According to research by the Pew Research Center
• Where regular users of 30 news sources place themselves by party, ideology (Pew Research Center, 6-10-25)
• Most Americans say government has a responsibility to ensure health care coverage (Andrew Daniller, Pew Research Center, 12-10-25)
Most Americans (66%) say the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage.
• Public Trust in Government: 1958-2025 (Pew Research Center, 12-4-25)
Just 17% of Americans now say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (15%). While trust in government has been low for decades, the current measure is one of the lowest in the nearly seven decades since the question was first asked by the National Election Study, and it is lower than it was last year (22%).
• How Americans feel about the Republican and Democratic parties
(Steven Shepard,Andy Cerda,Joseph Copeland,Ted Van Green and Shanay Gracia, Pew Research, 10-30-25)
A year ahead of the midterms, Americans' dim views of both parties.
Americans largely have negative feelings toward both political parties, while positive sentiments are far less common. Three-quarters of U.S. adults say the Democratic Party makes them feel frustrated, while a smaller majority (64%) says the same of the Republican Party.
Both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly express negative feelings toward the opposing party.
Democrats are more widely viewed as respectful of democracy and tolerant of different types of people.
Many Americans express frustration with both parties, especially Democrats
Democrats are highly critical of their own party; Republicans feel much more positively about the GOP
Main reason why Democrats say they are frustrated with their party: Democratic leaders aren’t fighting hard enough against Donald Trump
Nearly half of Republicans say the GOP is too extreme; 38% of Democrats say the same of their party
Nearly a third of Americans say both parties are ‘too extreme’; about a quarter say neither governs in an honest and ethical way
• How Americans View the Israel-Hamas Conflict 2 Years Into the War (Pew Research, 10-3-25)
About six-in-ten now have an unfavorable view of the Israeli government, with a rising share saying Israel is ‘going too far.’
• Growing share of Americans say fewer people having kids would negatively impact the U.S.
(Rachel Minkin, Pew Research, 9-30-25)
• How well the Republican and Democratic parties represent Americans’ interests (10-30-25)
About four-in-ten U.S. adults (42%) say the Republican Party represents the interests of people like them very or somewhat well.
A similar share (40%) say this about the Democratic Party.
A quarter of Americans say neither party represents their interests well.
Most Americans feel represented by only one of the political parties.
• Growing share of Americans say the U.S. higher education system is headed in the wrong direction
In both parties, the share that say the higher education system is going in the wrong direction has gone up by at least 10 percentage points since 2020.
• How Do Americans View Childhood Vaccines, Vaccine Research and Policy?
(Eileen Yam, Emma Kikuchi and Isabelle Pula, Pew Research, 11-18-25)
Nearly two-thirds have high confidence in vaccine effectiveness, and about half trust their safety testing and schedule
Republican support for school vaccine requirements continues to slide
• Americans’ views of allies and threats
(Eileen Yam, Emma Kikuchi and Isabelle Pula, Pew Research, 5-1-25)
When asked which country poses the greatest threat to the U.S., China remains at the top of Americans’ list.
Since we last asked this question in 2023, however, the share who name China as the biggest threat has declined, while the share who name Russia has grown.
China poses the greatest threat to the U.S. when asked in an open-ended question.
Russia is named by the next-largest share (25%).
Smaller shares say no country (4%), the U.S. itself (3%) or Iran (2%) is the greatest threat.
Roughly four-in-ten Americans (37%) say they are unsure which country is the United States’ greatest ally. As in the past, the United Kingdom is mentioned more than any other nation.
But the shares who call Canada or Israel the top ally have increased since 2023.
• Demographics of Americans who get most of their political news from social media
(Amy Mitchell, Mark Jurkowitz, J. Baxter Oliphantm and Elisa Shearer, Pew Research Center, 7-30-2020)
1. "Americans who mainly get their news on social media are less engaged, less knowledgeable."
2. U.S. adults who mostly get news through social media lag behind others in attention to election and pandemic news
3. U.S. adults who mostly rely on social media for political news are often less knowledgeable about current events
4. In addition to lower awareness of current events, social media news users hear more about some unproven claims