This week’s Economist/YouGov poll covers…
- How many Americans say Trump is going "too far"
- Whether Americans see crime getting worse nationwide and near them
- Whether government funding of museums should mean government control
- The state of reading in the country — are Americans reading more or less than they used to?
Trump's agenda
- Has President Donald Trump been too forceful in pushing his agenda, or not forceful enough? In all seven areas asked about in the survey, Americans are more likely to say the Trump administration's efforts have gone too far than to say they have not gone far enough
- 52% say the Trump administration's tariffs have gone too far and only 9% not far enough
- 49% say its attempts to arrest and deport immigrants have gone too far, and 21% not far enough
- 48% say efforts to launch investigations into its critics have gone too far, and 18% not far enough
- Opinions on the extent of the administration's efforts in these areas have changed little since April
Crime and policing
- More Americans perceive both recent increases in crime incidence and decreases to have occurred nationally than within their own communities. In the past year, more say crime has increased a lot or a little within the country than say so about crime in their local community (35% vs. 27%) and more also say national crime has decreased than say local crime has (26% vs. 17%). Fewer say crime has remained about the same in the country than say so about crime in their community (27% vs. 45%)
- Even though crime is a highly politicized issue, Democrats' and Republicans' perceptions of changes in crime over the past year do not differ dramatically. More Republicans than Democrats say crime in the country has increased (41% vs. 29%) and Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to say it has decreased (27% vs. 27%)
- People who live in cities are slightly more likely than people outside of cities to perceive a recent increase in crime both nationally (42% vs. 33%) and locally (37% vs. 24%)
- When Barack Obama and Joe Biden were president, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to say that crime had increased in the country in the past year. Partisan differences in perceptions of increasing crime have been smaller when Trump has been president
- People who live in cities are slightly more likely than those who don't to say they are very or somewhat worried that they or someone in their family will become a victim of a violent crime (49% vs. 41%)
- But differences in self-reported violent crime victimization rates are similar in and out of cities: 26% of people living in urban areas say they or a family member has been a victim of a violent crime, compared to 23% of people living outside cities
- Few Americans (14%) say they have a lot of confidence in the police to deal with crime in the U.S., though many (45%) say they have a fair amount of confidence; 25% say they have not very much confidence in the police and 9% say they have none at all
- Views on this question have changed little since 2022, when we last asked it
- Republicans (78%) are far more likely than Democrats (55%) or Independents (46%) to say they have either a lot or a fair amount of confidence in the police to deal with crime
- Nearly half (47%) of Americans say that the police generally get too little respect in society; 33% say they are respected the right amount and 20% say they get too much respect
- Attitudes on this have not changed much since 2021
- Americans are somewhat more likely to strongly or somewhat disapprove than to approve (48% vs. 38%) of Trump putting Washington, D.C. police under federal control and deploying National Guard troops in the city
- The vast majority of Democrats (85%) disapprove, while most Republicans (78%) approve; Independents are more likely to disapprove than approve (51% vs. 30%)
- American opinion is closely divided on the broader question of sending the National Guard to major U.S. cities. 40% support it and 46% oppose it, according to another YouGov poll this week
- There is more opposition to sending the National Guard to Americans' local area: 33% support it and 52% oppose it
Museums
- 17% of Americans say they visit museums very or somewhat often, including more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans (24% vs. 10%)
- However, similar shares of Democrats and Republicans say they have ever visited a Smithsonian museum (37% vs. 39%); 37% of Americans overall say they have
- More Americans would like federal funding for museums to be increased than decreased (32% vs. 7%); even more would prefer for funding to stay the same (45%)
- About half of Democrats (53%) want museum funding increased, while 36% want it to stay the same and 2% want a decrease. Republicans are most likely to prefer funding for museums to stay the same (60%); 12% would like it to increase and 11% would like it to decrease
- A majority (60%) of Americans say that the government should not control the content of exhibits in museums that receive government funding; 18% say the government should have control over this content
- Most Democrats (82%) are opposed to government control of exhibits in government-funded museums; only 9% are in favor. Republicans are more closely divided: 38% oppose government control of museum exhibits and 31% are in favor of it
- People who visit museums very or somewhat often are far more likely than those who never visit them to say the government should not have control of exhibits in museums it funds (70% vs. 49%)
- A large majority (84%) of Americans say it's very important for history and cultural museums to accurately represent American history. Majorities also say this about highlighting historical struggles and injustices (61%), highlighting American achievements (61%), and addressing sensitive topics such as slavery, racism, and inequality (60%). Fewer (46%) say it is very important for these museums to emphasize a positive vision for America’s future
- Democrats are about twice as likely as Republicans to emphasize the importance of museums addressing topics such as slavery, racism, and inequality (85% vs. 40%), as well as highlighting historical struggles and injustices (84% vs. 42%). Democrats are also somewhat more likely than Republicans to say it's very important to accurately represent American history, though large majorities of both groups prioritize this (91% vs. 78%)
- Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to think it's very important for museums to emphasize a positive vision for America’s future (57% vs. 37%) and to highlight American achievements (67% vs. 55%) — though both groups are more likely to prioritize accurate representations of history over each of these aims
- More Americans say that American history museums put too little than too much emphasis on the topic of slavery (26% vs. 15%); about one-third (36%) say the amount of emphasis museums put on slavery is about right
- Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say history museums put too little emphasis on slavery (49% vs. 7%) and Black Americans are far more likely to say this than white Americans (49% vs. 20%)
- Four times as many Republicans say history museums put too much emphasis on slavery than too little (28% vs. 7%) while 41% say they put about the right amount of emphasis
- The survey asked respondents to tell us in their own words how American history museums should cover the topic of slavery. With the help of an AI tool to analyze responses, we find that:
- Many Democrats and Republicans stress that museums should present slavery truthfully and accurately, but differ sharply in what they think should be emphasized. Democrats largely focus on portraying the brutality, injustice, and lasting impact of slavery. Republicans often emphasize that slavery should be treated as just one part of history, placed in a broader context, and accompanied by recognition of the country's progress in abolishing it. While Democrats often view slavery as a foundational and ongoing influence on U.S. society, Republicans are more likely to stress closure and balance on the topic
- Black Americans are far more likely to call for slavery to be shown with brutal honesty from the perspective of the people who were enslaved, emphasizing slavery's violence, dehumanization, and lasting legacy in racism and inequality today. White Americans, while also often calling for truth and accuracy, are more divided: Many support detailed, unflinching coverage, but a large share urge that slavery be treated as just one chapter among many, framed in global context, or presented without making contemporary Americans feel collective blame
- Americans are more likely to strongly or somewhat disagree than agree (50% vs. 30%) with Trump's recent social media post about the Smithsonian
- Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to disagree with it (85% vs. 17%)
- The racial gap is smaller than the partisan gap, but Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to disagree (63% vs. 47%)
- Americans who have visited a Smithsonian museum are slightly more likely to disagree with Trump's post than are those who have not (56% vs. 48%), but also slightly more likely to agree (36% vs. 32%)
Reading
- More than twice as many Americans say they read less often than they did 10 years ago than say they read more often (46% vs. 20%)
- College graduates are more likely than non-graduates to say they read more often than they did
- Americans between 30 and 64 are slightly more likely to say they read less often than 10 years ago than are adults who are either under 30 or 65 or older
- Americans who read more books are more likely to say they read more often than they used to
- 48% of those who say they've read or listened to more than 10 books in the past 12 months say they're now reading more than a decade ago, compared to 7% of those who read either one book or no books in the past year
- 13% of those who've read 10 or more books say they're reading less, compared to 65% of those who read one book or no books
- One-third of Americans say they read or listened to no books in the past 12 months, while another 8% say they read just one book
- Men are more likely than women to have read zero books (38% vs. 27%)
- 40% of non-college graduates have not read a book in the past year, compared to 18% of college graduates
- Women are more likely than men to be frequent readers even among men and women of similar education
- Among non-college graduates, 47% of men and 34% of women say they read or listened to no books in the past 12 months
- Among college graduates, 23% of men and 13% of women didn't read any books
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
Throughout this report, some numbers may appear to be off by 1 because of rounding
See the toplines and crosstabs for the August 22 - 25, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,523 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3.5%.
Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker / Staff)
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