A new survey of public attitudes toward federal agencies finds that partisan differences in views of the FBI have increased markedly over the past year. And Americans’ opinions about Immigration and Customs Enforcement are deeply polarized: 72% of Republicans view ICE favorably, while an identical share of Democrats view it […] Read more »
Immigration Surges to Top of Most Important Problem List
Immigration has risen to the top of the list when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the nation — edging out the government, which has been the top issue each month since January 2017. The 22% of Americans in July who say immigration is the top […] Read more »
Americans distrusted US democracy long before Trump’s Russia problem
Historically, the high-water mark for American dissatisfaction with government was the 1970s — the era of Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate. AP Photo/John Duricka Ian Anson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County White House special counsel Robert Mueller recently issued 12 indictments alleging that Russian intelligence agents sought to tilt the vote […] Read more »
Public backs action on global warming – but with cost concerns and muted urgency
Public awareness of global warming is up and support for action is broad, with eight in 10 Americans saying the federal government should try to achieve the same deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions called for in the international treaty rejected by Donald Trump. Sixty-one percent in a new national […] Read more »
Three Ways of Governing as a Minority Party
The American political system includes no guarantees that the party with the most votes or the most registrants will win the most elections. The Constitution allows for a number of situations in which the minority party can rule. This, however, can create legitimacy problems in a country that fancies itself […] Read more »
American political behavior firmly outside the norm for consolidated democracies
Our expert survey results in May-June 2018 demonstrate significantly increased threat levels compared to April, with ratings worsening on all six dimensions of democratic performance. … The results give us clear reasons to be concerned about the future of American democracy. May and June saw increases in threat levels across […] Read more »