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Nearly a year into Trump\u2019s second term, American politics and life have seen dramatic changes\u2014or have they? That\u2019s the question our friends at the American Communities Project (ACP) explored in a new <\/span>major survey<\/a>.<\/span> In their report, ACP gauged Americans\u2019 outlook on the country, its present, and its future. They found some stark differences along partisan lines, but there were also important areas of agreement that might offer openings for bipartisan cooperation moving forward. Below are some key takeaways from ACP\u2019s research.<\/span><\/p>\n Compared to 2024, every <\/span>community type<\/a> that supported Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 election has become less hopeful about the country\u2019s future, while all but one of those places that voted for Trump are now more optimistic. On average, about 48 percent of respondents in Harris-voting areas say they are hopeful about the future of the U.S. in the next few years compared to 59 percent of people in areas that backed Trump. One year ago, those figures were 53 percent and 50 percent, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n When looking over the long term, these trends basically hold. However, people in some communities are even less hopeful looking beyond the next few years, including Hispanic Centers (-4 percent; more on these places in a minute) and Evangelical Hubs (-7 percent). At the same time, LDS Enclaves and Graying America are more hopeful about the country\u2019s long-term outlook than they are about the immediate future.<\/p>\n These findings likely won\u2019t come as a surprise to some readers. Extensive polling has shown that in contemporary America, one\u2019s views about the state of the country are often closely tied to the perception of how much power their side has\u2014specifically, whether their preferred party controls the White House. This has included views about the <\/span>state of the economy<\/a> and <\/span>trust in election results<\/a>, and we can now add \u201chope for the future\u201d to that list, too.<\/span><\/p>\n Though hope for the future mapped fairly neatly onto the community types\u2019 voting trends, there was one kind of place that voted for Trump but is today less hopeful: Hispanic Centers. In 2024, voters in these 178 counties backed President Trump by ten points after supporting Biden by two. However, evidence from ACP and elsewhere suggests Republicans are losing ground\u2014quickly\u2014with many of them.<\/p>\n According to ACP, at least some of this shift stems from these voters\u2019 discontent around the issue of immigration. As they write:<\/p>\n [Many of Trump\u2019s policy changes] are slow-moving by their nature. The administration\u2019s efforts around immigration, however, have been different. The impacts have been much more immediate and have generated a lot of headlines and dramatic video. Those efforts have also largely targeted the nation\u2019s Hispanic\/Latino population. Taken together, it\u2019s reasonable to think those changes could be a big part of the drop in hopefulness in Hispanic Centers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of survey respondents living in Hispanic Centers report noticing changes in immigration in their communities this year, more than any other type of place except Big Cities. Moreover, 60 percent said these changes are negative.<\/p>\n ACP\u2019s findings mirror <\/span>evidence<\/a> from this month\u2019s national elections suggesting there may be some reversion among Hispanic voters, as majority-Hispanic cities and counties swung back toward the Democrats. It remains to be seen whether Trump was an anomaly or whether future Republicans can keep his gains, but it\u2019s clear that many Hispanic Americans are not happy with the direction of the country\u2014or <\/span>with President Trump<\/a>\u2014at present.<\/span><\/p>\n Consistent with most polling from at least the past year, Americans in ACP\u2019s survey said that, for the third year in a row, inflation was the top issue facing both their communities (50 percent) and the nation (41 percent). This was true both nationally and in every single community type, regardless of its political lean. Additionally, a whopping 81 percent of all respondents reported noticing changes in inflation or rising prices in the past year.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n There are two interesting outliers in this dataset: first, people living in LDS enclaves were far likelier than anyone else to say inflation was a problem in their community, with nearly two-thirds calling it their top issue. And secondly, those living in Big Cities were less likely than others to identify inflation as the biggest issue nationally, though it was still a plurality view (37 percent) even in these places. This may offer a clue as to why Democrats, who disproportionately inhabit Big Cities, struggled not only to message on inflation in 2024 but to convince the public they were taking it seriously.<\/p>\n Today, though, it has become the Republicans\u2019 albatross. President Trump\u2019s inability to get high prices under control has undoubtedly been a big factor in the GOP\u2019s recent <\/span>electoral struggles<\/a> as well as his own <\/span>sinking approval rating<\/a>. If they fail to make serious strides between now and this time next year, it seems likely they will face a reckoning at the ballot box.<\/span><\/p>\n Behind inflation, there are a handful of other issues on people\u2019s minds, especially at the national level, including political polarization (27 percent) and immigration (26 percent). Another issue that popped in several places was business and government corruption. As the ACP report observed:<\/p>\n Government or business corruption has jumped as a national issue of concern from 2024 to 2025. This year, 23 percent of Americans cited it as a top-three issue. Last year, just 14 percent did. Leading the shift were dense, multicultural populations that did not vote for President Trump. Big Cities leaped 14 percent, while Urban Suburbs jumped 13 percent and the African American South 12 percent. However, corruption also rose as an issue in places that did vote for Trump, including Hispanic Centers, LDS Enclaves, and Military Posts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite very real attitudinal differences across ACP\u2019s 15 community types, there are some issues on which Americans are more aligned. The big one in this survey was the future of artificial intelligence. Nationally, only one-quarter (26 percent) of Americans had a positive feeling about AI\u2019s potential future impact on people\u2019s ability to earn a living. Meanwhile, 62 percent believe there should be more regulation of AI. This view was shared across community types ranging from more liberal Big Cities and Urban Suburbs (66 percent each) to Republican-leaning places like the Exurbs (67 percent) and Graying America (65 percent).<\/p>\n These findings dovetail with other recent survey data. In Blue Rose Research\u2019s <\/span>2024 post-election autopsy<\/a>, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) agreed that \u201cwithin the next 10 years, we will have AI that can perform most jobs better than humans can\u201d\u2014and the overwhelming majority (79 percent) believe this will be a bad thing.<\/span><\/p>\n These results show an American public that remains frustrated<\/strong> by persistently high prices, the country\u2019s divisiveness, and a perception that the government and big business are not only not being responsive but in it for themselves. Such a toxic formula typically bodes poorly for the party in power, as evidenced by this year\u2019s election results. We will be keeping an eye on ACP\u2019s future research to see how all this evolves over the next 12 months and beyond. In the meantime, we strongly encourage folks to read their full, excellent survey report, which can be found <\/span>here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n\n
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