Last week, PRRI released findings from the 16th annual American Values Survey in partnership with the Brookings Institution — a representative, random survey of 5,543 adults exploring Americans’ views on new federal policies, executive actions taken by President Donald Trump during his second term, the state of the economy, the health of our democracy, and more.
The release event opened with remarks from PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., and Brookings Senior Fellow William A. Galston, Ph.D., followed by a presentation of key findings from PRRI President and Founder Robert P. Jones, Ph.D. An expert panel then joined to discuss the survey results and what they reveal about the state of American politics, featuring Jones alongside MSNBC White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López, Heny Olsen, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Lilliana Mason, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at the Johns Hopkins University SNF Agora Institute, and moderator E.J. Dionne Jr., Ph.D.
Notably, Jones pointed out that majorities of Americans say that the Trump administration cuts in federal funding for health care (60%) and universities and research institutions (55%), the implementation of new tariffs (54%), and the increase in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (52%) have gone too far. Across all areas, independents hold views more aligned with Democrats.
“One thing that you can kind of easily see, if you look at trends across time, is that Republicans and Democrats are dividing on issues of whether we want a pluralistic society — whether we want everyone in the society to be involved in our politics in the same way, with the same amount of power,” Lilliana Mason, Ph.D., stated. “In so many of these measures, the majority of Republicans believe something that the rest of the country does not believe.”
The panel also commented on survey findings that majorities of Americans view the Democratic (60%) and Republican (57%) parties unfavorably.
“There’s a lot of dissent amongst the Democratic Party, and disagreement about whether the party’s too progressive or too center. Amongst the Republican Party, they’re much more in unison about how they feel about themselves, and Trump, and where the country is headed,” Laura Barrón-López commented.
Watch the full event here and view the slides.
Opening Remarks
- William A. Galston
Senior Fellow, Ezra K. Zilkha Chair, Governance Studies, Center for Effective Public Management (CEPM), Brookings - Melissa Deckman
CEO, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
Presentation
- Robert P. Jones
President, Founder, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
Panelists
- (Moderator) E.J. Dionne
Senior Fellow, W. Averell Harriman Chair in American Governance, Governance Studies, Center for Effective Public Management (CEPM), Brookings - Laura Barrón-López
White House Correspondent, MSNBC - Lilliana Mason
Professor of Political Science, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University - Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center - Robert P. Jones
President, Founder, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)
