2016 US Politics - 58% Of Americans Believe That The US Are Headed In The Wrong Direction (December 7)

Trends

Overall, 58% of Americans believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction, with Republicans’ (64%), and Independents’ (67%) having about the same amount of pessimism. Democrats’ are slightly more optimistic, as only 53% said the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The economy remains at the top of the list of the most serious problem facing the United States, at 19%.

Approval

President Obama’s approval rating has remained at 53% approve, with disapproval at 42%.

Both Mike Pence and Donald Trump are enjoying higher favorability since the election with over half (59%) favorable towards the Vice President-Elect and more than half (52%) currently favorable towards President-Elect Donald Trump.

Trump Administration

As President-Elect Trump announces potential appointments for the new administration, we will be gauging the American public’s opinion of those candidates. This week:

• Mitt Romney is the best known with 98% of Americans aware of him and 55% of these holding favorable opinions towards him.
• Benjamin Carson is the second best well known (89%) and the most highly regarded with 60% of these viewing him as favorable.
• John Bolton (56% aware, 49% favorable) and Bob Corker (52% aware, 47% favorable) are both only moderately well-known, with fairly low favorability ratings (all below the 50% mark).
• Nikki Haley’s ratings follow a different pattern, with similar proportions (59%) of Americans aware of her but a slightly more positive assessment when it comes to favorability (54% favorable, 46% unfavorable).

President-Elect Trump’s personnel moves to date have started to boost Americans’ confidence. Last week, only 33% of Americans said that Donald Trump’s choices for his cabinet make them feel more confident about the new administration. This week, that number had increased to 40%, with only 34% saying that his choices make them feel less confident.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thomson Reuters December 2-6, 2016. For the survey, a sample of 1,716 Americans, including 732 Democrats, 633 Republicans, 193 Independents ages 18+ were interviewed online.