Topline
Most Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the future and think the country’s best years are behind them, new poll data shows, but Republicans are more optimistic about the future now than they were when Barack Obama was president.
The U.S. Capitol building on April 20, 2026.
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Key Facts
Pew Research data released Friday shows most Americans (59%) think the country’s best years are behind them and only 40% think its best years are ahead.
A majority of people in almost every racial, economic and political demographic said they feel America’s best years are in the past with one exception—upper income respondents were split 50-50 on the question.
Black people, Hispanic people and Democrats were the most likely to report they think the country’s best years are behind it, but a majority of Republicans, white and Asian people responded the same (just by a less dramatic margin).
Pew asked the same questions back in 2014, when Democratic politicians held the White House and the Senate, and found Democrats were more optimistic about the country’s future then than they are now, but Republicans are significantly more optimistic now.
Americans are, in general, more pessimistic (44%) than optimistic (28%) when asked to think about what the U.S. will be like 50 years from now and have become more pessimistic since 2014.
Key Background
On an international scale, Americans stand out for their pessimism about the political system and their lack of national pride. Pew surveyed more than 30,000 people in 25 countries for a survey released in February and found the United States ranked among the countries with the fewest respondents who mentioned politics, history or culture as points of national pride. When asked what makes them most proud, one-in-five Americans offered something negative or critical instead, making respondents from the United States the fifth most-likely to do so among surveyed countries. Data released in April showed the vast majority (77%) of Americans say the nation’s political system needs major changes or complete reform, but half of those people said they don’t have much faith that those changes will actually happen.
Contra
An Ipsos poll released in April found that while divisions in the United States are intense, most people see their differences as problems to solve, not permanent barriers. Half of respondents said being an American is an important part of how they think about themselves, and almost 75% said they believe they have or will achieve the American Dream. That poll also found that most people (52%) think America’s best days are behind it, but also found that the majority of Americans are eager to support the country’s future and are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.
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