By Janita Kan
Americans say they are more satisfied with the economy, national security, and several other key issues now compared to when President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, according to a new Gallup poll.
The polling data, released on Jan. 27, found that public satisfaction with the nation’s economy, security from terrorism, military strength, and the state of race relations rose by double digits. In January 2017, 46 percent of Americans were satisfied with the nation’s economy, but this rose by 22 percentage points to 68 percent in January 2020. Similar increases were recorded for the satisfaction with the handling of security from terrorism, which rose 18 percentage points from 50 to 68 percent. Satisfaction for military strength and preparedness rose 15 percentage points from 66 to 81, while for the state of race relations, satisfaction rose from 22 percent to 36 percent, a 14 percentage point increase, amid falling African American unemployment rates.
Other issues also saw a jump in public satisfaction including the nation’s policies to reduce and control crime (with a 47 percent satisfaction in 2020), the position of blacks and other racial minorities in the nation (46 percent satisfaction), income and wealth distribution in the country (43 percent satisfaction), and the opportunities for individuals to get ahead by working hard (72 percent satisfaction).
Meanwhile, respondents to the survey expressed decreased satisfaction on several topics such as on the quality of the environment in the nation, which fell from 52 percent to 46; the level of immigration into the country, 41 percent to 35 percent; and the nation’s policies regarding abortion, which fell from 39 percent to 32 percent.
Gallup said the average satisfaction for the 27 issues tracked is at 47 percent, which is up three points from 2018 and is at its highest level since January 2005. They say the average satisfaction is “roughly on par” with levels in the early 2000s. Tracking began in 2001.
The pollsters also found in another set of data released on Jan. 24 that 41 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 58 percent are dissatisfied. This is up from 29 percent in 2017 and is also the highest level reached since 2005. The highest satisfaction level Gallup has ever recorded was 71 percent in February 1999.
One reason for drops in public satisfaction in recent years, Gallup suggested, is because respondents who identify with a particular party that does not occupy the White House seem reluctant to express satisfaction with how things are going in the country.
“Since 2005, on average, 11 percent of the opposition party’s supporters have said they were satisfied. Between 1992 (the earliest year for which Gallup compiled party data) and 2004, the opposition party’s satisfaction levels were three times higher, at 34 percent,” Gallup stated.
The Mood of the Nation poll was conducted by telephone between Jan. 2 and 15 with a random sample of 1,014 Americans over the age of 18 across the country. Going into the 2020 election year, the poll could give some indications of public opinion on presidential job approval, satisfaction with the direction of the country, and economic confidence. The margin of sampling error for the recent mood of the nation poll is plus and minus 4 percentage points.
