When (and if) President Donald Trump Tuesday night at a joint session of Congress that the State of the Union is strong, those who disagree will have polling results to support their argument.
AND National NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll of 1,462 adults said 57 percent of respondents felt their relationship status was not very strong or not at all strong. A year ago, 53 percent expressed the same opinion. The survey was conducted in the field on January 27-30 and has a margin of error of +/-2.9 points.
Not surprisingly, Democrats (79%) and independents (68%) are more likely to share this opinion than Republicans (23%).
When asked if the country was worse off than a year ago, six in 10 respondents agreed with the question, including 90% of Democrats and 68% of independents. Once again, GOP respondents disagreed with more than 4 in 5 respondents who said the United States was in a better position today than it was a year ago.
“I saw one today that said I was at 40%,” President Trump replied. “I don’t have 40%. I’m much higher. I’d love to run against anyone. The real polls say ‘if you killed everyone, it wouldn’t even be close’. I’m just surprised there isn’t more support. We actually have silent support.”
Checks and balances
Less than a third (32%) of respondents said the country’s system of checks and balances operated effectively, while 68% disagreed or strongly disagreed. This number is now up 12 percentage points compared to last year. The boost can be attributed to Republicans and independents. Forty-three percent of Republican respondents and 75% of independents believe the U.S. system of checks and balances does not function effectively. This is an advantage of 17 and 9 points, respectively.
Country Direction
More than half (55%) of residents nationwide say the direction President Trump is taking the country is a change for the worse, while 37% think it is a change for the better. As last reported in April 2025, 51% believed the country’s trajectory under Trump was changing for the worse. 42% said it was a change for the better.
Personal influence of politicians
When asked about the policy the president implemented during his second term:
53% – mainly negative personal impact
30% – mainly positive personal impact
17% – no personal influence
69% of Republicans say they have benefited from the policy, while more than eight in 10 Democrats (85%) and nearly 3 in 5 independents (58%) say the president’s policies have harmed them personally.
