September 19, 2025
Since June, the share of adults who say the country is on the wrong track increased 13 percentage points from 62% to 75%. The shift occurred primarily among Republicans. In June, 29% of Republicans said the country was heading in the wrong direction. That number is now 51%. The vast majority of Democrats have felt the country is headed in the wrong direction since Donald Trump won the election in 2024.
Among Republicans, there are notable differences by age and gender: those under 45 are more likely than older Republicans (61% vs 43%) to say the country is off track, and Republican women are more likely than men (60% vs 43%) to share that view.
Views on Donald Trump’s handling of the issues are highly partisan. Trump’s best issues are boarder security (55% approve) and crime (46%). Roughly 4 in 10 approve of his handling of health care, trade, the economy, the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, foreign policy, and immigration.
Overall, 39% of adults approve of the way Trump is handing his job as president and 60% disapprove.
Roughly 60% of the public feels Trump has gone too far in imposing new tariffs on other countries, using presidential power to achieve his goals, and in using the military or federal law enforcement in U.S. cities.
Nearly all Democrats believe Trump is overstepping in these policy areas. Most Republicans say Trump’s actions are about right, but nearly a quarter believe deploying the national guard and his using presidential powers are excessive, and about a third feel imposing new tariffs has gone too far.
Many adults remain dissatisfied with their political leaders—including both parties, the president, and the vice president. Fifty-four percent of adults hold an unfavorable view of Trump, with most describing their opinion as very unfavorable rather than somewhat unfavorable (44% vs. 10%). Similar shares express unfavorable views of the Democratic Party (53%) and the Republican Party (51%). Views of Vice President J.D. Vance are somewhat less negative, with 46% viewing him unfavorably. However, favorability is also lower at 32%, with 21% saying they don’t know enough about him to form an opinion.
Trump took control of the local police department and deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to Washington, D.C., in August 2025. Crime continues to be a relatively positive issue for Trump. And half of adults say it is acceptable to use the U.S. military and National Guard to assist local police departments. However, the public is more divided on using the U.S. military and National Guard to carry out immigration deportation operations within U.S. cities, with Republicans far more likely than Democrats to support such a measure.
When it comes to taking control of local police departments, 61% consider the action unacceptable. Republicans are evenly divided with 43% who say it is unacceptable and 44% who say it is acceptable. Majorities of Democrats and independents also view the practice as unacceptable.
The nationwide poll was conducted September 11-15, 2025 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,183 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.8 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Pessimism about the direction of the country is growing among Republicans.” (September 2025). https://apnorc.org/projects/pessimism-about-the-direction-of-the-country-is-growing-among-republicans/
