Know the New America & Beyond: February 2026
As the tariff landscape is upended by the U.S. Supreme Court, at least temporarily, more Americans say they have seen the results of tariffs in their everyday lives. Two in three Americans (67%) believe tariffs have already caused prices to rise on things they buy, an increase from 43% a year ago, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker. But multinational brands beware as you react to the shifting sands of tariffs — consumers are not OK with passing your increased costs on to them. Only 36% believe it’s fair for companies to pass tariff costs along to shoppers.
It’s just one part of the polarizing political landscape brands must navigate as they do business in the U.S., but new Ipsos polling shows that Americans are becoming more open to brands speaking up. The proportion of Americans who say companies should remain neutral on political issues has dropped by 7 percentage points, from 63% a year ago to 56% today, according to new data from the Ipsos Consumer Tracker. That’s driven by notable drops among men, 35- to 54-year-olds, and Democrats, whose support for company neutrality dropped 12, 19 and 22 percentage points, respectively.
Amid all this polarization, how did Americans feel about the Olympics? For most, politics and domestic strife didn’t affect pride on the international stage. Three in five (59%) said the U.S. team’s performance and participation in the Olympics made them proud to be an American, according to a new Ipsos poll. About the same number (61%) said they didn’t think much about political events in the U.S. and around the world when watching the Olympics, while 35% said it was hard to separate the Olympics from political events.
Thank you for reading — please contact us to help you navigate this uncertain environment.
Read on to discover the latest insights on America from Ipsos.
Fewer Americans want brands to remain neutral
Since last year, more Americans want brands to take a stand on political issues (56% say they should remain neutral today, vs. 63% last year), according to new data from the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.
- Americans aren’t buying the benefits of tariffs - Read more
U.S. performance at the Olympics made a majority proud to be American
A new Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans said the Olympic team’s performance made them proud to be an American, though slightly fewer held this sentiment now compared to 2024 (59% today vs. 64% in 2024).
Americans say Epstein files lowered their trust in U.S. political and business leaders
Shortly before former Prince Andrew was arrested in the United Kingdom for ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a majority of Americans said the Epstein files lowered their trust in U.S. political and business leaders, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Trump’s approval remains low but stable in the U.S.
Partisanship continues to be the primary driver of views on President Trump’s job performance. Republican approval remains strong and stable at 84%, statistically unchanged from the previous month. In sharp contrast, just 27% of independents and 4% of Democrats say they approve. This is the new norm in U.S. politics — former President Joe Biden faced a similar partisan split for much of his presidency, with high support from Democrats and extremely low support from Republicans.
U.S. consumer confidence is flat from January but down from last year
Americans’ confidence in the economy is stable from last month at surface level, but underneath, the data tells a more complex story. People have grown slightly more confidence in the current state of the economy, but their expectations for the future have dropped.
What the rest of the world thinks
The view from India
Indians have a love and hate relationship with the U.S. It is like an unpredictable friend. “Unpredictable,” as at times, it can put you in trouble for its own interest, but also a “friend” as there are cases of support when needed.
Actually, it is lot more confusing than this simple metaphor. The elite Indians who always held the U.S. as the aspirational destination, lately, have been forced to find alternatives. People in economic worlds love the growth the U.S. is fueling, particularly when Europe is struggling to live up to expectations, but hate the sudden changes in their standing, and postures that rattle the economic apple cart. The large traditional middle class would love to hate American culture, by all means, but enjoy all the comforts of its technologies. Politicians are scared of referring to the U.S. to gain any brownie points, as it may backfire tomorrow.
However, one thing Indians are quite assured of: The largest economy (the United States) cannot be unfriendly with top two largest populations (India and China).
Parijat Chakraborty
India Lead - Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation, ESG, CSR, Ipsos in India
Follow me on LinkedIn
Canada
- Canadians are equally likely to think the Trump administration is bluffing about an invasion and fearful of U.S. military threats - Read more
Brazil
- Brazilians agree with U.S. military action in Venezuela and prefer Brazil's neutrality - Read more
Denmark
- 5% of people in Denmark say Donald Trump is one of their biggest worries - Read more
United Kingdom
- 24% say defense and foreign affairs are among the most important issues, double from the previous month amid Trump’s threats against Denmark and demands for Greenland - Read more
- 59% of Brits say they wouldn’t date a Trump supporter - Read more
Italy
- 63% of Italians say they don’t like Donald Trump; 20% say they do - Read more
And finally, other Ipsos global reports this month
- The Excess Factor: For marketers under pressure to do more with less, there’s a roadmap for outperforming category leaders without matching their spend – by designing brands that are more desired, more often, and easier to choose.
- Synthetic Data Boosting: Market research is increasingly turning to synthetic data to solve their analytical challenges when traditional methods of data collection fall short, particularly when the sample sizes are limited or unevenly distributed. Enter synthetic data boosting, a cutting-edge approach gaining traction among companies worldwide, including Ipsos.
- Love Life Satisfaction survey: The 2026 survey finds most people are happy with the love in their life and their romantic relationship, but are less satisfied with their sex lives.
- Ipsos Update: Our regular round-up of research from around the world features a poll digest alongside short summaries of the latest releases.
