A new poll shows that most Americans characterize the US as a dysfunctional family on the verge of splitting apart — a sentiment widely held among members of rival political parties.
The Fox News poll asked voters about efforts to unify the country before President Biden’s State of the Union address next Tuesday and found that 81% of Americans describe the US as a dysfunctional family, an increase of 10 percentage points from 2020.
Only 16% say America is a tight-knit family.
Eighty-six percent of Republicans and independents see the US as a dysfunctional family, as do 74% of Democrats.
The survey released Wednesday also shows that most Americans – 80% – rate the economy as either “only fair” or “poor,” and 73% are “not very” or “not at all” satisfied with the way things are going in the country.
More than half of Democrats – 55% – and 86% of Republicans say they are dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
Asked about their financial affairs, 47% of Americans say they are “holding steady” while 44% say they are “falling behind” – only 8% say they are “getting ahead.”
And 74% of Americans believe the US will have a recession this year, compared to 20% who disagree.
But 86% say they are concerned about inflation, 80% fret over high-crime rates, 78% worry about the political divisions, and 76% agonize over opioid addictions.
Following are concerns over the debate on the nation’s debt ceiling (68%), the war in Ukraine (68%), gun laws (66%), border security (65%) and illegal immigration (63%).
Americans give him poor marks for his handling of inflation (66%), the economy (61%) and border security (61%).
Biden, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence are caught up in controversies over their handling of classified documents.
But just over half of Americans – 51% – think Trump did something illegal, compared to 37% for Biden and 22% for Pence.
Fifty-four percent say Pence was careless with the materials, as do 46% about Biden and 29% about Trump.
But 70% say Congress should investigate Biden over the classified documents, as do 57% for Trump and 56% for Pence.
Another 61% think Congress should investigate first son Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
The poll surveyed 1,003 registered voters between Jan. 27-30. It has a plus/minus 3 percentage points margin of error.
