Americans take a dim view of the nation’s future, look more positively at the past
When Americans look ahead to 2050, they see a country that in many respects will be worse than it is today.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Research Associate
Andrew Daniller is a research associate at Pew Research Center, where he studies public opinion on U.S. politics and policy, including political polarization, trust in government and elections, and a wide range of policy areas. He regularly presents to outside groups on these topics and discusses findings with the news media. Before joining the Center, Andrew was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where his research focused on how news media affect views of elections and campaigns.
When Americans look ahead to 2050, they see a country that in many respects will be worse than it is today.
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.
Americans now see reducing the budget deficit as a higher priority for the president and Congress to address than in recent years. But strengthening the economy continues to be the public’s top policy priority.
Prior to the Tyre Nichols video release, views of police conduct in the U.S. had improved in three of four measures, with crime an exception.
While 64% of Republicans say GOP congressional leaders should “stand up” to Biden on matters important to their party’s voters, Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by leaders to find common ground.
Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.
Six-in-ten Republicans say they feel warmly toward Donald Trump, an October survey found. This is down modestly since last summer (67%).
There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.
The economy is clearly the top issue for voters; fully 79% say it will be very important to their voting decisions – the highest share among 18 issues included on the survey. The public continues to take a dim view of current economic conditions. Just 17% of U.S. adults say the economy is in excellent or good shape, little changed from the 13% who said this in July.
Americans express less concern than in the spring about Ukraine being defeated by Russia and about the war expanding into other countries.
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