Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The first year of the second Trump administration has been full of ominous developments. Americans are noticing.
A new national survey released today by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with the Brookings Institution reveals Americans’ responses to the unprecedented actions taken so far by President Donald Trump during his second presidential term. The survey — the 16th annual American Values Survey — also examines Americans’ concerns about the economy and how democracy is working, what it means to be “truly American,” and opposition to building internment camps for undocumented immigrants and allowing ICE agents to mask their identity.
Majorities of Americans say that the Trump administration cuts in federal funding for health care (60%) and universities and research institutions (55%), the implementation of new tariffs (54%), and the increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (52%) have gone too far. Across all areas, independents hold views more aligned with Democrats. For example, most Democrats (90%) and independents (67%) say that cuts in federal funding for programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act have gone too far, compared with only 25% of Republicans
A majority of Americans said in a new poll they disapprove of President Trump’s plans to demolish part of the East Wing in the White House to make room for his $250 million ballroom.
In the YouGov America poll, released on Wednesday, 53 percent of Americans said they strongly or somewhat disapprove “of the decision to demolish part of the East Wing of the White House as part of the renovations,” while 24 percent approved and 24 percent said they are unsure.
More than half of Americans, including about three in 10 Republicans, believe President Donald Trump is using federal law enforcement to go after his enemies, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that also found growing concern about U.S. political divisions nine months into his second term in office.
Some 55% of poll respondents in the six-day poll, which closed on Monday, agreed with a statement that the Republican president is using law enforcement to target his enemies, while 26% disagreed and the rest were unsure or did not respond. Some 85% of the poll respondents who identified themselves as Democrats agreed, as did 29% of the Republican poll takers.
