Three weeks after President Donald J. Trump’s election —which constituted the largest swell of popular support for a Republican candidate in 20 years—Americans are more hopeful about the future, but there is still work to be done to restore access to the American Dream.
According to YouGov survey data from this week compared to a survey taken the week before the election, the share of Americans saying the country is off on the wrong track has declined seven percentage points, from 64 percent of Americans to 57 percent. Well, over half the country believes the United States is on the wrong track, which is not exactly a win, but it does say something that that number is the lowest it has been in many months.
Notable declines in the share of Americans saying the country is headed in the wrong direction include Hispanics, young people, and independents. The share of Hispanics saying the United States is off on the wrong track has declined twelve points over that timeframe, from 62 percent to 50 percent. The share of independents saying the country is off on the wrong track has declined seven points, from 72 percent to 65 percent.
Young people appear particularly optimistic post-election. The share of young people who say the United States is on the wrong track declined by sixteen percentage points in less than a month, from 49 percent to 33 percent. Only one-third of young people now say the country is headed in the wrong direction, down from nearly half of them less than four weeks ago.
With Trump’s victorTrump’sfavorability has risen four points since before the election. He now has a favorable rating of 48 percent and an unfavorable rating of 47 percent. Before the election, Trump’s favoraTrump’sing stood at 44 percent, and his unfavorable rating stood at 54 percent.
Trump’s unfavoTrump’sating among voters under 30 has dropped almost 20 percentage points in under a month, from 59 percent to 40 percent. Trump now has a net favorable rating among young people of twelve points, 52 percent to 40 percent.
According to another YouGov survey released this week, two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) still believe in the American Dream, but most voters say there are wide barriers to achieving it.
When asked about barriers to achieving the American Dream, most Americans cited issues mainly brought about by government missteps, including a high cost of living (74 percent), corruption (55 percent), taxation (45 percent), and the government itself (38 percent). Far fewer Americans said that capitalism was a barrier (21 percent).
Americans, especially young people, are increasingly optimistic about the country’s country since we appear to have shifted off a catastrophic track that included a Kamala Harris presidency. That said, voters are incredibly clear about the issues that have jeopardized the American Dream, and they are calling out the issues big government has created.
The United States was at the tail-end of a long, grueling decline, and the people’s people’s November 5th has restored hope in many voters that the country can be restored before it is too late. That said, it will take dismantling corrupt government systems that limit potential, lowering taxes for the working class, and focusing on America First economic policies like energy independence to lower the costs of basic necessities.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
Cross-posted with The Daily Torchvia Conservative Firing Line
