America the Uncertain: September Briefing Highlights

What you need to know:

COVID and the economy are the main issues for Americans.

• The two problems are connected for the public; as COVID seems more dangerous, Americans dial back their out-of-home activities, and they become more cautious about whether the economy will return to its pre-pandemic state.

Back-to-school season is underway, and most Americans—and most parents—want kids to be returning to school in person five days a week.

• While a majority supports in-person schooling, many also acknowledge that it’s likely schools will be shut down this academic year due to COVID outbreaks.

Following the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, nearly all Americans remember where they were on September 11, 2001.

• Though, sentiment towards the war in Afghanistan, the Biden administration's withdrawal from the country, and feeling about whether the U.S. achieved its policy goals in the region remains divided and partisan.

President Biden’s approval rating is breaking even.

• After falling throughout the summer, the president’s job approval mirrors his disapproval fueled by the resurgence of the pandemic as a main concern for Americans.

Deep dive:

COVID and the economy are the main issues

The economy and COVID are the main issues facing the country, according to Americans.

Following the surge in the Delta variant, many now see public health, disease, and illness as one of the biggest issues facing the country, up seven points from the middle of July. The economy, a perennial concern for Americans, remains top of mind as well.

Still, other concerns that have permeated the news, like the conflict in Afghanistan, do not seem to be a major worry. Both the “war and foreign conflict” and “terrorism and extremism” items register as only single district concerns.

American reemergence softens

Due to the Delta surge, Americans are taking a step back from out-of-home activities. About three in five people are visiting friends or relatives and going out to eat, which is down around 12-points from the end of June.

At the same time, between June and August, mask use and social distancing picked up, signaling Americans growing concern with the new variant.

Following a surge in Delta cases in the summer, many Americans rolled back their out-of-home behavior and ramped up their protective measures, like social distancing and mask use. Still, rates of out-of-home behavior, while lower than in the spring, remain significantly higher than last winter.

Confidence in a quick economic recovery decline

With Americans scaling back their out-of-home activities, expectations for a swift economic recovery fell. Unlike last year, changes in this metric are due to anxiety and uncertainty about the state of the pandemic, not material differences in people’s economic situation.

Back in June, when the end of the pandemic seemed imminent, two in three Americans felt that the economic recovery would be quick once pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Yet, that sentiment fell away by the middle of summer as COVID cases surged. Now, only around half of Americans feel that the economic recovery will be quick once COVID restrictions lift, demonstrating how intertwined feelings about the pandemic are with economic confidence.

Parents want kids back in school though they think it will be temporary

Most Americans— and most notably—most parents want students to return to in-person school five days a week. Despite this, parents also expect school closures in their future; a nearly equal share feel that the schools in their area will eventually close in the 2021-2022 school year due to the spread of COVID-19.

Parents are adamant about getting their kids back in the classroom because they feel their kids did not learn properly online.

With parents largely supportive of having their kids return to a full in-person school schedule, they also largely support mask mandates for kids and staff working in schools, while vaccine mandates are a bit more divisive. Still, vaccine hesitancy is declining as pediatric cases of COVID surge.

Twenty years later, most remember 9/11

This Saturday marked the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Nearly all Americans (92%) who were alive and could remember the events of that day remember where they were and what they were doing.

Since then, a whole generation of people has been born. What follows from there— the wars and domestic policy put in place following the attacks—gets mixed reviews on whether they made the country safer.

Majority support withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan

One of the enduring legacies of September 11 is the war in Afghanistan. While most Americans support the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, far fewer back President Biden’s handling of how the withdrawal was achieved. These events hold predictable partisan leanings, with Democrats viewing Biden far more favorably than Republicans.

Though, outside of justice for September 11, most Americans aren’t certain of what policy goals the country achieved in that war. Regardless, most Americans support evacuating refugees from Afghanistan and resettling them in the United States. While there’s broad support for these efforts, attitudes are specific to these events and do not extend or change views on immigration writ large.

Biden’s approval falls

After falling earlier this month, President Biden’s approval numbers are now at a point where approval and disapproval are roughly even.

President Biden was elected to get the pandemic under control. Previously, the pandemic was a strong issue for President Biden, but now his position is weaker due to the resurgence of the pandemic. At the same time, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan fueled a weakness for the president, hurting his numbers further.