More than 1 in 10 Democrats believe the United States was “never great,” according to the latest Ipsos survey on American greatness.
The survey said that 12% picked “It was never great” when asked to rate the decades since the 1920s. Some 2% of Republicans said the same.
The favorite decade for Democrats was the 1990s, when Bill Clinton was president, though the poll did not break out the Obama years. Instead, after the 1990s, it offered “present day,” which 17% of Democrats picked.
Republicans were split among “present day,” the 1980s Reagan era, and the 1950s Eisenhower period.
Overall, Ipsos found the rating of American greatness has dropped since President Trump took office, from 51% to 43%. The polling firm blamed politics.
“Partisanship is the biggest driver of perceptions of greatness; Republicans are more convinced that America is great (8.2 out of 10) than Democrats (6.0) or Independents (6.7),” said Ipsos.
There was also substantial division over what makes America great, especially on issues such as diversity and racial equality.
Asked to pick the biggest reasons America is great, most cited education, people, and the economy.
“Near the bottom of the list is our political system; currently, two-thirds (67%) believe it is an important factor in making America great. This represents a decline from two years ago (74% in 2017),” said Ipsos.
