Opinion Today: Topline
Selected links from the September 23, 2025, edition of Opinion Today
U.S. Mood Subdued as Crime, Unity Concerns Rise Lydia Saad, Gallup Americans’ satisfaction with the country’s direction has dipped to its lowest level since Trump returned to office, driven largely by a decline among Republicans. Rising public concern about crime and national unity, both of which spiked this month, may be contributing to the slide. At the same time, confidence in the president and the economy has not shifted, underscoring that the dip in national mood is a reflection of other factors.
Republicans lose voters’ trust on the issues Eli Yokley & Cameron Easley, Morning Consult More Consumers Expect Decreases in Federal Benefits, Higher Age to Claim Social Security Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Opinions of the EU remain mostly favorable across 25 countries Sneha Gubbala and Sofia Hernandez Ramones, Pew Research Center
Global Optimism Declines According to Ipsos Global Trends 9th Edition Jennifer Bender, Ipsos MAHA: Americans and Health and Wellness Rachael Russell and Erica Seifert, Navigator Research
Politics is Bad For Our Health Mark Schulman, Markschulman’s Substack A lot of powerful people just don’t realize how unpopular Trump is G. Elliott Morris, Strength In Numbers Republicans see Trump as unusually resistant to bribery Philip Bump Kirk’s memorial was an emblem of the Trump era — and a sign of what’s ahead Karen Tumulty, Washington Post The Firing of Educators Over Kirk Comments Follows a Familiar Playbook Stephanie Saul, New York Times [unlocked] The US veers toward Christian nationalism Zachary B. Wolf, CNN Trump’s Tax Cut Is Underwater. Can a ‘Refund Boom’ Save It? Andrew Duehren, New York Times [unlocked] Democrats Are Picking the Wrong Shutdown Fight Nate Silver, New York Times [unlocked] Why Democrats can’t match Trump’s gerrymander push Natalie Fertig, Politico White House bullish after a long string of Supreme Court victories Lawrence Hurley and Katherine Doyle, NBC News
The Rise of the Strongman Presidency William G. Howell (Johns Hopkins) and Terry M. Moe (Stanford), Can We Still Govern? I Thought I Knew Silicon Valley. I Was Wrong Steven Levy, Wired A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media – shaping the news and culture Americans watch and stream Pawel Popiel, Dwayne Winseck, Hendrik Theine and Sydney Forde, The Conversation Why are there so many protests? Seth Warner (University of Connecticut), The Conversation It’s JAMA time, baby! Junk science presented as public health research Andrew Gelman, Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
There’s more in today’s FULL edition of Opinion Today:
PLAYLIST
Why A Lifelong Free Speech Defender Is Optimistic In This Moment
GD POLITICS'This economy will be the key': Enten breaks down polling on Republican vs Democratic party trust
CNNTamara Keith and Amy Walter on the future of the MAGA movement
PBS News Hour