Our analysis of the political environmental questions in this poll found that most voters are simultaneously frustrated with President Trump and pleased with the work of President Trump and Republican leaders on key pocketbook issues such as the economy and jobs. These questions on civility find a similar contradiction. Most […] Read more »
U.S. Twitter users are younger, more educated and more likely to be Democrats than general public
Twitter is a modern public square where many voices discuss, debate and share their views. Media personalities, politicians and the public turn to social networks for real-time information and reactions to the day’s events. But compared with the U.S. public overall, which voices are represented on Twitter? To examine this […] Read more »
Trump is repeating Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished’ boondoggle
On May 1, 2003, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, President George W. Bush stood before a banner declaring “Mission Accomplished.” But he had declared victory prematurely and subsequently lost the political battle over the war in Iraq. From that day on, every time Americans troops suffered a setback, critics would […] Read more »
How Twitter’s algorithm is amplifying extreme political rhetoric
Imagine opening up the Twitter app on your phone and scrolling through your feed. Suddenly, you come across a hyper-partisan tweet calling Hillary Clinton the “godmother of ISIS.” It’s from a user you do not follow, and it’s not in your feed by virtue of a retweet from a user […] Read more »
Why So Many Trump Supporters Are OK With the President’s Lies
As of mid-February, the Washington Post’s fact-checking staff had tallied 8,718 false or misleading public statements by President Donald Trump since he assumed office. Yet his popularity, while low overall, remains very high among his base—a demographic dominated by evangelical Christians, who are taught lying is a sin. Why are […] Read more »
The 10 personas of Donald Trump in a single speech
… For two hours and five minutes last weekend, President Trump dazzled his supporters and appalled his critics with a mind-spinning, free-associating performance that neatly encapsulated his singular standing as a polarizing cultural figure. Even for a politician who never seems to stop talking, the tour-de-force performance at the Conservative […] Read more »