Reuters/Ipsos Issues Survey December 2024

Washington, DC, December 20, 2024 – A recent survey from Reuters/Ipsos finds that many Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country, and believe that several policy areas, like the cost of living, immigration, the education system, and the national politics are heading off on the wrong track. Americans want President-elect Donald Trump to focus on immigration in his first 100 days in office. The survey also explored perceptions of tariffs and foreign policy. 

Detailed Findings:

Americans say that the economy, unemployment and jobs is one of the most important issues facing the country (37%), followed by immigration (28%) and political extremism (25%). Sixty-two percent of Americans say the country is headed off on the wrong track generally, and when asked about specific policy areas, 73% say the cost of living is on the wrong track, as are national politics (66%), immigration policy (62%), the education system (61%),  and the national economy (60%).  Americans would like Trump to focus on immigration (27%), income inequality (14%), healthcare (10%) and taxes (10%) in his first 100 days in office. 

About a quarter of Americans (25%) say they do not understand what the term "tariffs" means. A plurality of Americans think tariffs are not good for them personally (46%), and that it is not a good idea to charge higher tariffs (42%). Fewer than one in five believe tariffs are good for them (17%), and that charging tariffs on imported goods is a good idea (29%). 

To see the full list of questions and responses, please download the topline below. 

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted December 5-10, 2024, on behalf of Reuters using the KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a representative sample of 4,183 U.S. residents, age 18 or older.

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.4 for all adults. 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 US 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 study was conducted in English. The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income and 2024 presidential vote choice. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS).

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson 
Senior Vice President, U.S. 
Public Affairs 
[email protected]

Annaleise Azevedo Lohr 
Director, U.S. 
Public Affairs
[email protected]

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