Roughly half of Americans say the country’s best times are in the past, according to a Politico poll released Sunday.
In the survey, conducted in mid-October, 49 percent of respondents say the best of times are “behind us,” while 41 percent say the best times are “yet to come,” and 10 percent say the best times are happening “right now.”
A split emerges on party lines, with President Trump’s supporters more optimistic about the future.
Among those who voted for Trump in 2024, 55 percent say the best times are ahead, 31 percent say they’re in the past, and 14 percent say the best times are happening right now.
Among former Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2024 voters, 62 percent say the best times are in the past, while 32 percent say the best times are yet to come and 7 percent say the best times are right now.
The gloomy outlook for the country is reflected in respondents’ views about the “American dream.”
Nearly half, 46 percent, of U.S. adults agree the American dream “no longer exists,” including more than half of respondents younger than 45. Only 26 percent overall disagree the American dream “no longer exists,” and a combined 28 percent of respondents say neither or they don’t know.
A slim majority of Harris voters, at 51 percent, say the Americans dream no longer exists, while 20 percent disagree. Trump voters are split: 38 percent agree, and 38 percent disagree.
Few Americans say life today was better than it was five years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, just months before former President Biden took office.
Compared to five years ago, 62 percent say the state of the world is worse today, while 20 percent say it’s better; 54 percent say the quality of life in the U.S. is worse, while 24 percent say it’s better; and 59 percent say political polarization in the country is worse, while only 16 percent say it’s better.
The survey was conducted Oct. 18-21 and included 2,051 US adults. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.
Source: The Hill - News
