Opinion Weekend
May 9-10, 2026
Poll: Republicans and Democrats agree on one big election issue Anna Wiederkehr, Politico New results from The POLITICO Poll are stark: 72 percent of Americans say there is too much money in politics, with just 5 percent disagreeing. Across parties, majorities say billionaires wield outsized influence over U.S. politics and that special interest spending is a type of corruption that should be restricted, rather than protected as free speech.
The midterm enthusiasm gap Ipsos Five charts on the political mood of the country heading into the 2026 midterm elections
Consumers continue to feel buffeted by cost pressures Joanne Hsu, University of Michigan Consumer sentiment was essentially unchanged this month, coming in a scant 1.6 index points below April’s reading and comparable to the trough reached in June 2022. While the expectations index inched up, current conditions fell back about 9%, owing to a surge in concerns about high prices both for personal finances as well as buying conditions for major purchases. Real income expectations continued a decline that began in March. About one-third of consumers spontaneously mentioned gasoline prices and about 30% mentioned tariffs.
Confidence in Financial Institutions Joanne Hsu, University of Michigan The Surveys of Consumers have monitored consumer confidence in various financial institutions for over thirty years.... This year, these questions were asked amid soaring gas prices, concerns about a resurgence of inflation, and continued threats to Fed independence as Jerome Powell’s term as Chair comes to a close. Against this backdrop, this special report discusses recent trends in confidence in various financial institution types for Americans as a whole, then focuses on heterogeneity across population subgroups—political affiliation and stock market participation.
How many Americans think they could beat Donald Trump in a fight? David Montgomery, YouGov This week, at a White House event about physical fitness, Donald Trump asked a boy, "You think you could take me in a fight?" We at YouGov thought that was a striking question, and promptly asked 2,609 Americans whether they thought an eight-year-old boy, a typical American, and themselves could win a physical fight with Trump.
