Poll: Most Americans Think Democracy Is Under Serious Threat

Summary

The NPR Politics Podcast: Poll Reveals Most Americans View Democracy as Under Serious Threat

Episode: Poll: Most Americans Think Democracy Is Under Serious Threat
Release Date: July 2, 2025

---

Introduction

In the July 2, 2025 episode of The NPR Politics Podcast, hosted by Deepa Shivaram, senior political editor Domenico Montanaro, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson delve into the latest findings from the NPR-PBS News-Marist poll. The episode explores widespread American concerns about the state of democracy, confidence in political leadership, immigration policies, and President Donald Trump's economic standing. This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented during the episode.

---

1. Americans' Concerns About Democracy

Deepa Shivaram introduces the central theme of the episode: a significant majority of Americans perceive democracy as being under serious threat.

• Poll Findings:
  • 75% of respondents believe democracy is under serious threat (01:30).
  • Breakdown by party:
    • 90% of Democrats
    • 80% of Independents
    • Majority of Republicans
  • 75% also view politically motivated violence as a major problem.

Domenico Montanaro elaborates on these findings:

"Three quarters of people say that democracy they believe is under serious threat. That included almost nine in ten Democrats, 80% of independents, and a majority of Republicans. [01:30]"

---

2. Shifts in Perception Over Time and Party Lines

Deepa seeks to contextualize the current poll results by comparing them to previous data.

Domenico responds:

"Well, it's similar to what we found in April of this year, but it's different from 2023, when 87% said that they felt that there was a serious threat to democracy. [02:04]"

He explains that the slight decrease is primarily due to Republicans feeling less threatened under President Trump compared to when Democrat Joe Biden was in office.

"Republicans being 31 points different, I think that shows you that they really feel good about where things are right now with Donald Trump, for the most part. [02:54]"

Mara Liasson probes whether these perceptions are merely proxies for party affiliation:

"Does that mean these questions are really a proxy for party id? [03:21]"

Domenico acknowledges the influence but emphasizes broader concerns:

"I think there's a broad range of what people define democracy as, and I think it's really, you know, a temperature check for the health of the country. [03:59]"

---

3. Confidence in Political Leadership

The podcast shifts focus to Americans' trust in their political leaders.

Domenico shares unsettling statistics:

"President Trump has just a 43% approval rating. Republicans in Congress are just at 35%, which is actually the highest in the time that Marist has been asking this question. [04:12]"

He highlights a significant divide within the Democratic Party, citing the election of a young Democratic Socialist, Zoran Mamdani, in a New York mayoral primary as evidence of internal rifts.

"We have younger progressives who don't really like how they've seen their party... Older Democrats see his vision of a democratic socialist America as not one that can win nationally. [05:41]"

---

4. Immigration Policy: A Divisive Issue

The episode delves into the complexities of immigration policy under President Trump.

Domenico outlines key poll insights:

"64% of people say America's openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a Nation... 62% of Republicans agreed that if America is too open, it risks losing its identity as a nation. [09:27]"

He emphasizes the nuanced public opinions on various aspects of immigration:

• Violent Crimes: Broad consensus on deporting those convicted.
• Nonviolent Crimes: 58% support deportation.
• Students Overstaying Visas: A significant national split.
• Industry Workers: 55% oppose deportations.

Mara Liasson comments on Trump's fluctuating stance:

"We saw Trump following those shifting feelings on immigration almost like he was a metronome... Support for immigration in general went up over the course of his first term, and it might do the same in the second. [10:50]"

Domenico adds that despite Trump's declarations, policy implementation remains inconsistent:

"He said this weekend that he wants to see a, quote, temporary pass for farmers and hotel owners. But we haven't seen that trickle down to the Department of Homeland Security... [11:13]"

---

5. Economic Approval Amidst Political Challenges

President Trump's handling of the economy is another focal point of the discussion.

Domenico reveals a decline in economic approval:

"Foreign policy was 41%. Economics, he was at 39% economic approval... It's really the worst rating of any of the three things that we'd asked about when it came to immigration. [11:41]"

He contrasts current economic sentiments with those during Trump's first term, noting a significant drop in approval ratings.

Mara Liasson raises a critical question about Trump's economic policies:

"Will a weak dollar and high tariffs bring back the golden age of the American economy, as Trump says it will, or will the vast majority of economists be right and say that this could lead to a fiscal crisis and inflation? [12:15]"

---

6. Implications for Future Elections

The episode concludes by examining the potential impact of current political sentiments on upcoming elections.

Mara discusses Trump's position and the Republican base:

"But yes, the big question is, is Trump a kind of unique figure?... What I thought was really interesting and I wanted to ask Domenico, you know, his overall Approval rating is 43%. That's very static... [13:44]"

Domenico explains Trump's established support base:

"85% of the people who voted for Trump in 2020 voted for him in 2024, according to the Pew Research center... [14:24]"

He underscores that Trump's high floor and low ceiling limit his ability to improve his approval ratings, while also reinforcing his loyal base.

---

Conclusion

The episode of The NPR Politics Podcast provides a thorough analysis of American sentiments regarding democracy, political leadership, immigration, and economic policies. The NPR-PBS News-Marist poll underscores a deeply divided nation, with significant disparities in how different political affiliations perceive the threats to democracy and the performance of their leaders. As the political landscape evolves, these insights offer a valuable lens through which to understand the challenges and dynamics shaping the future of American governance.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Domenico Montanaro:
  "Three quarters of people say that democracy they believe is under serious threat. That included almost nine in ten Democrats, 80% of independents, and a majority of Republicans. [01:30]"

• Mara Liasson:
  "Does that mean these questions are really a proxy for party id? [03:21]"

• Domenico Montanaro:
  "I think that shows you that they really feel good about where things are right now with Donald Trump, for the most part. [02:54]"

• Domenico Montanaro:
  "They have very little confidence in their political leadership... Only 44% of Democrats approve of the job the Democrats are doing in Congress. [04:12]"

• Mara Liasson:
  "Will a weak dollar and high tariffs bring back the golden age of the American economy, as Trump says it will, or will the vast majority of economists be right and say that this could lead to a fiscal crisis and inflation? [12:15]"

---

For more detailed discussions and insights, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode of The NPR Politics Podcast.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker]

The House of Representatives has approved a White House request to claw back two years of previously approved funding for public media. The rescissions package now moves on to the Senate. This move poses a serious threat to local stations and public media as we know it. Please take a stand for public media [e-mail] thank you.

[Jackson]

Hi, my name is Jackson. I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Japan, catching up on American politics via the NPR Politics podcast while I get ready to head to the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. This podcast was recorded at 1:21pm on.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

[Mara Liasson]

Sounds pretty cool.

[Jackson]

Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but I'll be still trying to see the world to the extent that I can. All right, here's the show.

[Mara Liasson]

Sounds like he's undercover.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I hear those trains are so fast that you can't even get in an entire episode of the podcast.

[Deepa Shivaram]

I was gonna say, is he listening to it on 2x speed? Hey there. It's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Deepa Shivaram. I cover the White House.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

[Mara Liasson]

And I'm Mara Liasson, senior national political correspondent.

[Deepa Shivaram]

And today on the show, Americans are still worried about the state of democracy. That's according to the latest NPR PBS News Marist poll out this week. So, Domenico, I want to start there. What does this poll say about how Americans feel about a very American thing?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, well, three quarters of people say that democracy they believe is under serious threat. That included almost nine in ten Democrats, 80% of independents, and a majority of Republicans. Three quarters also described politically motivated violence in this country as a major problem. So we're seeing a lot of people really feel like on this Fourth of July week that they don't have a lot of confidence in the direction of the country or frankly, their political leadership.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Just to put this into context, how do the numbers that you're looking at compare with previous polls that have been done? Are people getting more worried? Is it the same? What's, what's this?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Well, it's similar to what we found in April of this year, but it's different from 2023, when 87% said that they felt that there was a serious threat to democracy. So what's the difference there is that that people think things are getting better? Not really. It's Republicans. When Democrat Joe Biden was president, 88% of Republicans said that there was a serious threat. In this survey, it was 57%. There wasn't much change among and independence. So we're seeing very different realities for what people in each party really see as the actual threat to democracy. No doubt Democrats see Trump and right wing extremism as that threat. For Republicans, it's different.

[Mara Liasson]

Does that mean these questions are really a proxy for party id? It's kind of like how when your own party's president is in office, you think the economy is pretty good, but if it's the other guy, you don't.

[Domenico Montanaro]

To some extent, yes. But among Democrats, that wasn't the case. I think it's for Republicans, mostly because in 2023, Democrats were but 87% saying that there was a serious threat to democracy. Now that's 89%. Not much different. For independents, it was 88%. Now it's 80. Slight decline, but really not much outside the margin of error. Republicans being 31 points different, I think that shows you that they really feel good about where things are right now with Donald Trump, for the most part.

[Deepa Shivaram]

So democracy for Republicans is doing better under a Republican president, in a way.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah. And I think we've seen that with a lot of different issues, like Maura alludes to on the economy, for example, when one party sees it differently than the other. There's also other things that might be some overlap in Venn diagram, which we didn't ask about, but in interviews with people, we know that some people are very concerned, many people are very concerned about polarization in the country. Partisanship, civility, the way we talk to each other. And that does feel different than it did some 15 years ago.

[Mara Liasson]

But so does that mean that voters define democracy as partisan? In other words, the democracy is doing better when my guy's in office.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I think there's a broad range of what people define democracy as, and I think it's really, you know, a temperature check for the health of the country.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah. Domenico, something you mentioned earlier is political leadership. What did the poll say about how people feel about those in power?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, they have very little confidence in their political leadership. You know, President Trump has just a 43% approval rating. Republicans in Congress are just at 35%, which is actually the highest in the time that Maris has been asking this question. Back to 2011. Democrats are just at 27%. And, you know, Democrats are the reason that the party is so low. Only 44% of Democrats approve of the job the Democrats are doing in Congress. It's a 30 point difference from how Republicans feel about Republicans. And I think this exposes a rift that we've seen in the party where we have younger progressives who don't really like how they've seen their party or the party that they lean most toward fight against Trump. And I think that that was highlighted, you know, in this past week with this mayoral election in New York. We had a primary on the Democratic side where a young progressive who declares himself as a Democratic Socialist, Zoran Mamdani, won. So if he wins in that kind of race, and you had a lot of young voters going in his direction, it really does show this divide of younger voters who should be voting Democratic, but are saying that they don't feel like they have somebody who expresses a vision for the future as boldly as they wanna see it. But older Democrats see his vision of a democratic socialist America as not one that can win nationally. And I think that's a rift that could play out and will probably continue to play out.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah. Well, Mara, I mean, we were talking yesterday on the pod about, you know, this. This big bill of Trump's that got passed through the Senate. And Democrats obviously have a lot to go through in 2027, 2028. But some of this stuff is playing out more immediately than that with how Democrats feel about Democrats in office.

[Mara Liasson]

That's right. I think what's so interesting to me about polling is how disconnected some people's opinions are about the economy, about different bills in Congress from their approval of the president or Congress. For instance, I wanted to ask Domenico, right now, Donald Trump has a 43% approval rating. In the past, we would have said that's pretty bad, but since it's so static, he's been there for the almost the whole time. Is that correct?

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah. And I think that the polarization that we're seeing in the country just over the last 20 years or so lends itself to the fact that presidents just generally haven't been above 50%.

[Deepa Shivaram]

One other thought I wanted to bring up with both of you. As people in this poll are saying that they disapprove of their parties in Congress, or Democrats are disapproving of Democrats, they disapprove their political leaders. At the same time, incumbent politicians don't often get voted out. How do you explain that disconnect?

[Domenico Montanaro]

You know, the funnel has sort of gotten tighter in this country for where these, you know, competitive seats and races are. We've seen a shrinking number of competitive seats over the long term, you know, some decades where both parties have been able to really redistrict and make compromise something that's not really incentivized. Because if you have a district that's really all one party, then that party wants to see you fight for those priorities. Then you're seeing fewer and fewer people likely to wind up losing because there aren't many people who are crossover voters to vote you out. So that's one thing. But I think there's also a lot of people who just don't feel at home in either party but don't have any other choice. They're not approving of either party for the most part, but they've got to vote for someone or they stay home on the couch. And we're seeing that a third to 40% of people, even in presidential elections do make that choice. Even though they're eligible to vote, they stay home.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right. We're gonna take a quick break, and we'll be back in a moment.

[Unknown Speaker]

On the plus side, you get sponsor free listening to over 25 NPR podcasts. On the minus side, you get fewer chances to tap Fast forward on your podcast player. On the plus side, you get to support something you care about. On the minus side, you like challenges and think this makes it too easy. So why don't you join us on the plus side of things with NPR? Learn more and sign up at plus.NPR.org.

Decades ago, Brazilian women made a discovery they could have an abortion without a doctor thanks to a tiny pill. That pill spawned a global movement helping millions of women have safe abortions regardless of the law. Hear that story on the network from NPR's Embedded and Futuro Media. Wherever you get your podcasts.

This message comes from Instacart. This summer, Instacart is aiming to bring back your favorites from 1999, like juice pouches, box Mac and cheese and ham, cheese and cracker lunches with prices from $19.99. Enjoy all those throwbacks and more at throwback prices only through Instacart. $4.72. Maximum discount per $10 of eligible items limit 1 offer per order expires 95 while supplies last discount based on CPI comparison.

[Deepa Shivaram]

And we're back. Domenico, I want to ask about something that was key to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and that, of course, is immigration policy. A majority of people in this poll say they are displeased with what the administration has been doing.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, and Trump's immigration approval mirrors his overall approval rating, which is 43% approved, 52% disapproved. So 43% of people say that Trump's deportation policies also have made the country safer, 54%. A majority think that Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE has gone too far in enforcing immigration laws. Broadly speaking. A significant majority, 64%, say America's openness to people from all over the world is essential to who we are as a Nation. That included 85% of Democrats, 68% of independents. But on the flip side of this, 62% of Republicans agreed that if America is too open, it risks losing its identity as a nation. This has been a really fundamental divide. We saw that split also when it came to who people think should stay and who should go. There's broad consensus on deporting those convicted of violent crimes. And in a country without permanent legal status, 80% of people think that they should be deported. 58% also say to deport those who are convicted of nonviolent crimes. But it gets trickier here for Trump the further down you go, especially when it comes to students who've overstayed their visas. There's a real split in the country on that. And for industry workers, people in food and agricultural industries, 55% said that they oppose their deportations. So actual views of immigration policy, policy much more nuanced than the politics certainly allows.

[Mara Liasson]

And you could see Trump following those shifting feelings on immigration almost like he was a metronome. I mean, you know, he, He. He said, oh, we're not going to deport people who work in agriculture or hotels. And, you know, he went back and forth on that. This is a complicated issue we saw in Trump's first term. Support for immigration in general went up over the course of his first term, and it might do the same in the second.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, and he said this weekend that he wants to see a, quote, temporary pass for farmers and hotel owners. But we haven't seen that trickle down to the Department of Homeland Security, which says that these immigration raids at workplaces are, quote, cornerstone to their deportation policies.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Another message that Trump ran on, especially in 2024, was an economic message, Right? All the talk about the price of eggs and all these other things, but in this poll, he's pretty underwater on the economy, too.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Yeah, it's really striking. It's the worst rating of any of the three things that we'd asked about when it came to immigration. Foreign policy was 41%. Economics. The economy, he was at 39% economic approval, including six in 10 independents who said that they disapproved of the job that he was doing on the economy. That's a real inversion of his first term. I went and looked back at Marist's polling through the Trump first term and their range on Trump's Handling of economics. His approval ranged from 40 to 53%. It was never this low. No.

[Mara Liasson]

And he we're still in the midst of this grand experiment. Will a weak dollar and high tariffs bring back the golden age of the American economy, as Trump says it will, or will the vast majority of economists be right and say that this could lead to a fiscal crisis and inflation?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Mara, I want to take a quick step back here, too, because even if Trump is unpopular with, you know, these issues, and even if his policies are unpopular, he's in a position where he doesn't have to run for reelection and Republicans in Congress are largely supportive of his plans. But is this dissatisfaction with Trump, you know, potentially a warning for Republicans heading into next year's midterms?

[Mara Liasson]

Well, there's certainly a lot of Republicans who think it is when you say he doesn't have to run for reelection. The Constitution actually prohibits him from running for reelection. He can't serve a third term whether it's consecutive or non consecutive. But yes, the big question is, is Trump a kind of unique figure? Is the strong feelings that the Republican base have about Trump, are those transferable to other candidates who are going to run in the midterms to candidates who want to succeed him in 2028? We don't know that. What I thought was really interesting and I wanted to ask Domenico, you know, his overall Approval rating is 43%. That's very static. He's been there for a while. But 43% of people also strongly disapprove of the job he's doing now. I can't remember a strong disapproved number that high of a president.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Well, we did start to see that creep up during the Biden presidency, where it was in the forties of strongly disapproved. But the intensity of opposition to Trump certainly means that he has a high floor and a low ceiling. In other words, he's not gonna go much higher than where he is. He has a very small range of being able to get that approval rating up. And I think that's part of why you see cater to his base as much as he does, because he has such a locked in group of people. You know, 85% of the people who voted for Trump in 2020 voted for him in 2024, according to the Pew Research center and their validated voter study that they did. So he has this real locked in base of people and he can't afford to lose them.

[Deepa Shivaram]

All right, we're going to leave it there for today. I'm Deepa Shivaram I cover the White House.

[Domenico Montanaro]

I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent.

[Mara Liasson]

And I'm Mara Liasson, senior senior national political correspondent.

[Deepa Shivaram]

And thank you for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.

[Mara Liasson]

See, every time they let me be on with Domenico, I think it's a red letter day.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Amar, I love how you say your name when you, when you say your name, it sounds like wind chimes.

[Mara Liasson]

Oh, so nice. I have a really funny story to tell you, but what I'll do it on the air.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Sounds good.

[Unknown Speaker]

You know those things you shout at the radio or maybe even at this.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Very NPR podcast on NPR's Wait, Wait, don't tell me. We actually say those things on the.

[Unknown Speaker]

Radio and on the podcast. We're rude across all media.

[Domenico Montanaro]

We think the news can take it. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, don't tell me.

[Unknown Speaker]

Wherever you get your podcasts, you're listening to NPR because you're curious. You want to know what the world is like beyond the surface. NPR feeds that curiosity with stories from real people, with real experiences and all the perspectives that come with them. It's our right to be curious and our prerogative to listen. So keep your curiosity alive. Hear the bigger picture Every day on NPR.

[Domenico Montanaro]

On NPR's Throughline. School teachers are going to be the ones that rebuild our society in a way that is more cohesive. Basically, where soldiers set down their arms, school teachers need to pick up their books.

[Unknown Speaker]

How the U.S. department of Education Tried to fix a divided nation.

[Domenico Montanaro]

Listen to Throughline. Wherever you get your podcasts.