Poll: Kirk's assassination deepens Republican pessimism
and reveals declining confidence in the future of the United States
Republicans' view of the future of the United States declined sharply following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which increased dissatisfaction with economic conditions, immigration, and foreign policy.
An AP-NORC
poll conducted on September 10, the day Kirk was killed, showed that Republican optimism about the country's future had fallen to 49 percent, a decline of more than 20 percentage points compared to June.
Kirk was
- a prominent figure in the Republican Party
- and represents a particularly influential symbol among young people.
- His targeted assassination caused widespread frustration among Republicans.
Among Republicans under the age of 45, 61 percent believed
the United States was moving in the wrong direction.
This decline coincided
- with other polls that showed that Americans were dissatisfied
- with President Donald Trump's handling of the issues of
- the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and crime.
An Ipsos
Reuters poll revealed that 53 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's way of managing the economy, while a Fox News poll showed that 52 percent believe that his economic policies have harmed the country.
A joint poll by The Washington Post and Ipsos also showed that
59 percent disapprove of his economic approach.
On the immigration issue
which is one of the pillars of Trump's policy, the Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed that 55 percent disapprove of his handling of the issue, while 49 percent expressed the same position in the Ipsos/Reuters poll.
This issue remains clearly partisan, with Republicans more likely to support Trump's approach to deportations than Democrats.
As for foreign policy
the Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed that 60 percent of Americans do not agree with Trump's approach to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, while 58 percent rejected his approach to dealing with the situation between Israel and Gaza.
Trump's approach to
the crime file also showed some division
as it was considered one of his most prominent campaign promises.
Although 54 percent of
respondents to the Washington Post/Ipsos poll expressed dissatisfaction
with his approach to the issue, 44 percent supported his policies.
Despite
divisions over detailed policies
public sentiment points to a bleak outlook for the future of the United States, with only a quarter of Americans seeing the country as moving in the right direction, according to a September AP/NORC poll.
Among Republicans
women expressed a more pessimistic view, with about three-quarters saying they were dissatisfied with the direction of the country, while 56 percent of Republican men expressed the same opinion.