WASHINGTON — The verdict from American voters is clear and damning: More than seven in 10 citizens now believe the United States is careening “out of control” under President Donald Trump’s leadership, according to alarming new polling data that suggests the nation’s political crisis is deepening rather than stabilizing.
The stark findings represent a devastating assessment of Trump’s governance and signal that his divisive approach to both domestic policy and international affairs is alienating broad swaths of the electorate—including members of his own party. With crucial midterm elections looming in November, the data paints a picture of a nation increasingly anxious about its trajectory and hungry for accountability.
A Nation on Edge
The numbers don’t lie, and they’re brutal for the Trump administration. A comprehensive national survey conducted by The Economist and YouGov between January 16 and 19 found that 71 percent of U.S. adult citizens described the country as “out of control.” Only 18 percent believed America remains “under control,” while 11 percent admitted uncertainty about the nation’s direction.
What makes these findings particularly striking is how they transcend traditional partisan and demographic divides. This isn’t simply Democrats complaining about a Republican president—it’s a widespread national consensus that something has gone fundamentally wrong with American governance.
The poll, which surveyed 1,722 adults through web-based interviews weighted to reflect national demographics, carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Its findings reveal a country united in unease, even as it remains divided on solutions.
Among white Americans, 70 percent expressed the view that the country is spiraling out of control. That sentiment was shared by 79 percent of Black respondents and 70 percent of Hispanic respondents. Age provided no immunity from this anxiety: 70 percent of young adults aged 18 to 29 agreed with the assessment, as did 74 percent of seniors 65 and older.
Perhaps most troubling for Trump and congressional Republicans facing reelection battles, the dissatisfaction has penetrated deep into conservative ranks. A full 50 percent of Republican respondents admitted the country feels out of control—a stunning rebuke from the president’s own political base. Only 38 percent of Republicans maintained that things were under control, while 13 percent confessed uncertainty.
The partisan breakdown reveals the depth of the crisis. Among Americans who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, a staggering 91 percent described the country as out of control, compared to 50 percent of Trump voters. Even more telling, 94 percent of self-identified liberals shared this view—but so did 71 percent of moderates and 71 percent of conservatives, suggesting the problem extends far beyond ideological echo chambers.
Foreign Policy Failures Fuel Domestic Anxiety
Trump’s aggressive military posturing abroad appears to be a major driver of public concern. Separate polling from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted January 8-11 among 1,203 adults using their probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, found that 56 percent of Americans believe Trump has “gone too far” with military deployments and international interventions.
The survey, which carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points, captured public opinion following the controversial U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—an action that sparked international condemnation and raised serious questions about executive overreach in matters of war and peace.
When asked specifically about Trump’s handling of Venezuela, 57 percent of respondents expressed disapproval. The foreign policy criticism wasn’t limited to Democrats; it reflected broader discomfort with unilateral presidential military action that bypasses congressional oversight and international norms.
While 71 percent of Republicans defended Trump’s military actions as “about right,” that partisan loyalty couldn’t mask the reality that majorities of Americans across the political spectrum are increasingly wary of military adventurism. The poll’s methodology—employing nationally representative sampling with careful demographic weighting—ensures these findings accurately reflect American public opinion.
Voters Demand Congressional Checks on Presidential Power
A third major survey, this one conducted by Quinnipiac University from January 8-12, reinforced the theme that Americans want institutional guardrails restored to presidential authority. The poll found that 70 percent of registered voters believe presidents should be legally required to obtain congressional approval before initiating military action against another country.
The Quinnipiac survey of 1,133 registered voters, conducted through live telephone interviews using random digit dialing to both landlines and cellphones, carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. It revealed particularly strong public opposition to potential U.S. military operations in Iran, Mexico, and Colombia without explicit legislative consent.
Tim Malloy, a polling analyst with Quinnipiac University, captured the public mood succinctly: “Talk of the U.S. military potentially intervening in Iran’s internal chaos gets a vigorous thumbs down, while voters signal Congressional approval should be a backstop against military involvement in any foreign crisis.”
The findings suggest Americans have learned hard lessons from past military entanglements and are demanding that the constitutional system of checks and balances be respected, particularly when it comes to decisions about war and peace.
White House Dismisses Reality, Doubles Down
Faced with this avalanche of negative polling data, the Trump administration has chosen denial over reflection. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly offered a defiant response that dismissed the surveys as partisan media manipulation.
“President Trump took office with a resounding mandate from the nearly 80 million Americans who voted for him to secure our border, end Joe Biden’s inflation crisis, remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets, and restore American Greatness both at home and abroad,” Kelly told Newsweek last week.
She continued: “He has firmly cemented his legacy as the Peace President, having ended eight wars and counting and saving millions of lives. He is delivering on his promises, and the American people remain firmly aligned with the President’s agenda to Make America Great Again, regardless of the Mainstream Media’s so-called polling.”
The disconnect between the White House’s rosy self-assessment and the empirical reality documented by multiple independent polling organizations using rigorous methodologies speaks volumes about an administration increasingly isolated from public sentiment.
What Comes Next
These converging data points arrive at a critical inflection point in American politics. Midterm elections historically serve as referendums on presidential performance, and these numbers suggest Trump faces a potentially devastating verdict from voters in November.
Congressional Democrats are already seizing on the polling to advance legislation that would restrict presidential war powers and require legislative authorization for military operations except in cases of genuine national emergency. Several bills currently under consideration would represent the most significant check on executive military authority in decades.
For Republicans, the polling presents a painful dilemma: continue defending an increasingly unpopular president and risk electoral catastrophe, or break with Trump and face backlash from his still-loyal base.
What’s undeniable is that America under Trump has moved from bad to worse in the eyes of its own citizens—a damning assessment that suggests the 2026 midterms could deliver a harsh reckoning for an administration that has consistently prioritized confrontation over consensus, division over unity, and executive overreach over constitutional governance.
