CNN’s latest poll found Americans are divided on how they feel about Trump’s next term. Here’s what they had to say

By Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN

(CNN) — The American public is closely divided on the outlook for Donald Trump’s second term, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with 52% of adults expressing positive feelings, and 48% responding negatively.

Those contrasting emotions stem from very different sets of concerns and priorities.

One of the biggest drivers for Americans who express enthusiasm or optimism about Trump’s next stint in the White House is the hope that he’ll improve the economy, with many also approvingly citing his first term in office. By contrast, those who are pessimistic are most likely to cite concerns about his character. And a significant share of those who say they’re afraid of what’s to come say they’re frightened by the prospect of rising bigotry, weakened democracy, or the impact his administration could have on their own lives.

In the survey, roughly a thousand Americans weighed in about their feelings about Trump’s return to office, and explained in their own words why they felt that way.

“Although I don’t approve of many of the things he has done or said, as a recent graduate entering the job market, a change had to be made,” wrote one New Jersey woman in her 20s, who described herself as optimistic. “Also, since covid happened, many things and places just aren’t what they used to be. I’m hoping he boosts the economy and reminds our country of our true values.”

“When the president of your country is a racist, a criminal & greedy, people that match his outlook on life will follow,” wrote an Arizona woman, also in her 20s, who said she was afraid. “I don’t feel safe in America as a black woman.”

The share of Americans who say they’re not only pessimistic but afraid, 29%, outnumbered the 19% who call themselves not just optimistic but enthusiastic.

Public sentiment is generally similar to the outlook in CNN’s polling after Barack Obama was reelected in November 2012, when 15% of Americans called themselves enthusiastic and 29% afraid. In November 2004, strong opinions on George W. Bush’s second term were more evenly divided, with 23% enthusiastic and 24% afraid. Trump, who, unlike Obama and Bush, is serving nonconsecutive terms, saw public assessments of his first term rise retrospectively.

Views in the most recent survey are sharply divided along partisan lines, with 93% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents expressing a positive outlook, and 85% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents sharing a negative view. Views are also more positive among Americans without college degrees (58%), White Americans (57%) and Hispanic Americans (53%) than those who’ve graduated college (40%) or Black Americans (25%).

Beneath Democrats’ broadly negative feelings, there’s a gender divide on how strongly those concerns are felt. While roughly half of Democratic or Democratic-leaning men (49%) describe themselves as afraid when looking ahead, that rises to 65% among women aligned with the party.

CNN took a closer look at how different parts of the public describe what is behind their feelings about the next four years. Some quotes are lightly edited for grammar, spelling or brevity.

Why are 32% of Americans optimistic about Trump’s next term?

Among those who called themselves optimistic, the largest share, 22% cited economic reasons, including hopes for lower inflation or a reduction in the cost of living.

“Our economy has been on the decline for many years. I have seen what he can do for economy via his last presidency and I am excited,” wrote a Wisconsin Republican in her 40s. Other respondents to the survey wrote that they were waiting to “see if food gets more affordable,” or expecting “a lot of crushing regulations to be eliminated.” One wrote that the economy “has to start improving quickly.”

Another 19% who said they were optimistic cited Trump’s previous term in office. Many in that group regarded his first presidency approvingly: “Life was much better when he was president before,” one respondent wrote. Another wrote, “He did a great job the first time around and experience is an excellent teacher. He’ll do an even better job this time.”

One Republican-leaning Texan in his 30s took a less positive view of Trump’s first term but still said he was optimistic: “He will come to power and have to deal with serious problems so he will not take the presidency lightly like last time.”

Another 10% mentioned immigration policy, the border, or deportation, with 8% citing foreign policy, 8% an expectation that Trump would bring change, and 7% saying they felt that he would do a better job than President Joe Biden or other Democrats.

“No matter what Trump does for this country it will be better than anything done the past 4 years,” wrote a Republican-leaning Florida independent in her 80s. “This will include stopping illegal immigration, hopefully opening the pipeline again, stopping the transgender sports, helping the economy by bringing jobs back to America.”

Ten percent offered more broadly positive statements, with some simply describing themselves as optimistic people.

“It’s more of a personal choice to remain optimistic rather than something Trump has personally done to inspire that in me,” wrote one Texas independent woman in her 30s.

Why are 29% of Americans afraid for Trump’s next term?

Among those who called themselves afraid, 15% described Trump as bigoted or expressed concerns that he would incite hatred among his followers.

“He is making changes that threaten anyone who has a physical appearance of being from another country, is a woman, or is disabled. Essentially anyone that isn’t him could be in danger,” a Democratic New York woman in her 60s wrote.

Another 13% described the president-elect as egotistical or self-serving, with 11% expressing fears that he would threaten democracy or attempt to rule as a dictator, and nearly 1 in 10 describing him as unqualified or incompetent.

“He will destroy this country from the inside out,” wrote a Texas Democrat in her 60s. “He is appointing people who are not qualified and are criminals, and people that owe him favors, and will do whatever he asks of them. He does not understand the economy and even worse, does not care as long as he is making money and has power.”

“He has said multiple things that make me believe he will become a dictator,” wrote a Democratic-leaning man in his 50s from Tennessee. “He thinks this is just another reality TV show and he will destroy our democracy as we know it.”

And 8% said they were afraid of how they could be personally affected – a group that included a trans woman living in Texas, a teaching student with a nonbinary partner, and a Black woman working as a Title 1 educator.

“I am afraid of me and my daughters losing our basic rights. I am afraid for the minority communities around us being targeted,” another woman, a Pennsylvania Democrat in her 30s, wrote. “Inflation is already killing us and it’s just going to get worse.”

Why are 19% of Americans pessimistic about Trump’s next term?

Among those who described themselves as pessimistic, a 14% plurality described Trump as putting himself above the good of the country, while 13% mentioned Trump’s personal characteristics, and 11% referenced his past performance – in a more negative light than those who expressed optimism.

“Donald Trump was a poor president the first time,” wrote a Massachusetts independent in his 30s. “Now that he was reelected, I think he’s going to see it as permission to disregard laws and policies that he wouldn’t have the first time. He has already shown a blatant disregard for laws, so I don’t think it will be better the second time around.”

Another 11% mentioned the appointments Trump has announced or the people surrounding him.

“The man, Trump, is a felon, convicted of crimes, he’s surrounded by inept people, whose morals and principles are as low as his own,” wrote a Democratic-leaning Maryland independent in his 50s. “This man only cares about power and selfishness and how to make himself wealthier. His second concern is retribution. Of course I’m pessimistic!!”

Why are 19% of Americans enthusiastic about Trump’s next term?

Among those who express enthusiasm for Trump’s second term, 23% mentioned economic issues, and 20% cited his record during his first term.

“The economy has gotten so bad over the last four years under the Biden Administration and I’m looking forward to Donald Trump fixing it,” wrote a Georgia Republican in her 30s.

Significant shares also mentioned immigration, the border or deportation (12%), foreign policy (12%), or praised Trump as a strong leader (11%).

“DJT is a man of his word,” wrote a Wyoming Republican in her 70s. “He does what he says he’s going to do. Look how much he’s done and not even in office yet. The rest of the world is trying to get close to him because they respect him. Ergo, they will respect us as a nation.”

Others praised Trump as an improvement over his predecessor, quoted his promise to “make America great again,” or expressed faith in Trump to get the country back on track.

And one Missouri Republican in his 30s offered a different explanation for his enthusiasm. “For better or worse it’s going to be exciting,” he wrote. “Entertaining.”

The CNN poll was conducted by SSRS from December 5-8 among a random national sample of 1,011 adults drawn from a probability-based panel. Surveys were either conducted online or by telephone with a live interviewer. Results among the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

CNN’s Jennifer Agiesta and Henry Gertmenian contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.