British News Agency

This special poll, conducted roughly a year after Trump’s reelection, reveals deep pessimism among voters, particularly among Democrats.

Voters who supported Harris last year are twice as likely as Trump voters to say that America’s best days are in the past.

Maury Giles, CEO of Braver Angels, a nonprofit that works to bridge partisan divides, said America as a nation feels “lost, confused or exhausted... like someone looking around and saying: this isn’t right, this isn’t the right path.”

When asked about the “best times” in U.S. history, only a small number of respondents pointed to the present moment.

Instead, about two-thirds of Harris voters said the nation’s best days were in the past — twice the share of Trump voters who said the same. A 55% majority of Trump voters said the best days are still ahead.

Jennifer McCoy, a political scientist at Georgia State University who focuses on partisanship, said, “Americans will be divided in how they view the country’s direction depending on who is in power and which party they identify with.”

When the White House and government shift to the control of another party, Americans’ views may change; but for now, pessimism is prevalent among Democrats.

More than half (51%) of Harris voters say America is no longer a functioning democracy, while 52% of Trump voters believe the opposite, saying the U.S. remains a model democracy.

The outlook among Democrats is so bleak that a large majority of Harris voters (70%) say the quality of life in the U.S. is at least somewhat worse than it was five years ago — before the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice protests, and the contentious presidential elections. Meanwhile, 42% of Trump voters say life in the U.S. is at least somewhat better than it was five years ago.