By The Numbers

Sometimes it's helpful to step back and look at the way we as a populace are perceiving the events that shape our country and our opinions

Here’s the latest polling aggregation from IPSOS/The Economist/YouGov polls May 22 - 26, 2026 of 1520 U.S. Adult Citizens. Some surprises follow. See where you stand. (Everything is linked in the digital version.)

Right Track/Wrong Track:

In total, 65% of Americans say we’re on the wrong track, while 26% think we’re on the right track, including 29% of Republicans and 5% of Democrats.

Donald Trump:

Trump’s approval rating in June 2026 was 39%, v. 58% who disapprove. That’s the lowest approval rating of either Trump term.

The $1.776B “Anti-Weaponization” Fund:

The Cato Institute — a libertarian-leaning think tank — published an analysis titled “Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund Is a (Another) Slush Fund.” There is broad bipartisan disapproval: 49% oppose, 24% approve.

The Trump Ballroom:

According to YouGov/The Economist polling, 58% disapprove v. 28% approve.

Using the White House as backdrop for the commercial venture of UFC fights:

The polling was notably negative — even among Trump’s own base where only 16% of U.S. adults believed it was appropriate to hold MMA fights on the White House lawn. Another 46% approved, while 38% said “neither” or were “unsure.” (That survey included 4,531 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.) Even Republicans weren’t on board:

Just 35% supported the event, compared with only 5% of Democrats. The cost-of-living backdrop likely didn’t help — gas prices were flirting with $5/gallon while Americans faced rising costs across a broad range of groceries.

Should Presidents release tax returns:

Two thirds (65%) of us think they should, while just 16% think they shouldn’t have to.

Approval of Decision to End Trump Tax Audits:

It’s 53%-27% against the concession to dismiss Trump tax audits, When you drill down, only 17% “strongly” approve of allowing the President to skate on existing audits where it is estimated he owes north of $100M; 43% “strongly disapprove.” When asked if he pays taxes, half knew that he doesn’t; a quarter think he does.

Generic Congressional Vote:

If the election was held today, 39% say they’d vote for the Democrat running in their district; 32% percent would vote Republican.

Confidence in Institutions — The church or organized religion:

This may surprise you if you haven’t followed recent trends. Just twelve percent say they have “a great deal of confidence in organized religion,” while 38% express “very little” confidence.

Confidence in Institutions — Healthcare system:

Anyone who has been a patient will relate to this: just 9% express “a great deal” of confidence, while 26% say “very little.” About 40% say “some.”

Confidence in Institutions — Banks:

Strikingly similar results as medicine, with just 7% confident and 27% not confident. Again, the rest are in the middle, leaning toward votes of no confidence.

Confidence in Institutions — Organized labor:

Similarly, 7% expressed confidence in organized labor; 27% were low-confidence.

Confidence in Institutions — Newspapers:

You can see the impact of consolidation in the newspaper industry where private equity has spent the last decade stripping assets and shrinking “the news hole.” In case they thought we haven’t noticed, just 5% expressed “a great deal” of confidence, while 41% had “very little” confidence. The 54% in the middle leaned toward more confidence rather than less.

Confidence in Institutions — Television news:

A Spectrum News/Morning Consult poll did a breakout, and found 83% of Americans say local news coverage on television and radio is the most trustworthy source. CNN fell from 46% trust in 2025 to 40% in 2026, while CBS News dropped from 48% to 38%, and Fox News Channel saw a 10-point decline as well, with FNC’s “don’t trust” score rising from 40% to 48%.

Confidence in Institutions — Big business

Four percent express “a great deal” of confidence in business v. 45% who have little confidence.

Vaccine Safety

This surprised me, in that I thought it was a lot closer, based on RFK Jr’s decades-long rants against vaccines. It turns out that 71% of us think vaccines are “completely” or “somewhat” safe. Only 10% are actual skeptics. Perhaps an indication that we’re not collectively as dumb as we feared.

Climate Change:

Most, 57%, believe climate change is manmade, while 22% think man is not to blame. Interestingly, this is gender gap issue, not a political one. If you’ve always suspected women are smarter than men, this will support your thesis: By about 12 points, women believe in manmade climate change, while many men do not.

Abortion:

The numbers are steady: 90% believe some form of abortion should be legal, a number that includes abortions to save the life of the mother or child; 10% say never. Minus the lifesaving votes, 58% believe most abortions should be legal, while 32% say never.

Same Sex Marriage:

It’s 51% for v. 34% against.

Expand v. Repeal the ACA (Obamacare):

55% want to keep or expand the ACA, while 27% want it repealed. The numbers get really imbalanced in favor of expansion with all people under 35.

©2026 Jon Sinton