The U.S. public is “deeply dissatisfied” with the state of the country’s political system, and its majority uses negative or critical words to describe their feelings about the political system and elected officials, according to the findings of a survey released on Tuesday.
In the latest poll conducted by Pew Research Center, about 63 percent of respondents express not too much or no confidence at all in the future of the U.S. political system.
“Just 4 percent of U.S. adults say the political system is working extremely or very well,” reads the report.
When asked to describe their feelings in their own words, 79 percent of these surveyed use negative or critical words to sum up how they view the U.S. political system and elected officials, with “divisive” and “corrupt” coming up most frequently, according to the poll.
In addition, the poll finds that the U.S. public is “highly critical” of the impact of partisan polarization on politics, with more than 86 percent Americans agreed that “Republicans and Democrats are more focused on fighting each other than on solving problems.”
A growing share of the U.S. public dislikes both political parties, with nearly 28 percent express unfavorable views of Republicans and Democrats, the highest share in three decades of polling, and 25 percent do not feel well-represented by either party.
Pew said its study was primarily based on a survey conducted July 10-16, 2023, among 8,480 adults, with additional data from a survey conducted June 5-11, 2023, among 5,115 adults.
(Cover: File of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. /Xinhua)
