WASHINGTON, D.C. — 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.
These findings are based on Americans’ views of 30 aspects of the country and related aspects of their lives as measured in Gallup polls between February 2025 and January 2026. Across all of the items, an average of 27% of Democrats have rated these conditions positively, while 67% have rated them negatively.
The 27% average is well below Democrats’ ratings during prior Republican presidencies. This includes an average 39% positive rating during Trump’s first term, 38% during George W. Bush’s second term and 45% during Bush’s first term.
By contrast, Republicans’ positivity as the out-party has been higher in recent years than Democrats’ is now. Republicans averaged 35% positive ratings during Joe Biden’s presidency, 41% during Barack Obama’s second term and 42% during his first.
What Was Measured
The 30 measures used for this analysis cover major national issues such as the nation’s economy, public education, crime, the environment, healthcare, immigration, race relations and global standing. They also encompass selected measures of people’s personal circumstances tied to public policy, such as their financial situation, the quality of healthcare they receive and the seriousness of crime in their communities. All of the measures ask about current conditions in each area, not future expectations or levels of worry. They have been tracked most years since 2001.
The full list of items used and the positive evaluations by each party during Trump’s second term are as follows.
In-Party Positivity Stronger for Republicans
Across the seven presidential terms examined, from George W. Bush’s first term through the start of Trump’s second term, both parties have consistently rated national conditions more positively when their own party controls the White House. However, that boost has been stronger and more consistent among Republicans.
Republicans’ average positive assessment of the country has exceeded 50% during each Republican presidential term this century. This includes an average 54% positive rating so far in Trump’s second term, 59% during Trump’s first term, 57% during Bush’s second term and 58% during Bush’s first.
Democrats’ peak positivity under recent Democratic presidents was 50% during Obama’s second term, after registering 42% in his first. It was 45% during Biden’s single term. Notably, the latter figures are only modestly higher than Republicans’ ratings as the out-party during those same periods.
Republican Exuberance Predates 21st Century
Gallup began asking most of the measures of Americans’ views on national conditions used in this analysis in 2001. However, Gallup’s longer-term “satisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time” question, first asked in 1979, can be used to extend the analysis further back in time. This single national satisfaction item also indicates that Republicans’ greater propensity than Democrats to feel positively about the country when their own party governs the White House was present in the 20th century as well.
More than half of Republicans reported being satisfied with the direction of the country in Ronald Reagan’s two terms as president in the 1980s (51% and 70%) and during George H.W. Bush’s presidency between 1989 and 1992 (53%). This is in addition to majorities being satisfied with the direction of the U.S. during George W. Bush’s two terms (71% and 51%), Trump’s first term (54%) and thus far in Trump’s second term (64%).
Democrats’ satisfaction with the direction of the country during Bill Clinton’s second term in the 1990s (65%) was the only time Democrats reached Republicans’ levels of in-party enthusiasm. But that was also a time when Republican satisfaction was the highest measured for an out-party (50%). Otherwise, Democrats’ satisfaction with the country during Democratic administrations has been well below 50%. That includes 42% during Clinton’s first term, 37% in Obama’s first term, 41% in Obama’s second term and 37% in Biden’s only term.
Partisan Divides at the Start of the Year
Each year in January, as part of its Mood of the Nation poll, Gallup measures Americans’ satisfaction with a battery of national conditions. This provides a comprehensive picture of Americans’ perspectives on the state of the nation ahead of the president’s address to Congress. While some of the items are included in the broader analysis of 30 items measured over the past year, the full January list allows for a citizens’ “state of the union” report in addition to providing a clear ranking of current partisan differences on the major issues facing the country.
Overall, majorities of Americans are currently satisfied with four areas of national concern — U.S. military strength and preparedness (72%), overall quality of life (63%), security from terrorism (59%), and the position of women in the nation (53%). Americans are about evenly split in their views on the opportunity for people to get ahead, as well as the acceptance of gay and lesbian people. Half or more are dissatisfied with all of the remaining areas measured in the poll.
Republicans’ satisfaction exceeds Democrats’ on almost every measure. However, the largest partisan gaps are mostly related to core aspects of the nation’s direction and performance. For instance, there is a 65-percentage-point gap between Republicans (78%) and Democrats (13%) in satisfaction with the role the U.S. plays in world affairs. There is a 60-point gap in satisfaction with the opportunity to get ahead through hard work, a 55-point gap in satisfaction with the nation’s economy, a 53-point gap in satisfaction with income and wealth distribution, and a 52-point gap in satisfaction with the position of women.
In addition, one of the largest partisan differences seen for a specific issue is on the nation’s laws or policies on guns, with which 72% of Republicans versus 15% of Democrats are satisfied, a 57-point gap.
The smallest gaps are seen on satisfaction with what Americans pay in federal taxes (no difference), the Social Security and Medicare systems (12 points), the level of immigration into the country (13 points), and the quality of public education (six points, with Democrats more satisfied).
The only aspect of the country that majorities of all party groups are satisfied with is the nation’s military strength, although to different degrees.
Independents generally fall between Republicans and Democrats in satisfaction with each area. However, on many measures, especially the economy, world affairs and race-related issues, independents’ ratings are much closer to Democrats’ than to Republicans’.
A Long-Term Malaise
Although Americans express low satisfaction with most aspects of public affairs, this is not new. The average annual ratings of 25 aspects of the country measured most consistently each January since 2001 show that satisfaction has long been subdued.
Satisfaction averaged above 50% only once, in January 2002, as Americans rallied around the country following 9/11. For the next two decades, average satisfaction fluctuated between 42% and 49% but fell to a new low of 40% in January 2021 — the first reading after the COVID pandemic emerged — and since then has only trended lower, with the 36% average this year being the lowest measured to date.
Where To From Here?
Gallup polling shows that Republicans’ and Democrats’ sensitivity to the party of the president in evaluating the country goes beyond broad national indicators like satisfaction with the country and confidence in government. It also extends to their views of national conditions in specific policy domains.
Historically, the strongest effect was seen in Republicans’ tendency to view national conditions more positively under Republican presidents. For instance, Republicans’ average positive view across the 30 areas reviewed for this analysis increased by 19 points between Biden’s presidency (35%) and the first year of Trump’s second term (54%). This is similar to Republicans’ 18-point positivity jump between Obama’s second term (41%) and Trump’s first (59%). However, this past year, Democrats’ shift has matched Republicans’ in magnitude, only in showing a decline in positivity about national conditions. Their positivity has fallen 18 points, from 45% under Biden to 27% under Trump.
Further research is needed to understand why Republicans’ assessments of national conditions historically have appeared more responsive than Democrats’ to which party holds the presidency — what could be termed a “partisan-lens effect.” One possibility is that Republicans attribute more influence to presidents in shaping national outcomes than do Democrats. However, separate Gallup research on that question, not detailed here, does not support that explanation.
Another possibility is that, when their own party controls the White House, Republicans have been more likely than Democrats to perceive real-world changes that align with their policy preferences. Whether that pattern has characterized Republicans in the past, a similar dynamic may be operating among Democrats today. In Trump’s first year back in office, the federal government has undertaken a substantial number of actions, including a historically high volume of executive orders, along with legislation advanced by a Republican-led Congress. Democrats’ reactions may reflect perceptions of those policy changes and their potential impact.
Gallup will continue tracking the indicators included in this analysis to assess whether the current level of partisan divergence persists over the remainder of Trump’s second term. Ongoing measurement will also make it possible to evaluate whether these gaps narrow, widen or shift direction with future changes in party control of the White House. Such trend data will be critical to understanding whether the recent patterns are a short-term response to recent events or become a durable feature of American politics.
Jeffrey M. Jones contributed to this article.
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