Some Democrats are still voting with their wallets

Washington DC, February 6, 2025—A new Ipsos poll finds that some Americans still report reducing or stopping purchasing from a company to protest its stance on politics.  However, slightly fewer Americans say they are doing so compared to an earlier Ipsos poll conducted mid-February.

The poll also finds that Americans are divided when it comes to their emotional response to the first month of President Donald Trump’s second administration; Republicans are more likely to feel happy about the first month of Trump’s presidency, while Democrats and independents are more likely to feel unhappy.

Detailed findings

Americans are divided along party lines when it comes to their feelings about the current news cycle but are generally more negative than positive.

• Americans are also more likely to report feeling more negative emotions than positive emotions about the current news cycle. A plurality report feeling “concerned” (44%), while 31% feel “anxious” and 29% feel “angry.” Slightly fewer feel “optimistic” (19%) or “hopeful” (17%).
• These feelings fractured along party lines. Democrats were more likely to report negative emotional responses to the current news cycle, with 64% feeling "concerned," 57% feeling "angry,” and 53% feeling "anxious." On the other hand, Republicans were more likely to feel "optimistic" (45%) or "hopeful" (41%).
• These feelings have not shifted significantly since a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted January 31 to February 2025.

A minority of Americans report cutting back or completely stopping spending on companies because of their stance on politics or current events.

• Democrats remain more likely to engage in politically motivated consumer activism. For example, more than two in five Democrats say they reduced spending (47%) or completely stopped purchasing (42%) from a company because of the company’s stance on politics or current events. Fewer independents and Republicans say the same of reducing spending (22% of independents, 11% of Republicans) or stopping spending altogether (17% of independents, 14 % of Republicans).
• Slightly fewer Americans say they completely stopped purchasing from a company because of their stance on politics or current events (31% mid-February to 21% now) or reduced spending to protest a company’s stance on politics or current events (29% mid-February to 24% now) because of politics or current events compared to an Ipsos poll conducted mid-February.

Americans are divided on the impact the Trump presidency has had on their life personally and emotionally.

• A plurality of Americans feel unhappy (42%) with the first month of the Trump presidency, compared to 32% who feel happy and 24% who have no opinion.
• While 79% of Republicans say they feel "happy" about the first month of Trump’s presidency, 81% of Democrats say they are "unhappy." Independents are more mixed, with a plurality (49%) feeling unhappy, 21% feeling happy, and 28% having no opinion.
• One in three Americans (32%) say the actions taken by the Trump administration has had a direct impact on their life, levels that are higher among Democrats (48%) compared to Republicans (27%) or independents (30%).

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted from February 28-March 2, 2025, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel^®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,025 adults age 18 or older. The sample includes 279 Republicans, 311 Democrats, and 323 independents.

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 U.S. 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 for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2024 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The 2024 presidential vote choice benchmarks came from the federal elections 2024 election results for the U.S. President.

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
• Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
• 2024 Presidential Election Vote (Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Other, Did not vote)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.0 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 1.67. For Republicans, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6.7 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.32. For Democrats, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 7.0 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.58. For independents, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 7.3 percentage points, and the design effect is 1.81.

The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on 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.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Jackson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 420-2025
[email protected]

Mallory Newall
Vice President, US
Public Affairs
+1 202 374-2613
[email protected]
 

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