- 8% say they are basically content

### Democrats’ anger, Republicans’ contentment with federal government spike

*% who say they feel ___ toward the federal government*

| Date | Rep/Lean Rep (Angry) | Dem/Lean Dem (Angry) | Rep/Lean Rep (Basically content) | Dem/Lean Dem (Basically content) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-09-28 | 9 | 44 | 40 | 8 |
| 2024-05-19 | 34 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| 2023-06-11 | 35 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| 2022-05-01 | 32 | 6 | 10 | 29 |
| 2021-04-21 | 32 | 4 | 13 | 43 |
| 2020-08-02 | 14 | 34 | 29 | 9 |
| 2020-04-12 | 14 | 32 | 31 | 13 |
| 2019-03-25 | 18 | 25 | 24 | 14 |
| 2017-12-04 | 19 | 29 | 23 | 12 |
| 2017-04-11 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 12 |
| 2016-03-26 | 33 | 11 | 9 | 28 |
| 2015-10-04 | 32 | 12 | 9 | 27 |
| 2014-02-26 | 29 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 2013-10-13 | 38 | 25 | 6 | 17 |
| 2013-09-29 | 37 | 16 | 11 | 25 |
| 2013-01-13 | 27 | 12 | 9 | 30 |
| 2011-10-04 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 24 |
| 2011-08-21 | 30 | 21 | 6 | 15 |
| 2011-03-01 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 28 |
| 2010-09-06 | 35 | 13 | 8 | 31 |
| 2010-04-05 | 34 | 13 | 13 | 33 |
| 2010-03-21 | 32 | 11 | 9 | 33 |
| 2007-01-09 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 13 |
| 2006-10-04 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 9 |
| 2004-03-21 | 5 | 18 | 47 | 20 |
| 2001-11-19 | 6 | 11 | 64 | 45 |
| 2000-07-28 | 13 | 12 | 22 | 35 |
| 2000-02-14 | 12 | 6 | 27 | 39 |
| 1997-10-31 | 17 | 8 | 22 | 38 |

Note: Question wording is, “Some people say they are basically content with the federal government, others say they are frustrated and others say they are angry. Which of these best describes how you feel?” “Frustrated” is not shown in this graphic. In 2025, 50% of Republicans and Republican leaners and 47% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say they are frustrated with the government. Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Sept. 22-28, 2025. Trend data: Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (2020-25), Pew Research Center phone surveys (2019 and earlier).

**In contrast, 40% of Republicans and Republican leaners say they are basically content.** Half express frustration, and just 9% say they feel anger.

Democrats’ anger is higher now than during Republican President Donald Trump’s first term, when a peak of 34% expressed anger. It’s also the highest share expressed by members of either party in surveys dating back to 1997.

Republican anger peaked during the administrations of Democratic Presidents Joe Biden (35%) and Barack Obama (38%).

GOP contentment is higher now than at any point in the previous Trump administration, and the highest share since Republican George W. Bush’s first term. It’s also on par with previous Democratic peaks.

These dynamics echo shifts in Americans’ trust in the federal government:

- Democrats’ trust in the federal government to do the right thing (9%) has never been lower over the nearly 70 years polling organizations have asked this question.

- 26% of Republicans trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time. That’s on par with views during Trump’s first term and up from 11% a year ago.

*For more on trust in the federal government over the last 70 years, [please visit our interactive](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/12/04/public-trust-in-government-1958-2025/).*

*Note: Here are the [questions used for this analysis](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PP_2025.12.4_trust_questionnaire.pdf), the [topline](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/PP_2025.12.4_trust_topline.pdf) and the [survey methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/10/30/political-parties-methodology/).*