Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Politics & Policy

Topic Spotlight

  • Trump’s Job Approval: 40% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, according to a late September survey. Vice President Vance and congressional leaders in both parties are also viewed more negatively than positively. (Read the short read)
  • Immigration: 47% of Americans disapprove of the Trump administration’s overall approach to immigration, while 42% approve, according to a June survey. But evaluations are largely split along partisan lines. (Read the report)
  • Voters in 2024: Trump won the 2024 presidential election with a voter coalition that was more racially and ethnically diverse than in 2020 or 2016. (Read the report)

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  • report

    Arab Spring Fails to Improve U.S. Image

    Support for democracy is high throughout much of the Middle East, but the Arab Spring has not led to an improvement in America’s image in the region. Instead, in key Arab nations and in other predominantly Muslim countries, views of the U.S. remain negative. On balance, extremist groups also viewed negatively, although they receive significant levels of support in some countries.

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    When Private Lives Become Public

    For more on how a candidate’s marital and family life affects voters’ views, click here. Generally, the issues matter most in voters’ judgments about presidential candidates, but personality, character and values are not far behind. This is especially the case in the primaries where differences between candidates of the same party tend to be modest. […]

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    Emerging Trends in E-Government

    Senior Research Specialist Aaron Smith will discuss “Emerging Trends in E-Government” on a panel at the Digital Citizen Satisfaction Summit in Washington, DC.

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    Obama Bump Recedes a Bit

    Overview Barack Obama’s job approval rating has fallen slightly since the day after Osama bin Laden’s death was announced. But the balance of opinion regarding Obama’s job performance remains more positive than it was in early April. There also continues to be more optimism about the U.S. achieving its goals in Afghanistan than there was […]

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    How We Identified Your Group

    Identifying which group is the best fit for you involved matching the pattern of your answers to the political value questions and party affiliation to the responses of people who took the 2011 typology national survey. This entailed a two step process: first creating the typology groups for the survey and then identifying which typology […]

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    More Optimism about Afghanistan, But No Boost in Support for Troop Presence

    Overview The killing of Osama bin Laden has bolstered the public’s confidence on two fronts: that the government can prevent a possible terrorist attack, and that the U.S. will succeed in achieving its goals in Afghanistan. However, the public’s basic views about U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism in the United States […]

Signature Reports

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Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics

Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics.

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Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology

Pew Research Center’s political typology provides a roadmap to today’s fractured political landscape. It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Even in a polarized era, the 2021 survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions.