Most Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction

A large majority of Americans say they are pessimistic about the state of the country and few expect things will get better in the year ahead, according to a poll released Tuesday by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A week before President Donald Trump delivers his assessment of the nation in a State of the Union speech to Congress delayed by a record-setting government shutdown, the survey found just 28 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction.

Meanwhile, 70 percent say America is headed the wrong way. That’s up from 59 percent in December, with the percentage of those saying the country is on the wrong track now at its highest point in about a year. A majority of Americans, 52 percent, also believe things are going to get worse over the next year. While Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to feel negative about the direction of the country, even Republican pessimism is on the rise. The poll found that 55 percent of Republicans and just 9 percent of Democrats think the country is headed in the right direction. A month ago, 69 percent of Republicans and 16 percent of Democrats said the same.

About half of Americans, 53 percent, describe the economy as generally good. But looking ahead, they’re more likely to expect the economy to get worse than better, 44 percent to 27 percent. Another 27 percent expect no change. A month ago, Americans were evenly divided on whether the economy would improve or worsen. The poll shows 8 in 10 Republicans call the current economy good, while just 37 percent of Democrats say the same. And 56 percent of Republicans expect the economy to get better in the next year, while 67 percent of Democrats expect it to get worse.

New poll shows that most Americans think the country is on the wrong track, MarketWatch, Jan 29