Free Republic

A recent analysis published by the left-leaning Brookings Institution -- which highlights Pew data -- demonstrates significant erosion within Joe Biden's 2020 victory coalition, across multiple key demographics. It cites "major shifts away from Biden have occurred among Black, Hispanic, and Asian voters. Surprisingly, Trump appears to have gained more ground among college-educated Black and Hispanic voters than with less educated members of these groups. Equally surprising: Up to now, Trump has increased his support more among women than men." All survey data should be considered with a large grain of salt with half a year still remaining before the...

As we await the Supreme Court decision that could bring an end to affirmative action, Pew Research has published the results of a poll showing that fully half of US adults disapprove of it.Half of U.S. adults say they disapprove of selective colleges and universities taking prospective students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds into account when making admissions decisions. Fewer (33%) approve of colleges considering race and ethnicity to increase diversity at the schools, while 16% are not sure.With the court nearing the end of its term and decisions in two related cases involving the private Harvard College and the public...

The number of children and teens killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 and 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest annual mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 1,732 gun deaths among U.S. children and teens under the age of 18. By 2021, that figure had increased to 2,590. The gun death rate among children and teens – a measure that adjusts for changes in the nation’s population – rose from 2.4 fatalities per 100,000 minor residents in 2019...

Nearly two years into his presidency, Joe Biden’s job rating stands at 38% – identical to Donald Trump’s approval rating at a similar point in his presidency, but lower than those of some other recent presidents in the run-up to their first midterm election. The trajectory of presidential job approval differs for each White House occupant. Biden began his presidency with majority approval: In March 2021, 54% of Americans approved of Biden’s job performance, and his rating rose to 59% a month later. But his popularity declined sharply last summer and has been in the low 40s or high 30s...

Greek coast guard ships opened fire on a cargo vessel sailing in international waters in the Aegean Sea, the Turkish coast guard said, escalating tensions between the regional rivals that have mounted in recent weeks. There were no casualties in the shooting 11 nautical miles (13 miles) southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday, the Turkish statement said. It added that after “harassment fire” from two Greek coast guard vessels, two Turkish coast guard ships went to the area and the Greek boats left. Calls to the Greek Embassy in Ankara went unanswered Sunday, and it wasn't clear...

Negative views of China among the world’s most advanced economies hover at near-record highs amid concerns about Beijing’s human rights record, according to a recent survey conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center.A Pew report detailing the results of the survey of 17 advanced economies in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region released on June 30 shows that 15 majorities—eight in 10 respondents—hold unfavorable views of China and believe the Chinese regime “does not respect the personal freedoms of its people.”“This sense is also at or near historic highs in nearly every place surveyed, having risen significantly in countries...

The United States’ image around the world has improved sharply since President Joe Biden took office, according to new surveys conducted in 16 countries, including many long-standing allies of the U.S. The Pew Research Center surveys show majorities of the citizens across the countries — more than 6 in 10 in each — express confidence in Biden to “do the right thing” in world affairs. Favorable ratings of the U.S. have started to rebound after declining considerably during Donald Trump’s four years as president, growing as much as 30 percentage points since last year in partner nations like France and...

International opinions of the United States have become markedly more positive since President Biden took over from former President Trump, according to a new survey released as Biden prepares for his debut on the global stage at a Group of Seven (G7) summit. Of 12 nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center, a median 75 percent expressed confidence in Biden, more than four times the 17 percent who said the same of Trump in 2020. Twenty-two percent said they have no confidence in Biden, compared with 83 percent who said so of Trump at the end of his presidency. And...

A majority of Americans — 59 percent — approve of President Biden's handling of his job as he approaches 100 days in office, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Friday. The poll found Biden's job approval is up 5 percentage points from 54 percent in March, while 39 percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of his work thus far.

As Democrats and Republicans prepare for their party conventions, a new national survey finds high voter engagement with the presidential campaign – and a record share saying it “really matters” who wins in November when it comes to making progress on important national issues. Yet the coronavirus outbreak continues to cast a large shadow over the 2020 presidential election. Just half of U.S. registered voters (50%) say it will be very or somewhat easy to vote in the upcoming elections, while about the same share (49%) expects to have difficulties casting a ballot. That is a substantial change since October...

With less than five months until the 2020 elections, Americans are deeply unhappy with the state of the nation. As the United States simultaneously struggles with a pandemic, an economic recession and protests about police violence and racial justice, the share of the public saying they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country has plummeted from 31% in April, during the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, to just 12% today.Anger and fear are widespread. Majorities of Democrats and Republicans say they feel both sentiments when thinking about the country, though these feelings are more prevalent...

China’s reputation among Americans had already fallen to an all-time low in Pew Research Center polling as of March, with roughly two-thirds viewing the country unfavorably. Now, a survey conducted April 29 to May 5 finds that Americans expect China’s international reputation will suffer because of how the country has handled the coronavirus outbreak, which originated within its borders. Americans are also critical of how China has handled the global pandemic and are skeptical of information from the Chinese government.Here are five key findings about views of China and the COVID-19 outbreak, drawn from U.S. surveys conducted during the first...

Americans’ confidence in medical scientists has grown since the coronavirus outbreak first began to upend life in the United States, as have perceptions that medical doctors hold very high ethical standards. And in their own estimation, most U.S. adults think the outbreak raises the importance of scientific developments. ... But there are growing partisan divisions over the risk the novel coronavirus poses to public health, as well as public confidence in the scientific and medical community and the role such experts are playing in public policy. ... The rise in public confidence for scientific groups is in stark contrast with...

White evangelicals are less likely than most other groups to say COVID-19 poses a major threat to the health of the U.S. population, according to a new study released by the Pew Research Center.According to the Pew survey gathered as part of the Election News Pathways project, only about a third of white evangelical Protestants (32%) say the virus poses a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. Additionally, white evangelical Protestants (76%) are the most likely to think the media has made a bigger deal of the coronavirus crisis than is warranted.While most white evangelicals (64%) believe...

From the report: Among those who are "highly politically aware," percent who trust in media:      Democrat--91%    Republican--16% (See the second inset graphic.)

The majority of Americans, including a growing share of moderate Republicans, are dissatisfied with U.S. government efforts to curb global warming, researchers said on Monday. In a survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based non-partisan think-tank, two-thirds of Americans said U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was "doing too little” to reduce the effects of climate change. Since taking office, Trump has rolled backed Obama-era rules limiting planet-warming emissions from sectors of the economy such as electricity, transport, and oil and gas. The Trump administration filed paperwork this month to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement...

Leaked funding documents reveal an effort by George Soros and his foundations to manipulate election laws and process rules ahead of the federal election far more expansively than has been previously reported. The billionaire and convicted felon moved hundreds of millions of dollars into often-secret efforts to change election laws, fuel litigation to attack election integrity measures, push public narratives about voter fraud, and to integrate the political ground game of the left with efforts to scare racial minority groups about voting rights threats. These Soros-funded efforts moved through dozens of 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) charities and involved the active compliance with civil rights groups, government...

Pollsters are at it again, pushing sketchy polls, not to reflect public opinion, but to shape it. This is called propaganda, a popular tool for dictators who want to control the information flow from an all-powerful government to their subjects, the people. What once passed for journalism is now mostly propaganda, an effort by major media organizations to insert themselves into the political process, to push their agenda, even if it means throwing any pretense of journalistic principle and integrity to the wind. Look at the Project Veritas undercover videos of CNN for the latest example. Polls of any type...

To paraphrase the earworm theme song from The Lego Movie, everything’s transactional — everything is cool when you’re part of a team. The good news from the latest Pew poll is that skepticism over executive power at the expense of Congress and the judiciary commands majorities overall and in all three political affiliations. The bad news? Republicans are now least likely to worry about it.I wonder why? Currently, 66% of the public says “it would be too risky to give U.S. presidents more power to deal directly with many of the country’s problems.” About three-in-ten adults (29%) offer the...

With a large slate of candidates to choose from and the first primary votes still more than six months off, Democratic voters express relatively high levels of satisfaction with the Democratic presidential candidates as a group. The election also is attracting more attention and interest than past elections did at similar points in the cycle, with about half of voters saying they have given a lot of thought about the presidential candidates – higher than at this point in the 2008, 2012 or 2016 elections.And among the general public, a record share says they have been closely following news about...