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WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll from .
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
AP-NORC poll: Few in US say democracy is working very well
STEVEN SLOAN and THOMAS BEAUMONT
Mon, February 8, 2021, 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll from .
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
Trump will face in the Senate this week for his role in sparking the violence. say the Senate should convict the Republican former president.
“At every turn, it's gotten worse and worse,” said Curtis Musser, a 55-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Clermont, Florida, who didn't vote for Trump. "You could see it brewing even before the election. And everything just kept spiraling downward from there.”
The poll's findings are broadly consistent with how Americans graded democracy before the election. But there are signs that Trump's attacks on the democratic process, including his repeated and , resonated with Republicans.
In October, about two-thirds of those who identify with the GOP, 68%, said democracy was working at least somewhat well. That figure plummeted to 36% in January. Democratic views whipsawed in the opposite direction, with 70% reporting democracy working at least somewhat well compared with 37% in the fall.
Overall, about two-thirds of Americans say Joe Biden was legitimately elected president, but only a third of Republicans hold that view.
That debate is now playing out in Congress, with a clear split among Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Liz Cheney and others who have rejected Trump's claims and validated Biden's victory. Still, more than 140 House Republicans refused to accept Biden's victory, a sign of the far right's grip on the party.
GOP officials in several battleground states that Biden carried, including Arizona and Georgia, have said the election was fair. Trump's claims were , including by judges appointed by Trump, and by his former attorney general, .
AP-NORC poll: Few in US say democracy is working very well
STEVEN SLOAN and THOMAS BEAUMONT
Mon, February 8, 2021, 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll from .
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
Trump will face in the Senate this week for his role in sparking the violence. say the Senate should convict the Republican former president.
“At every turn, it's gotten worse and worse,” said Curtis Musser, a 55-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Clermont, Florida, who didn't vote for Trump. "You could see it brewing even before the election. And everything just kept spiraling downward from there.”
The poll's findings are broadly consistent with how Americans graded democracy before the election. But there are signs that Trump's attacks on the democratic process, including his repeated and , resonated with Republicans.
In October, about two-thirds of those who identify with the GOP, 68%, said democracy was working at least somewhat well. That figure plummeted to 36% in January. Democratic views whipsawed in the opposite direction, with 70% reporting democracy working at least somewhat well compared with 37% in the fall.
Overall, about two-thirds of Americans say Joe Biden was legitimately elected president, but only a third of Republicans hold that view.
That debate is now playing out in Congress, with a clear split among Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Liz Cheney and others who have rejected Trump's claims and validated Biden's victory. Still, more than 140 House Republicans refused to accept Biden's victory, a sign of the far right's grip on the party.
GOP officials in several battleground states that Biden carried, including Arizona and Georgia, have said the election was fair. Trump's claims were , including by judges appointed by Trump, and by his former attorney general, .
Fred Carrigan, a 58-year-old industrial heating mechanic in Portland, Indiana, said he doesn't believe Trump's argument that the election was stolen. But he also views the push to impeach and convict Trump as an affront to democracy. A conviction would give senators the option to ban Trump from seeking office again.
“Trump didn’t do himself any favors by telling them to go march. But he didn’t tell them to vandalize the Capitol,” Carrigan said. “I don’t think it’s impeachable. Impeaching him is petty. They are a bunch of children trying to prove who is right, when it doesn’t matter in the big picture.”
“All this shows is it’s just going to get worse,” he said.
Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to use the power of the presidency to promote democratic ideals.
In one of the first tests of that commitment, he was quick to condemn , threatening sanctions and blasting a “direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and rule of law.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, has said the Biden administration is “deeply concerned” by Russia's jailing of .
An overwhelming majority of Americans, 70%, say they believe Biden respects democratic institutions at least a fair amount. But there is a stark political split with about 96% of Democrats saying Biden respects such institutions, compared with about 42% of Republicans.
Those are still much higher marks than Trump earned: 62% say the former president has little or no respect for democratic traditions or institutions. That view is held by 93% of Democrats and, notably, 27% of Republicans.
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
AP-NORC poll: Few in US say democracy is working very well
STEVEN SLOAN and THOMAS BEAUMONT
Mon, February 8, 2021, 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll from .
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
Trump will face in the Senate this week for his role in sparking the violence. say the Senate should convict the Republican former president.
“At every turn, it's gotten worse and worse,” said Curtis Musser, a 55-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Clermont, Florida, who didn't vote for Trump. "You could see it brewing even before the election. And everything just kept spiraling downward from there.”
The poll's findings are broadly consistent with how Americans graded democracy before the election. But there are signs that Trump's attacks on the democratic process, including his repeated and , resonated with Republicans.
In October, about two-thirds of those who identify with the GOP, 68%, said democracy was working at least somewhat well. That figure plummeted to 36% in January. Democratic views whipsawed in the opposite direction, with 70% reporting democracy working at least somewhat well compared with 37% in the fall.
Overall, about two-thirds of Americans say Joe Biden was legitimately elected president, but only a third of Republicans hold that view.
That debate is now playing out in Congress, with a clear split among Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Liz Cheney and others who have rejected Trump's claims and validated Biden's victory. Still, more than 140 House Republicans refused to accept Biden's victory, a sign of the far right's grip on the party.
GOP officials in several battleground states that Biden carried, including Arizona and Georgia, have said the election was fair. Trump's claims were , including by judges appointed by Trump, and by his former attorney general, .
AP-NORC poll: Few in US say democracy is working very well
STEVEN SLOAN and THOMAS BEAUMONT
Mon, February 8, 2021, 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — Only a fragment of Americans believe democracy is thriving in the U.S., even as broad majorities agree that representative government is one of the country's bedrock principles, according to a new poll from .
Just 16% of Americans say democracy is working well or extremely well, a pessimism that spans the political spectrum. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, think democracy isn't functioning properly, while another 38% say it's working only somewhat well.
The core elements of democratic government, including free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, were put to a dire test by the advanced by former President Donald Trump. Those assertions of fraud were a root cause of last month, which damaged the country's reputation as a model for democracy.
Trump will face in the Senate this week for his role in sparking the violence. say the Senate should convict the Republican former president.
“At every turn, it's gotten worse and worse,” said Curtis Musser, a 55-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Clermont, Florida, who didn't vote for Trump. "You could see it brewing even before the election. And everything just kept spiraling downward from there.”
The poll's findings are broadly consistent with how Americans graded democracy before the election. But there are signs that Trump's attacks on the democratic process, including his repeated and , resonated with Republicans.
In October, about two-thirds of those who identify with the GOP, 68%, said democracy was working at least somewhat well. That figure plummeted to 36% in January. Democratic views whipsawed in the opposite direction, with 70% reporting democracy working at least somewhat well compared with 37% in the fall.
Overall, about two-thirds of Americans say Joe Biden was legitimately elected president, but only a third of Republicans hold that view.
That debate is now playing out in Congress, with a clear split among Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. Liz Cheney and others who have rejected Trump's claims and validated Biden's victory. Still, more than 140 House Republicans refused to accept Biden's victory, a sign of the far right's grip on the party.
GOP officials in several battleground states that Biden carried, including Arizona and Georgia, have said the election was fair. Trump's claims were , including by judges appointed by Trump, and by his former attorney general, .
Fred Carrigan, a 58-year-old industrial heating mechanic in Portland, Indiana, said he doesn't believe Trump's argument that the election was stolen. But he also views the push to impeach and convict Trump as an affront to democracy. A conviction would give senators the option to ban Trump from seeking office again.
“Trump didn’t do himself any favors by telling them to go march. But he didn’t tell them to vandalize the Capitol,” Carrigan said. “I don’t think it’s impeachable. Impeaching him is petty. They are a bunch of children trying to prove who is right, when it doesn’t matter in the big picture.”
“All this shows is it’s just going to get worse,” he said.
Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to use the power of the presidency to promote democratic ideals.
In one of the first tests of that commitment, he was quick to condemn , threatening sanctions and blasting a “direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and rule of law.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, has said the Biden administration is “deeply concerned” by Russia's jailing of .
An overwhelming majority of Americans, 70%, say they believe Biden respects democratic institutions at least a fair amount. But there is a stark political split with about 96% of Democrats saying Biden respects such institutions, compared with about 42% of Republicans.
Those are still much higher marks than Trump earned: 62% say the former president has little or no respect for democratic traditions or institutions. That view is held by 93% of Democrats and, notably, 27% of Republicans.
