… Attracting and sustaining majority support has traditionally represented a North Star for American presidents. The showdown over the shutdown, perhaps more than any earlier decision, makes clear that Trump is setting his course by a very different compass. Trump has abandoned any pretense of seeking to represent majority opinion […] Read more »
The Shutdown Is Hurting Trump’s Approval Rating. But Will It Hurt Him in 2020?
The partial government shutdown is beginning to drag on President Trump’s approval rating, which is at its lowest point in months. … There shouldn’t be much doubt that the shutdown is behind the negative turn in Trump’s numbers. While there have been other newsworthy events over the past few weeks, […] Read more »
Party Unity Hasn’t Cracked Under The Weight Of The Shutdown
Both congressional Democrats and Republicans have demonstrated strong party unity during the partial government shutdown, which has now gone on for 26 days and is the longest shutdown in U.S. history. This level of party discipline echoes what happened in 2017 and 2018, suggesting the midterms didn’t change the broader […] Read more »
Voters didn’t want a stalemate. But they expected one from Dems
The 116th Congress has arrived, and less than two weeks into the session, America has already tasted the fruits of its electoral labors last November. It’s been quite a debut for House Democrats. … In our early December Winning the Issues survey, we looked at voter perceptions and expectations for […] Read more »
Many Americans say they want politicians to compromise. But maybe they don’t.
The lengthy government shutdown seems likely to end only when one or both political parties is willing to compromise. But the question Democratic and Republican lawmakers have to confront is how to sell that compromise to their supporters. If that compromise involves immigration policy, it’s clear why that’s hard: Democratic […] Read more »
Most Border Wall Opponents, Supporters Say Shutdown Concessions Are Unacceptable
With the partial shutdown of the federal government in its third week, both opponents and supporters of expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall overwhelmingly oppose making concessions to end the stalemate. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that majority of Americans (58%) continue to oppose substantially expanding the border wall, […] Read more »