Our research below provides messaging guidance for progressives to win key policy debates.
Majorities of Americans believe Trump has not done enough to discourage white supremacist violence while making disorder across the country worse; half say Republicans in Congress have not shown independence from Trump and are seen as “yes men” with “no backbone.”
As most Americans expect to know the outcome after more than a day, overwhelming majorities find arguments to be patient in awaiting election results convincing; the public also has serious concerns that Trump’s rhetoric will inspire violence following the election.
A majority say the pandemic is “out of control,” and it continues to dominate negative conversation around Trump. Americans worry most about Trump’s ignoring of experts, failure to prepare, and downplaying the pandemic; most trust Fauci to make decisions over the president.
More than one in ten Americans report already casting ballots in this year’s election while those who haven’t split between voting by mail or in-person on Election Day; the public’s top concerns about the election are Trump not accepting the results and trying to stop votes from being counted.
The public remains opposed to a potential rollback of the ACA and are overwhelmingly supportive of the $2.4 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Americans are worried the pandemic is surging: the share who say “the worst is yet to come” in the pandemic and who support “more aggressive social distancing” are climbing back to the levels seen in July amid surging cases.
The public believes it is likely the ACA will be struck down and Roe v. Wade overturned if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed; Americans are bothered by Trump’s tax returns revealing he has paid no income tax 10 of the last 15 years.
Americans continue to believe the “worst is yet to come” with the coronavirus pandemic and expect we may not have presidential election results quickly.
Less than two in five Americans support the Senate considering Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court before the election, and express deep concern about the ACA and reproductive rights before the Court; a growing majority think it will take longer than the day after the election to know who won the presidency, and nine in ten Americans agree it is the most important election of their lifetimes.
Though the rate of new cases has plateaued in the United States, half still say the “worst is yet to come” in the pandemic as a growing share of the public expressing concern about Trump rushing the process of getting a vaccine developed.
While support for reopening K-12 schools has ticked up in recent weeks, two-thirds of the public continue to say they are more on the “cautious” side of the reopening debate; three out of four Americans support fully funding the USPS while the share who plan to vote by mail has declined in recent weeks.
As Trump’s job approval reverts to pre-convention levels, Americans see the Republican Party as focusing the most on jobs, the economy, and immigration while seeing the Democratic Party as focusing the most on the pandemic and race relations.
Nearly a quarter of Americans know someone personally who has died from coronavirus, while a vast majority supports keeping social distancing measures in place until a vaccine is developed and readily available.
Americans see Congressional Democrats’ policies as favoring the working and middle class and have concerns on Trump’s handling of the economic recovery from the pandemic; a plurality support banning TikTok in the United States, including parents and grandparents of users.
Majorities of Americans continue to say “the worst is yet to come” for the pandemic and that Trump should stay out the development of a coronavirus vaccine and leave the issue to experts.