Public Views About Guns
Explore 20 years of data on public opinion about gun control vs. gun rights.
Public Has Criticisms of Both Parties, but Democrats Lead on Empathy for Middle Class
Both political parties’ favorability ratings are more negative than positive and fewer than half say either party has high ethical standards.
Partisan Identification Is ‘Sticky,’ but About 10% Switched Parties Over the Past Year
Survey Report Those who study politics have long known that a person’s party affiliation is a strong predictor of how they will vote and what their opinions will be on most political issues. Some of the power of partisanship comes from its relative immutability: Most people remain loyal to a political party. But over a […]
Public Trust in Government Remains Near Historic Lows as Partisan Attitudes Shift
Changes in the dynamics of power in Washington have registered with members of both political parties.
Public Trust in Government: 1958-2017
Public trust in the government remains near historic lows. Only 20% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (4%) or “most of the time” (16%). When the National Election Study began asking about trust in government in 1958, about three-quarters of Americans trusted […]
How Republicans and Democrats View Federal Spending
If you were making up the budget for the federal government this year, would you increase spending, decrease spending or keep spending the same for … See related report: “With Budget Debate Looming, Growing Share of Public Prefers Bigger Government”
With Budget Debate Looming, Growing Share of Public Prefers Bigger Government
Survey Report As Congress faces an April 28 deadline to fund government operations, the public is now split in their general preferences on the size and scope of government: 48% say they would rather have a bigger government providing more services, while 45% prefer a smaller government providing fewer services. This marks the first time […]
Public Dissatisfaction With Washington Weighs on the GOP
While the party retains its advantage over the Democrats on handling terrorism, it has lost ground on immigration and foreign policy, and 68% of the public sees the Republican Party as “mostly divided.”
Top Frustrations With Tax System: Sense That Corporations, Wealthy Don’t Pay Fair Share
A majority of Americans now view the federal tax system as unfair, including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats. But partisans differ in their concerns about the tax system.
Public Supports Syria Missile Strikes, but Few See a ‘Clear Plan’ for Addressing Situation
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are about three times as likely as Republicans and Republican leaners to say the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees from Syria.
Large Majorities See Checks and Balances, Right to Protest as Essential for Democracy
Large majorities of the public, Republicans and Democrats alike, say open and fair elections and a system of governmental checks and balances are essential to maintaining a strong democracy in the United States.
Partisan Conflict and Congressional Outreach
A new analysis of more than 200,000 press releases and Facebook posts from the official accounts of members of the 114th Congress uses methods from the emerging field of computational social science to quantify how often legislators themselves “go negative” in their outreach to the public.
In Trump Era, What Partisans Want From Their Congressional Leaders
Survey Report As President Trump prepares for his address next week to a joint session of Congress, Republicans say they are more inclined to trust the president, rather than GOP congressional leaders, if the two sides disagree. For their part, Democrats are far more concerned that congressional Democrats will not do enough, rather than go […]
In First Month, Views of Trump Are Already Strongly Felt, Deeply Polarized
Less than a month after Donald Trump took office, the public’s initial impressions of the new president are strongly felt, deeply polarized and far more negative than positive. The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Feb. 7-12 among 1,503 adults, finds that Trump’s overall job approval is much lower than those of prior […]
After Seismic Political Shift, Modest Changes in Public’s Policy Agenda
Survey Report As Donald Trump enters the White House, the nation’s leading policy priorities are little changed from the final years of Barack Obama’s presidency. And the partisan divisions over many of the public’s priorities – from dealing with global climate change to strengthening the nation’s military – remain as wide as ever. Roughly three-quarters […]
On Eve of Inauguration, Americans Expect Nation’s Deep Political Divisions to Persist
Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the nation’s 45th president, the public sees a country deeply fractured along partisan lines.
Public Sees Wealthy People, Corporations Gaining Influence in Trump Era
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, the public has starkly different expectations about which groups in society will gain influence – and those that will lose influence – under his administration.
The World Facing Trump: Public Sees ISIS, Cyberattacks, North Korea as Top Threats
Survey Report When he takes office next week, President-elect Donald Trump will inherit an array of global threats in the view of the public. About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) say ISIS poses a major threat to the well-being of the United States, and 71% say the same about cyberattacks from other countries. Nearly two-thirds (64%) view […]
Negative Views of Trump’s Transition, Amid Concerns About Conflicts, Tax Returns
The public continues to give the president-elect low marks for how he is handling the transition process.
