Opinion Weekend
February 21-22, 2026
Most Americans disapprove of Trump on issues; Americans don’t trust Dems in Congress more to handle problems Emily Guskin, ABC News Days ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress and a little more than two weeks before the first primary voters head to the polls, majorities of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling inflation, tariffs, relations with other countries, immigration and the economy, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted via Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel poll conducted shortly before the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s global tariffs.
60% disapprove of Trump ahead of State of the Union, Post-ABC poll finds Dan Balz and Scott Clement, Washington Post [unlocked] Democrats have made little headway in persuading Americans that they have better ideas or policies to offer.
Most Americans approve of the Supreme Court striking down Trump's tariffs David Montgomery, YouGov Most Americans (60%) strongly or somewhat approve of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down many tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, a new YouGov poll conducted hours after the decision finds. Only 23% of Americans disapprove of the Supreme Court's decision.
Majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs: ABC/Post/Ipsos poll Emily Guskin, ABC News A majority of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling tariffs on imported goods, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted via Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel shortly before the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s global tariffs.
Americans oppose the tactics ICE is using to enforce immigration laws by 2:1 margin Emily Guskin, ABC News In the weeks after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota during a surge to apprehend undocumented immigrants for deportation, Americans oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics by wide margins and President Donald Trump’s approval on immigration has dipped to the lowest of his second term, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.
Majority of Americans think Trump’s deportation campaign is going too far David Nakamura, Scott Clement and Isabelle Gibson, Washington Post [unlocked] A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll finds large numbers of Americans are living in fear of the deportation dragnet and dislike the administration’s approach.
Democrats Have Historically Dim View of National Conditions Lydia Saad and Sarah Hogenboom-Jones, Gallup Democrats’ views of national conditions throughout the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term have been more negative than those of either major party under any recent presidency. At the same time, Republicans have been mostly positive about conditions, as is typical for them when their party holds the White House.
The Epstein files add fuel to the fire Clifford Young, Ipsos Five charts on how Americans have reacted to the release of the Epstein files and what the reaction reveals about the state of America’s distrust of the elite
What Americans Think of Words like “Democracy” and “Authoritarianism” In These Times More in Common US We live in a moment marked by political conflict, institutional strain, and deep mistrust. Many Americans perceive democratic norms to be under pressure and social divisions as widening. Assuming unity seems quaint, even naive. Could there be any hope that Americans still agree on the language of civic life, like “democracy” and “freedom”? To find out, More in Common partnered with Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) to field the 2025 Civic Language Perceptions Project.
6 facts about national pride in the U.S. Julia Armeli and Laura Silver, Pew Research Center In a 2025 survey, we asked people in 25 nations to say – in their own words – what makes them proud of their country. In several ways, Americans’ answers stand out from those of people in other countries.
What Makes People Proud of Their Country? Pew Research Center From diversity in Indonesia to food in France: People in 25 countries share what makes them proud, in their own words More than half experienced extreme cold over the past five years AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research As a result of winter storms and freezing temperatures this year, 68% are receiving higher than usual electricity or gas bills.
Growing number of Americans report experiencing extreme cold, AP-NORC poll finds Isabella O’Malley and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, Associated Press Millions in North America kicked off 2026 with bitterly cold temperatures, with many saying it’s been years since they’ve experienced such frigid winter weather.
Top NATO allies believe cyberattacks on hospitals are an act of war. They’re still struggling to fight back. Maggie Miller, Dana Nickel and Antoaneta Roussi, Politico The POLITICO Poll, conducted in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, showed a majority of people agreed that a cyberattack that shuts down hospitals or power grids constitutes an act of war. Canadians felt the strongest about the issue, with 73 percent agreeing. Who better represents America? More Americans say Bad Bunny than Trump. Andrew Romano, Yahoo News The Yahoo/YouGov survey was conducted right after the Puerto Rican rapper's Super Bowl halftime performance, which the president described as "an affront to the Greatness of America."
Twice as many Americans tuned in to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show as watched Kid Rock Taylor Orth, YouGov Around half of Americans watched this year's Super Bowl, and while many enjoyed the game, an even larger share of those who watched the Bad Bunny halftime show rated it highly. Twice as many watched the official Bad Bunny halftime show as did the alternative All-American Halftime Show featuring Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert, though viewers of each show are about as likely to have enjoyed them.
