NATIONAL: AMERICA REMAINS DEEPLY DIVIDED

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1 Please attribute this information to: Monmouth University Poll West Long Branch, NJ Follow on Released: Wednesday, 22, Contact: PATRICK MURRAY (cell); (office) Follow on NATIONAL: AMERICA REMAINS DEEPLY DIVIDED Neither party paying enough attention to economic concerns West Long Branch, NJ Three-in-four Americans say the country continues to be greatly divided with a majority saying the situation has worsened since Donald Trump took office. On the other hand, the Monmouth University Poll also found a slight dampening of the amount of anger directed toward Washington. Neither political party is seen as giving enough attention to key economic concerns, but the GOP has an ever-so-slight advantage among independent voters and its own partisans when it comes to paying the right amount of attention to both economic and social issues. Fully three-quarters (7) of the nation feel that Americans are greatly divided when it comes to our most. This number is up slightly from 70% who said the same last year, with widespread agreement across all demographic groups. Only 2 believe that Americans are united and in agreement about our core principles. Just over half (5) of the public say that the country has become more divided since Pres. Trump took office. Only 1 say the country has actually become more united and 3 say not much has changed since Trump entered the White House. Those who say the country has become more divided since Trump s inauguration include 7 of ocrats, 50% of independents, and 3 of ublicans. Only of ublicans think the country has become more united under Trump, which is not significantly different from the of independents and of ocrats who feel the same. The country is divided and it s not getting better. The body politic pitted against itself may be the new normal, said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, New Jersey. A majority (5) of the public feel that all or most Americans feel angry about Washington politics. This result is down from 6 who said the same just over one year ago. ocrats (5) and independents (5) are more likely than ublicans (4) to feel that the public is largely angry at 1

2 Monmouth University Polling Institute 03/22/17 Washington. This finding represents a 30 point drop in perceived anger among ublicans (from 7 in 2016), while the results for independents (6) and ocrats (5) are largely unchanged from Most of the public (5) sees partisans from both sides of the aisle as equally angry at the federal government, although 3 say these angry Americans tend more to be ocrats and say they tend more to be ublicans. These results have shifted from a year ago, when 6 said Americans from both parties were equally angry, said ublicans were more angry, and said ocrats were more angry. Currently. 6-in-10 ocrats (5) and independents (5) say Americans from both parties are equally angry while half of ublicans (50%) say that ocrats are the ones carrying a grudge. A year ago, Americans who identified as ocrats (5), ublicans (6), and independents (6) were just as likely to see this angry mood affecting voters from both parties equally. When party control of the executive and legislative branches was split, Americans of all partisan stripes tended to see both sides as angry. w that the GOP runs both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, ublicans are more likely to paint ocrats as the enraged group, said Murray. The Monmouth University Poll also asked Americans whether each party is paying the right amount of attention to everyday economic issues and hot button social issues. Both parties earn poor marks for how much energy they devote to dealing with the economic concerns facing Americans. Nearly two-thirds say that both the ublican Party (6) and the ocratic Party (6) do not give enough attention to these issues. Just 1-in-4 say the parties pay the right amount of attention ( ublican and ocrat) and very few say they pay too much attention to everyday economic issues ( ublican and ocrat). When it comes to hot button social issues, nearly half (4) of the public say the ublican Party does not give enough attention and nearly 4-in-10 (3) say the ocratic Party does not. Only 1 feel that the GOP focuses too much on social issues while slightly more () say the same about the ocrats. About 1-in-4 say both parties give social issues the right amount of attention ( ublican and ocrat). There appears to be a slight advantage for ublicans on this issue-focus metric when the results of partisans and independents are examined. Slightly more Americans who identify as ublican (5) feel their party gives economic issues the right amount of attention than ocratic identifiers say about their own party (4). ependents do not have a positive view of either side when it comes to economic issues, but the ocratic Party (7 not enough attention) is seen as slightly worse than the ublican Party (6 not enough attention). These results should give pause to anyone already writing stories about the ublicans being in trouble for the midterms. There is a long way to go until 2018 and key voting blocs are not predisposed to simply write off the GOP and flock to the ocrats, said Murray. He added, This poll was conducted 2

3 Monmouth University Polling Institute 03/22/17 before the new health care and budget proposals were announced, so it will be interesting to see if these attitudes shift as the public digests how this will affect them. It is also worth noting that most ocratic-identifiers say the GOP does not pay enough attention to social issues (6) while ublican-identifiers tend to say that the ocratic Party pays too much attention to these hot button issues (4). These conflicting results may simply be a reflection of who is calling the shots in Washington. Conservatives may feel that their concerns are finally being heard and are less worried about having a seat at the table, while ocrats feel left out in the cold, said Murray. The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from 2 to 5, with 801 adults in the United States. The results in this release have a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ. QUESTIONS AND RESULTS (* Some columns may not add to 100% due to rounding.) [Q1-15 previously released.] Thinking about the entire country 16. Which statement comes closer to your view: Americans are united and in agreement about the most - OR - Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most? [CHOICES WERE ROTATED] August 2016* Americans are united 2 2 Americans are greatly divided 7 70% (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) (803) * Registered voters 17. Has the country become more united, more divided, or not really changed since President Trump took office? More united 1 More divided 5 t really changed 3 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) 18. How many Americans do you think feel angry about Washington politics all, most, about half, some, or very few? TREND: January 2016 All Most 4 5 About half 30% 2 Some 1 Very few (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) (1,003) 3

4 Monmouth University Polling Institute 03/22/ And do you think these angry Americans tend more to be ublicans, tend more to be ocrats, or belong equally to both parties? TREND: January 2016 ublicans ocrats 3 Equally 5 6 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) (1,003) [QUESTIONS 20 THROUGH 23 WERE ROTATED] 20. Does the ublican Party t enough 6 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) 21. Does the ublican Party hotbutton 1 t enough 4 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) 22. Does the ocratic Party t enough 6 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) 23. Does the ocratic Party hotbutton t enough 3 (VOL) Don t know (n) (801) [Q24-38 previously released.] [Q39-53 held for future release.] 4

5 Monmouth University Polling Institute 03/22/17 METHODOLOGY The Monmouth University Poll was sponsored and conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute from 2 to 5, with a national random sample of 801 adults age 18 and older, in English. This includes 401 contacted by a live interviewer on a landline telephone and 400 contacted by a live interviewer on a cell phone. Telephone numbers were selected through random digit dialing and landline respondents were selected with a modified Troldahl-Carter youngest adult household screen. Monmouth is responsible for all aspects of the survey design, data weighting and analysis. Final sample is weighted for region, age, education, gender and race based on US Census information. Data collection support provided by Braun Research (field) and SSI (RDD sample). For results based on this sample, one can say with 9 confidence that the error attributable to sampling has a maximum margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points (unadjusted for sample design). Sampling error can be larger for subgroups (see table below). In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls. DEMOGRAPHICS (weighted) Self-orted ublican 4 ependent 3 ocrat 4 Male 5 Female White 1 Black 1 Hispanic Asian/Other MARGIN OF ERROR unweighted sample moe (+/-) REGISTERED VOTER % SELF-REPORTED ublican % ependent ocrat IDEOLOGY Liberal Moderate Conservative Male Female % AGE % White non-hispanic Other UATE degree % 4 year degree <$50K $50 to <100K $100K VOTE BY COUNTY Trump % Swing Clinton ### 5

6 Monmouth University Poll -- NATIONAL -- 3/22/17 16/B1. Which statement comes closer to your view: Americans are united and in agreement about the most Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most % degree 16/B1. Which statement comes closer to your view: Americans are united and in agreement about the most Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most % /B1. Which statement comes closer to your view: Americans are united and in agreement about the most Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most 1 80% % 17/B2. Has the country become more united, more divided, or not really changed since President Trump took office? More united More divided t really changed % degree 17/B2. Has the country become more united, more divided, or not really changed since President Trump took office? More united More divided t really changed % % 3 Page 1

7 Monmouth University Poll -- NATIONAL -- 3/22/17 17/B2. Has the country become more united, more divided, or not really changed since President Trump took office? More united More divided t really changed % /B3. How many Americans do you think feel angry about Washington politics - all, most, about half, some, or very few? All Most About half Some Very few 4 30% % % % % 18/B3. How many Americans do you think feel angry about Washington politics - all, most, about half, some, or very few? All Most About half Some Very few % degree 40% /B3. How many Americans do you think feel angry about Washington politics - all, most, about half, some, or very few? All Most About half Some Very few % Page 2

8 Monmouth University Poll -- NATIONAL -- 3/22/17 19/B4. And do you think these angry Americans tend more to be ublicans, tend more to be ocrats, or belong equally to both parties? ublicans ocrats Equally % 40% % % 4 19/B4. And do you think these angry Americans tend more to be ublicans, tend more to be ocrats, or belong equally to both parties? ublicans ocrats Equally degree /B4. And do you think these angry Americans tend more to be ublicans, tend more to be ocrats, or belong equally to both parties? ublicans ocrats Equally 3 60% % /B5. Does the ublican Party t enough 6 30% /B5. Does the ublican Party t enough % % 5 7 degree 2 6 Page 3

9 Monmouth University Poll -- NATIONAL -- 3/22/17 20/B5. Does the ublican Party t enough 30% /B6. Does the ublican Party hotbutton t enough % /B6. Does the ublican Party hotbutton t enough % % % 1 degree /B6. Does the ublican Party hotbutton t enough % 1 22/B7. Does the ocratic Party t enough % % 7 Page 4

10 Monmouth University Poll -- NATIONAL -- 3/22/17 22/B7. Does the ocratic Party t enough 30% degree 6 22/B7. Does the ocratic Party t enough % 70% 5 23/B8. Does the ocratic Party hotbutton t enough /B8. Does the ocratic Party hotbutton t enough % % degree /B8. Does the ocratic Party hotbutton t enough % 30% % Page 5