This week’s Economist/YouGov poll covers…
- Reactions to Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off the air
- Democrats' increasing prioritization of civil rights
- A big drop in Republican support for cutting Ukraine aid
- More belief that Israel is committing genocide than that it isn't
- Scant expectation the Supreme Court will overturn Trump's tariffs
- Divisions over attacks on boats in Venezuela
- Doubts about King Charles III's eventual place in history
Jimmy Kimmel
- The vast majority (90%) of Americans heard at least a little about ABC taking Kimmel off the air last week
- More Americans strongly or somewhat disapprove than approve of Kimmel being taken off the air (48% vs. 36%)
- Two-thirds (68%) of Americans believe it is unacceptable for the government to pressure broadcasters to remove shows that include speech it disagrees with; only 13% say it is acceptable for the government to do this and 19% aren't sure
- Twice as many Democrats as Republicans say the government pressuring broadcasters to remove shows is unacceptable (88% vs. 42%)
- Kimmel was taken off the air after the Federal Communications Commission's chair criticized on-air remarks Kimmel made about the killing of Charlie Kirk. The share of Americans who believe Kirk's shooter was mostly motivated by left-wing beliefs has risen 6 points since last week, to 37% from 31%
- About one-quarter (26%) of Americans say they watch late-night comedy shows at least once a week, including far more Democrats than Republicans (42% vs. 15%)
- 17% of Americans — including more Democrats than Republicans (29% vs. 8%) — say they watch Jimmy Kimmel Live at least once a week
- More Americans view Jimmy Kimmel very or somewhat favorably than unfavorably (43% vs. 37%)
Civil rights
- Civil rights, already a bigger priority among Democrats than Republicans during Joe Biden's presidency, has become an even bigger priority for Democrats during Donald Trump's second term
- 18% of Democrats say civil rights is their most important issue, among a list of 15 issues; 0% of Republicans do
- Civil rights trails only inflation/prices (19%) among Democrats; for two weeks last month it was Democrats' top issue
- At the start of Trump's second term, 11% of Democrats said civil rights was their top issue; it was the biggest issue for less than 10% of Democrats for most of the last two years of Biden's presidency, when inflation/prices generally topped the national agenda
Russia-Ukraine war
- 33% of Americans want to increase U.S. military aid to Ukraine, while 25% want to maintain the same amount of military aid, 10% want to decrease military aid, and 12% want to stop it altogether
- The 22% who want to either decrease or stop Ukrainian military aid is the smallest share to say this since the aid was first asked about in September 2022, six months after Russia invaded Ukraine
- The 33% who want to increase military aid to Ukraine is similar to the shares of Americans who said this in August and July polls; it is higher than on any Economist / YouGov Poll from September 2022 through May 2025 that asked about the aid
- The share of Republicans who want to decrease or end U.S. military aid to Ukraine has fallen from 59% in March to 35% today
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Similar shares of Americans sympathize more with the Israelis and sympathize more with the Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (28% vs. 25%)
- Adults under 30 and Democrats are especially likely to sympathize more with the Palestinians, while Republicans and Americans 65 and older are especially likely to sympathize with the Israelis
- 40% of Americans want to decrease or stop military aid to Israel, while 13% want to increase it and 24% want to maintain the same amount of military aid
- The share of Americans who favor increasing military aid to Israel has fallen from 24% in November 2023 —when the question was first asked, a month after Hamas's attack on Israel — to 13% today
- In November 2023, 23% of Americans said they would decrease military aid to Israel; today 40% say they would either decrease or stop military aid to Israel
- 42% of Americans say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, up from 35% in January 2024
Tariffs
- Many Americans (43%) think that tariffs on foreign goods imported to the U.S. should be decreased; 12% would like for them to be increased and 25% want them to be kept the same
- Preferences for future tariff changes have changed dramatically since we first asked this question in February 2024, before Donald Trump won the presidential election and raised tariffs in his second term. At the time, relative to a lower level of existing tariffs than are in place today, 20% of Americans wanted tariffs decreased and 24% wanted them increased
- Most people (71%) expect that tariffs imposed by Trump will increase the prices they pay; 10% think the tariffs will have no effect and 5% think they will decrease prices
- Majorities of Democrats (87%), Independents (72%), and Republicans (55%) believe Trump's tariffs will increase prices
- One-third (35%) of Americans aren't sure who has the authority to set tariffs; 18% say their understanding is closest to thinking that only Congress has this authority, 31% think Congress does but has delegated some authority to the president, and 15% think that only the president has this authority
- Many Americans (41%) aren't sure how the Supreme Court will rule about Trump's tariffs; more think it will rule his tariffs are legal than expect it will rule they are illegal (42% vs. 17%). More Republicans than Democrats think the Court will rule they are legal (54% vs. 33%); many in both groups are unsure of what the outcome will be
Venezuela
- Americans are three times as likely to view Venezuela as unfriendly or an enemy of the U.S. than as friendly or an ally (48% vs. 15%)
- Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say it is unfriendly or an enemy (59% vs. 42%)
- Most Americans (59%) don't have an opinion of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; 35% view him unfavorably and only 6% have a favorable opinion of him
- The U.S. has recently used deadly force to destroy boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Venezuela to the U.S.; slightly more Americans strongly or somewhat approve of these actions than disapprove (44% vs. 38%)
Monarchy and the UK
- Most Americans (61%) believe the U.S. has a special relationship with the United Kingdom; this includes majorities of Democrats (58%) and Republicans (70%). Fewer young adults think this is the case: 49% of adults under 30 see a special relationship between the U.S. and the UK, compared to 70% of Americans 65 and older
- Roughly two-thirds (69%) of Americans think it would be a bad thing for the U.S. to have a monarchy; only 4% think it would be good and 11% say it would be neither good nor bad. Opinions on this issue were similar when the question was first asked in 2021
- Few Americans (11%) think that King Charles III will go down in history as an outstanding or above average British monarch; 37% think he will be remembered as average and 24% say he will be viewed as a below average or poor monarch. These perceptions have changed little since he became King three years ago
- Charles' net favorability, or the share who have a very or somewhat favorable opinion minus the share who have an unfavorable opinion, is +12. That is higher than that of the British politicians Keir Starmer (0) and Nigel Farage (+1) but significantly lower than his family members Princess Catherine (+45), Prince William (+41), and Prince Harry (+24). Meghan Markle (+9) and Queen Consort Camilla (-12) receive lower ratings than Charles. (Not all members of the royal family were included on the poll)
Throughout this report, some numbers may appear to be off by 1 because of rounding
See the toplines and crosstabs for the September 19 - 22, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,551 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 (Mario Tama / Staff)
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