Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Aug 15, 2026

Polls find majority of Americans say country is heading in wrong direction

Polls find majority of Americans say country is heading in wrong direction

In an AP-NORC survey released Wednesday, 85% of US adults say that things in the country are headed in the wrong direction, with just 14% believing things are going in the right direction. That's a more pessimistic reading than in May, when 78% said things were headed the wrong way and 21% that things were generally moving in the right direction.
Currently, both 92% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats are dissatisfied with the direction of the country -- the highest number among Democrats since President Joe Biden took office last year.

Only 20% of Americans describe the nation's economy as good, with 79% calling it poor, according to the AP-NORC poll.
This sentiment, too, is relatively bipartisan, with both 90% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats describing the economy as poor.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll also released Wednesday finds rising discontent, specifically among Democrats, in the days following the US Supreme Court ruling that there was no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. In that poll, 62% of Democrats say that things in the country are off on the wrong track, up from 49% the prior week.

By contrast, 86% of Republicans say things are on the wrong track, down slightly from 94% a week earlier.

Americans' views of Biden, meanwhile, remain underwater. A CNN Poll of Polls average of surveys taken in the second half of June finds that 38% of Americans approve of the job he's doing, with 57% disapproving, similar to his ratings earlier in the month.

In the AP-NORC poll, 28% of US adults approve of Biden's job performance on the economy -- his lowest rating on the issue to date in that survey -- 36% approve of his performance on gun policy and 53% approve of the way he's handled the coronavirus pandemic.

The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of the five most recent nonpartisan, national surveys of adults on Biden's job approval that meet CNN's standards. When a pollster has released multiple polls in that time frame, only its most recent is included in the average.

The poll of polls includes results from the Quinnipiac University poll conducted June 17-20, the CBS News/YouGov poll conducted June 22-24, the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted June 24-25, the AP-NORC poll conducted June 23-27 and the Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted June 27-28.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
Hyper-Realistic Reborn Dolls Draw Collectors Seeking Comfort and Craft
Gen Z Cuts Back on Dating as a Night Out Nears $200
Patients Turn to Artificial Intelligence for Therapy as Psychiatrists Warn of Privacy and Clinical Risks
Couples Embrace ‘Sleep Divorce’ to Protect Rest and Reduce Tension
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million and Change Facebook and Instagram Safeguards for Children
Up to only 10 Months in Prison for Swedish Officer’s Murderer Sparks Anger
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Danube Drought Exposes Nazi Wrecks and Pushes Central Europe’s Power System to the Brink
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Air Traffic Control Outage Grounded Flights Across the Midwest
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Australian Crew Evacuates Seriously Ill American From Antarctica in Midwinter Darkness
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
UK Drought Cuts Harvests and Raises Food-Security Fears
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
US Health Secretary: “I’m Not Afraid of Germs — I Used to Snort Cocaine Off Toilet Seats”
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Trump Keeps Hegseth at Pentagon While Leaving Door Open for DeSantis
UK Clears Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery Deal, but US Trial Looms
UK Prosecutors Add 38 Charges Against Andrew and Tristan Tate
Taiwan’s President Joins Wartime Command Drill as China Pressure Grows
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
HMRC’s 2029 Tax Shift Could Overlap Old and New Self-Assessment Bills
Thetford Disorder Prompts Expanded Police Powers Amid Asylum-Housing Protests
Cambridge Faces Calls for Independent Review of Jason Arday Appointment
Scotland’s ‘Cock of the North’ Woodland Is Being Felled After Wind Damage
Reform UK and Greens Unite Against Vast Solar Plans for Kent Marshland
New Zealand Draws Wealthy Americans With Revamped Investor Visa
Senate Panel Votes to Hold Anthony Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony
Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Resigns as University Opens Inquiry Into His Credentials
Manchester Power Failure Disrupts Trains Across North West Into Friday
Lightning Strike Kills Yala FC Player During Match in Southern Thailand
Senate Scrutinises AI-Driven Personalised Pricing
Spain Seeks Mainland Transfers for 1,100 Children Stranded in Ceuta
Spain and Morocco Trade Blame After 72,000 Migrants Enter Ceuta
×