SHOCK POLL: Majority of Americans Believe Democracy ‘Isn’t Working’

Pessimists appear to outnumber optimists these days, with a new poll showing most Americans believe democracy “is not working,” among several other jarring findings.

The new Quinnipiac University Poll released on Tuesday found 53% of citizens believe American democracy is not working right now, compared to 41% of Americans who believe the system is going fine.

Those on the left, unsurprisingly, were much more likely to say the figurative house is burning down, with 74% of polled Democrats saying “the system of democracy in the United States is not working”; only 22% of Republicans said it is not working, and 74% of GOP voters said there is no problem at all.

A few other eye-grabbing results from Quinnipiac:

• 79% of American voters believe the U.S. is in a state of “political crisis”
• 71% of Americans believe political violence is a “very serious problem” — up from 54% who felt that way in June
• 53% of voters said they are “pessimistic about free speech” in the U.S.

Another 39% of respondents said they approve of how President Donald Trump is handling the economy, including 85% of Republicans. Only 5% of Democrats gave the president a thumbs up on the economy.

Quinnipiac’s poll — and the sharp jump in Americans concerned about political violence — comes two weeks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event in Utah.

The new poll was conducted between Sept. 18-21 and is based on 1,276 self-identified registered voters nationally.

Overall, the top priority for 32% of respondents was “preserving democracy”; the next closest topic was the economy, according to 18% of respondents, and illegal immigration and crime, which both grabbed 9% of respondents.

Wednesday’s poll comes about a month after the president received his best approval rating ever, according to the Associated Press-NORC poll, thanks largely to his crackdown on illegal immigration and crime.

You can see the full results by clicking here.