As has been the case for nearly two decades, a majority of Americans are expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of the nation.
Today, 29% of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 70% of Americans say they are dissatisfied.
While overall public satisfaction has risen since before the election, this increase is entirely driven by Republicans and Republican-leaning independents:
- Just 10% of Republicans said they were satisfied with the state of the nation in early October, but 35% of Republicans say this today.
While ratings have spiked among Republicans, Donald Trump’s win has had the opposite effect on Democrats:
- In October, 38% of Democrats and Democratic leaners expressed satisfaction with the way things are going in the country, compared with about a quarter (24%) who say this today.
Partisans’ national satisfaction ratings typically shift with change in control of the White House. For example, Democrats’ views improved markedly after the election and inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Feelings about the country: Fear, hope, anger, pride
For the most part, Americans’ feelings about the state of the country are not dramatically different from their feelings after the 2020 election.
Yet partisans’ views are very different: Republicans are now far more likely to be hopeful and proud, while the share of Democrats who feel hopeful has declined sharply.
After Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Democrats (67%) were considerably more likely than Republicans (41%) to say they felt hopeful about the state of the country.
Following Trump’s win, partisans’ feelings have reversed: Now, 76% of Republicans say they are hopeful, while 29% of Democrats say the same.
The share of Republicans who say they feel proud of the country also has risen sharply, from 25% after the previous election to 46% today. Democrats’ views have shown less change; 14% feel proud about the country, compared with 23% four years ago.
Republicans also are far less likely to feel fearful and angry about the country than they did after Biden’s win. Roughly a third say they feel fearful, nearly 30 percentage points lower than four years ago. The decline in the share saying they feel angry has been about as large, from 56% then to 29% today.
Democrats are somewhat more likely to say they feel fearful than in November 2020, when Trump was disputing the results of the 2020 election. Nearly three-quarters of Democrats (73%) feel fearful, compared with six-in-ten in 2020. A narrow majority of Democrats (54%) feel angry – about the same share who felt this way after the election four years ago (53%).
How does the public feel about Trump’s win?
Americans are divided in their reactions to Donald Trump winning the presidency. Half of all adults say they are excited (22%) or relieved (28%) about his victory, while roughly the same share say they are disappointed (33%) or angry (15%).
Among Republicans
Republicans’ reactions to Trump’s win are roughly similar to how they felt after Trump’s first victory in 2016. Today, 46% say they feel relieved, roughly the same as the share who said this in 2016 (48%).
Republicans are somewhat more likely to say they are excited today than they were eight years ago (43% vs. 38%).
Among Democrats
As in 2016, Democrats have overwhelmingly negative reactions to Trump’s victory. However, they are somewhat more likely to say they are angry this year and less likely to feel disappointed.
Today, 31% of Democrats say they are angry about Trump’s win. In 2016, 26% felt angry. At the same time, fewer Democrats say they feel disappointed (56%) than after the election eight years ago (64%).
Most Americans say they aren’t surprised by Trump’s victory
When asked if they are surprised Donald Trump won the presidential election, about a third of Americans (32%) say they are surprised by his win. About two-thirds (68%) say they are not surprised.
Republicans are less likely than Democrats to say that they are surprised that Trump won the election.
Only about a quarter of Republicans (24%) say they are surprised by the election results, compared with 42% of Democrats.
In 2016, sizable majorities of those who voted for both Trump and Hillary Clinton said they were surprised that Trump won.
