March 2024 Reuters/Ipsos Core Political

Washington, DC, March 27, 2024 – In March’s Reuters/Ipsos Core Political, Americans continue to report political extremism or threats to democracy as their top issue facing the country, followed by the economy and immigration. When it comes to political extremism and threats to democracy, more Americans now say they prefer Biden’s approach to the issue over Trump’s. Americans are still divided, however, on whether Trump or Biden has a better plan for improving the economy. At the macro level, most Americans still say that, generally, things in the U.S. are headed off on the wrong track, and Biden’s approval rating is relatively unchanged, now reading at 40%, from the start of 2024.

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Detailed Findings

1. Consistent from February, Americans say political extremism or threats to democracy (23%), the economy (19%), and immigration (17%) are the top issues facing the country. Americans report these top three issues regardless of party affiliation; however, Republicans are most concerned about immigration while Democrats and independents are most concerned about political extremism or threats to democracy. Americans consistently rank the economy as the second most important issue facing the U.S., regardless of political party.

2. Two in three Americans (65%) say things in the country are heading off on the wrong track, and just under one-fifth (15%) say things are heading in the right direction. About one-fifth (19%) of Americans say they don’t know whether things in the U.S. are on the right or wrong track. Notably, Democrats and independents are more indecisive when it comes to the direction of the country than Republicans (27% and 19% vs. 7%, respectively).

3. Forty-percent of Americans say they approve of how Joe Biden is handling his job as president. Nearly three in five (56%) percent say they disapprove. These readings have remained consistent throughout 2024. Similar to the national average, 40% of independents say they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president. Significantly more Democrats (77%) approve while significantly fewer Republicans (6%) approve.

4. When asked which presidential candidate has a better approach to key issues, Biden remains net positive for healthcare (+15 points) and Trump remains net positive for immigration (+13 points). Compared to last month, more Americans now say Biden has a better approach to political extremism or threats to democracy than Trump (37% Biden vs. 29% Trump). This 8-point difference, however, is more muted than Biden’s lead on healthcare and Trump’s lead on immigration. Americans are generally split between Trump’s and Biden’s approaches when it comes to war, the economy, and crime.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted March 22-24, 2024, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,021 general population adults aged 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error for this study is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.17. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on other sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel®, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult U.S. population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel® cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income and party identification. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2023 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). Party ID benchmarks are from recent ABC News telephone polls.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing over 18,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.

Ipsos is listed on Eurolist – NYSE – Euronext.  The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

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