United States: The general public of the United States has expressed dismay against the federal government and more than half of the population outlined that they did not see the future of the US political system.
According to a recently conducted study by the Pew Research Center, as many as 63 percent of Americans denied expressing anything or said that they have no confidence in the future of the political system of the United States. It is to be noted that just four percent (4%) of Americans mentioned that they believe that the US political system is working extremely well.
Moreover, 23 percent (23%) of US adults underlined that the working of the federal government is somewhat well.
Positive views of institutions at historic low: Pew Research Centre
The latest research has underlined that the trust of many governmental and political institutions “has hovered near historic lows for the better part of the last 20 years.” Presently, it stands at the lowest levels in the last seven decades.
Accordingly, just 16 percent (16%) of the public expressed satisfaction towards the US government always or more than half times.
One of the findings of the research underlined that the number of people – who dislike both political parties – has experienced a significant increase. According to the Pew Research Centre, three in ten, i.e., 28 percent (28%) of the total population, outlined that they are disappointed with the working of both political alliances. These figures are the highest in the last three decades of polling.
In addition to this, around 25 percent (25%) of individuals expressed that they are not satisfied with any one of the political parties.
Pew Research Centre has shared the findings from the time when the nation had the highest voter turnout. The three record-breaking voter turnouts were reported during the elections of 2018, 2020, and 2022.
Public views on candidate choice
As the frontrunners for the 2024 presidential elections gear up for campaigns, the majority of adult Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with the candidates “who have emerged so far.” The Research Centre has witnessed “a downward trend in views of the quality of all political candidates.”
Furthermore, it was unveiled that around 26 percent (26%) of the population expressed that the candidates – representing the political alliances – are somewhat good. The percentage has witnessed a decline of 20 percent since the year 2018.
While expressing their frustration with the candidates and the political parties, the majority of the people shared key changes to the political system of the United States. The changes by the public included long-standing proposals such as establishing term limits for members of Congress and scrapping the Electoral College.
Emotions felt by the public while talking about the US federal system
Surprisingly, just four percent (4%) of the American population felt excited while talking about politics; however, two-thirds of Americans, i.e., 65 percent (65%), expressed that they felt exhausted. As many as 55 percent (55%) stated that US politics make them furious and angry, and 10 percent (10%) outlined that they are hopeless about politics.
While expressing the US political system in their own words, just 2 percent (2%) of the participants of the survey used positive terms, whereas the majority 79 percent (79%) used negative words, such as divisive and corrupt, according to the reports by Pew Research Centre.
In addition to this, the researchers also asked the general public to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the US government.
Pew Research Centre further notified that the latest study conducted was based on the two surveys – which were performed between June 5 and 11 and July 10 and 16. The surveys were conducted among 5,115 and 8,480 adults, respectively.