BY NR.BALOCH
Democrats are in control of most topics, but more Americans support Republicans on matters like immigration, crime, and the economy.
The public’s list of the biggest issues facing the country includes drug addiction, gun violence, inflation, and the cost of health care.
The ability of the parties to cooperate is viewed as a problem by both Republicans and Democrats, notwithstanding partisan differences in judgments of many national issues.
However, the list of issues is almost as long as the number of problems pertaining to Republicans and Democrats cooperating. Out of the 16 problems that are covered, this is one of the few that lacks partisan division.
The majority of national problems are viewed quite differently by the 5,115 members of the Pew Research Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel, who participated in the survey from June 5–11.
Republicans and independents leaning Republican continue to view inflation as their main concern, with 77% of them believing it to be a very serious issue. At least two-thirds of Republicans rank the fiscal imbalance, illegal immigration, and the status of moral values as their top issues.
Gun violence is the main worry among Democrats and Democrats leaning Democratic, with around ten (81%) people believe it to be a major issue. Health care affordability is ranked second (73%).
Compared to Republicans, Democrats are more than four times more likely (64% vs.14%) to believe that climate change is a major issue facing the nation. Democrats are also significantly more inclined to agree that race and gun violence are serious issues.
On the other hand, Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats (70% vs. 25%) to believe that illegal immigration is a serious issue. Additionally, they are around 30 percentage points more likely than Democrats to believe that the budget imbalance and the moral decline are serious issues.
Other conclusions drawn from the latest poll include:
The majority of Americans anticipate a rising budget deficit. From 51% to 56%, the percentage of Americans who believe that the budget imbalance is a major national issue has somewhat increased from the previous year.
Fewer Americans anticipate a reduction in the deficit in the upcoming years: In around five years, 70% predict it will be bigger than it is now; 18% predict it will be roughly the same size as it is now; and only 11% predict it will be smaller.
Republicans dominate in the areas of the economy, crime, and immigration; Democrats have significant advantages in these areas. Regarding abortion, health care, and climate change policy, the public is more likely to say they support Democratic Party positions.
On economic policy, the Republican Party is ahead by 12 points: 42% of respondents agree with the GOP, while 30% agree with the Democratic Party. In terms of immigration and crime, the GOP is similarly ahead.
Seldom did Biden’s job approval vary. At the moment, 35% of Americans are satisfied with President Joe Biden’s work performance, while 62% are not. The past year has seen minimal changes in Biden’s job approval. Additionally, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (34% approve) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (32% approve) receive low job ratings according to the survey.
To view the most recent version of Biden’s approval rating among subgroups, please refer to the full tables.
On immigration, crime, and economic policy, more Americans support the GOP; nevertheless, Democrats are superior on a number of other subjects.
Regarding climate change policy, around four out of ten Americans (41%) say they agree with the Democratic Party, compared to much fewer (27%) who agree with the GOP, and nearly a third (31%) who say they agree with neither party.
When it comes to health care and abortion legislation, the Democrats have an identical edge (12 points each).
Regarding the economy (12 points), crime (10 points), immigration (10 points), and the budget deficit (8 points), Republicans have the upper hand.
In terms of foreign policy, gun control, and education policy, neither party has a sizable advantage.
Over the previous year, there hasn’t been much of a shift in the proportions of opinions that each party agrees on.
On immigration, the GOP leads by ten points, but this is a change from July of last year, when almost equal numbers of Americans said they agreed with the GOP and the Democrats (38% agree with the GOP and 37% agree with Democrats).
Furthermore, although Democrats are up by 8 points on policies impacting LGBT individuals (37% agree with the Democratic Party, 29% agree with the GOP, and 33% disagree with neither party), this advantage is less than Democrats’ 20-point lead from July of last year.
major issues affecting the nation
Inflation, the cost of health care, bipartisanship, drug use, and violence top the public’s list of the nation’s most pressing issues, according to this chart.
Eight of the 16 concerns on the survey, according to the majority of Americans, are “very big problems” that the nation is currently confronting. These cover a wide range of issues, including drug addiction, violent crime, and gun violence, as well as fiscal issues like inflation, health care costs, and the budget deficit.
The majority also see the status of moral principles (54%) and the capacity of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate as major national issues.
Since May 2022, when 55% stated this, the percentage of people claiming health care affordability is a major problem has increased by 9 percentage points. The percentage of respondents who believe that violent crime and gun violence are serious issues has also climbed from the previous year, rising by 5 and 9 percentage points, respectively.
The public ranks racism, local and international terrorism, unemployment, and infrastructure degradation lower on their list of the nation’s most pressing issues. Nonetheless, the majority of respondents regard each of these and other survey-questioned issues as at least somewhat significant difficulties.
It is still more common for older Americans than younger Americans to believe that there are several major crises facing the nation right now. The clearest illustration of this relates to illegal immigration: Approximately 65% of persons 65 years of age and above believe that illegal immigration is a major issue in the modern world. About two out of ten adults under the age of thirty (22%) agree.
The pattern is reversed in relation to climate change, though. It is a major concern, according to 48% of adults ages 18 to 29 and 38% of persons ages 65 and older, as well as a comparable percentage of adults ages 30-64.
Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, and Kevin McCarthy’s job ratings
Figure indicates that more Americans strongly disagree with Biden than strongly agree with him.
Sixty-two percent of the public say they don’t think Joe Biden is doing a good enough job as president, and forty-one percent of them strongly disagree. Merely 35% of respondents say they are satisfied with Biden’s work performance, with only 17% strongly agreeing.
The only racial or ethnic group where the majority (57%), says they approve of Biden’s job in office is black adults. Six out of ten Hispanic Americans and over half of Asian persons (51%) say they are not happy with Biden’s work performance.
Half of White Americans (67%) who say they disapprove highly of Biden’s work performance are among the two-thirds who say they dislike.
Although most people of all ages disagree of Biden’s job performance, the percentage of adults 65 and over who say they strongly disapprove of his performance is significantly greater (47%) than the percentage of individuals under 30 (34%).
Majorities disagree with McCarthy and Schumer’s methods of doing their jobs, according to the chart.
About two thirds of Democrats and independents with a Democratic leaning vote (65%) are satisfied with Biden’s work performance, with a third strongly agreeing. Republicans and those leaning Republican are overwhelmingly against (92%); almost three-quarters (73%) strongly oppose.