Recent polls show how Americans think about important issues

July 8, 2025

Those of us who have been around for a while — seasoned citizens — realize that the level of disagreement has grown greatly in the last decade or so.

With the sharp divide between the left and the right in our country about how it is doing and what needs to be done, it is interesting to see what the concerns are, and how each side views the situation.

A recent poll by Newsmax magazine showed the results of how all voters view the Republican and Democratic parties’ position on important issues. Republicans topped the Democrats on ten issues, while the Democrats won on three. There were five ways voters expressed their opinion: For Republicans, Democrats, Both, Neither, and Not Sure.

The top issues for Republicans were: 
Immigration & border - Rep 47%, Dem 28%
Government spending - Rep 42%, Dem 28%
Terrorism/national security - Rep 41%, Dem 30%
China-U.S. relations - Rep 38%, Dem 29%
Mideast/Hamas/Iran - Rep 38%, Dem 29%
Russia/Ukraine situation - Rep 39%, Dem 31%
Reducing violence and crime - Rep 38%, Dem 31%
Restoring our core values - Rep 40%, Dem 32%
Growing the economy - Rep 40%, Dem 33%
Gun policy - Rep 37%, Dem 34%

The Democrats led on these:
Lowering healthcare costs - Dem 39%, Rep 32%
Addressing Climate Change - Dem 40%, Rep 27%

Increasing home affordability - Dem 34%, Rep 33%

Another poll asked about the Budget and the National Debt, and the poll showed that overall, 75% of voters were very concerned or somewhat concerned. There were four categories of voters: Overall, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. 

Those results were fairly close among the groups: 
Overall - Very concerned 40%, Somewhat 35%
Democrats - Very concerned 42%, Somewhat 36%
Republicans - Very concerned 41%, Somewhat 34%
Independents - Very concerned 40%, Somewhat 37%

In looking at the leading cause of the National Debt — far and away the leading cause in each voting group — Excessive Government Spending won. Overall, 47% chose it, and 54% of Republicans, 48% of Independents, and 40% of Democrats chose it.

A distant second place went to Tax Cuts That Reduced Revenue, with only 16% Overall, Democrats at 17%, Republicans at 14%, and Independents at 13%. Coming in third was Not Sure, with slightly lower numbers.

Other causes coming in at less than 10% each were Military and Defense Costs, Social Programs (like Medicare and Social Security), and COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Spending.

Newsmax also showed how the sources of electricity production have changed since 1950. Data from 2024 provided by the U.S. Energy Information Agency show that while their numbers have changed, fossil fuels — coal, crude oil and dry natural gas — still lead by a wide margin.

Over that period coal usage has dropped by about 25% while crude oil has more than doubled, and dry natural gas has increased by more than 600%. There have been significant increases in biomass, wet natural gas and nuclear. But even so, they make up just less than 25% of all sources. Solar, wind and hydro provide roughly 3.5% of all sources.

It seems a majority sees problems with federal law enforcement having become politicized. Another Newsmax poll illustrated the degree to which Americans consider this to be a problem, and focused on the FBI.

On whether the agency needs to undergo reform by the Trump administration, 55% said “yes,” 30% said “no,” and 15% were “not sure.” 

On whether the FBI has become politicized in recent years, 51% said “yes,” 25% said “no,” and 24% were “not sure.”

Asking voters from the Democratic and Republican parties how they viewed FBI Director Kash Patel’s leadership, Democrats said: Favorable - 24%, Unfavorable - 44%, Not Sure - 32%. Republicans said: Favorable - 62%, Unfavorable - 11%, and Not Sure - 27%.

And for FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, the results were, Democrats: Favorable - 26%, Unfavorable - 37%, and Not Sure - 37%. Republicans said: Favorable - 57%, Unfavorable - 13%, and Not Sure - 30%. Both leaders received a favorable opinion from a plurality of those polled.

On another subject, there is a majority of those polled who agree on three elements. That subject is China, our most threatening adversary. China has purchased thousands of acres of American farm land, much of it near military bases. It has also purchased some American businesses, and has stolen many good ideas from us. It is also the source for many goods that once were produced here.

However, the three areas of the Newsmax polls show that more than 50% of Americans want China to be held accountable.

On the topic of tariffs, 52% strongly or somewhat support them. Those who strongly or somewhat oppose tariffs are only 33%.

Those wanting China to pay reparations for the COVID pandemic are 52%, with 31% opposing. And the third category, reducing the reliance on China, regardless of the costs, are 45% to 29%.

While most of the pro/con numbers are not as far apart as we might expect, given the extreme political divide we see daily, there is still a majority of opinion supporting the Republican position on these issues.

There is much discussion of Trump’s first 100 days in office

May 6, 2025

There’s lots of talk about all the things President Donald Trump has and hasn’t done in his first 100 days in office. As expected, his supporters are satisfied with some things, and his critics are shouting about him not completing his rather long and strenuous list of hopes and dreams.

A lot of people are upset over Trump’s heavy focus of tariffs. In case you are not aware of the current tariff situation, here’s a look at what other countries are doing to the United States with tariffs on our goods, taken from the chart that Trump was seen holding in the Oval Office recently.

China - 67%; European Union - 39%; Taiwan - 64%; Japan - 46%; India - 52%; South Korea - 50%; Switzerland - 61%.

The highest two are Vietnam at 90%, and Cambodia at 97%. And there are a few at reasonable levels, such as the United Kingdom, Singapore and Brazil, all at just 10%.

On the other side of this situation is that the highest the U.S. charges is less than 50%, with the highest two at 49% for Cambodia and 46% for Vietnam. Everyone else is below 40%. That doesn’t include the current fight with China that might be higher if things don’t even out through negotiations.

Trump wants low tariffs, or no tariffs, so that trade with other nations is fair for all parties, in terms of cost of goods.

This process will take time — more than the 100 days Trump has been working on it. And, yes, there will be some discomfort.

Richard Porter, writing in Newsmax magazine, describes it this way: “Trump’s tariff policy is pragmatic and populist while theoretically inconsistent. It’s of a piece with his broader attempt to rebalance the terms under which the United States deals with other nations, moving away from the post-war, subsidy-for-friends model toward an everyone-pulls-their-own-weight model — a model in which alliances are premised on shared interests instead of subsidies.”

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing he has accomplished in his early days is to address the influx of some 12 million illegals who casually walked in during the Biden administration, and who it dispersed all across the country, criminals and all.

This critical need did not require Congressional action to reform the immigration policy of the country, as former President Joe Biden and his partners in this travesty kept telling us. All it took was someone willing to fix it.

As of now, daily border encounters are down by 93%; encounters with gotaways – the top threat to public safety – are down by 95%; and migrant crossings are down by 99.99%.

In March of this year, we had less than 7,200 border encounters, the lowest monthly number in recorded history.

The energy picture is also improving, and we are moving to recover the conditions achieved during Trump’s first term. He is moving us away from ideas that sound good, but are not good, such as the New Green Deal, and an electric vehicle mandate. 

We are returning to using clean coal for energy production, which is good for the Appalachian coal field communities, and drilling in new oil fields; working to ship natural gas to Europe, which badly needs it, and continuing fracking.

Because of the increased production of energy, the price of oil, which at one point under Biden was $120 a barrel, is now down close to $60 a barrel. Trump is no longer draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and will likely begin to refill it.

He has also begun doing away with the foolish policy of diversity, equity and inclusion, which put factors other than the abilities of people in their selection for important things.

While many/most prices are still too high, inflation has subsided. “This is truly remarkable,” economist E.J. Antoni, Ph.D., said. “Average annual inflation rate from ‘09 until ‘21 was 1.8%, then Biden drove it up to 8.6% for a year and a half, then it rose steadily at 3.1% for the rest of his term; but now Trump is averaging a mere 1.0% - remarkable!”

Trump is not perfect, not by a long shot. But neither was Biden or Obama, or any other president.

But his ideas are far more “American” than those of either Biden or Obama, or millions of other people who think that what is happening to Abrego Garcia is really important. Then there are the ones who idolize Luigi Mangione, the accused murderer of Brian Thompson, who was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan.

Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of CEO of UnitedHealthcare, a health insurance company. And Mangione is being celebrated as "so handsome!!!" and "guilty for being hot." He is even being celebrated with a new musical in his honor, as he and others believe Thompson’s murder was justified because of problems with the health insurance industry.

Much of the opposition to Trump is because some just don’t like him. But mostly it is because what he wants to do to help the country and its citizens are things that work directly against the twisted goals of Democrats, progressives and socialists.

Trump’s tariffs. Are they a good thing for America, or not?

February 4, 2025

One of President Donald Trump’s economic tools to equalize relationships with some other countries is to increase tariffs on foreign goods coming into the country, and impose new ones where needed.

Tariffs are taxes imposed upon goods from other countries. There are two types. A specific tariff is a charge for goods without regard for the cost of the goods, somewhat like a flat tax. Ad valorem tariffs are charges based upon the cost of the goods.

Tariffs have been around for as long as trade has existed between countries and are the subject of a vigorous economic debate. Economists do not agree on their exact effect on economic growth and government revenue. 

Trump’s idea, in part, is to get other countries to lower their tariffs on American-made goods. To do so, he will increase tariffs on them, or impose tariffs on them to equalize things, to give them a taste of their own medicine.

An example is that countries in the European Union charge a 10 percent tariff on American automobiles, but the U.S. only charges a 2.5 percent tariff on the autos imported from the European Union. Trump thinks this makes no sense, and has threatened to raise the tariff to 25 percent unless the EU reduces their tariff. There are other similar situations.

Tariffs can also be used to encourage other countries to do things that the U.S. needs and wants, such as an increase of the tariffs to 25 percent on oil and other products coming from Canada and Mexico, and also for Mexico and Canada to do a better job stopping drugs and illegals coming across their borders into our country.

Both Canada and Mexico have objected to this idea that was floated recently. The tariffs were to take effect February 4th.

He is also considering a 10 percent tariff on chemicals coming here from China that are used to make fentanyl, in addition to existing tariffs, and to increase those other tariffs on other Chinese products.

The MasterClass website offers these points on tariffs: “One common reason to enact tariffs is to promote infant industries that may not otherwise be able to compete directly with more developed foreign industries. This theory was extremely important in the early days of the U.S. when high tariffs were used to shield early American industries like textiles and manufacturing.

“Tariffs have also been used to protect industries related to national security. This is why countries often protect their domestic defense and aerospace industries with tariffs on foreign manufacturers, among other policies.” 

Tariffs will likely cause price increases on consumers for imported goods, and that may make imported goods less desirable than goods produced here at home. That will have a positive economic impact. But another positive from tariffs in addition to promoting American industries and protecting them from foreign competition is that they also raise government revenue.

One person schooled in economics, Stephen Miran, defends tariffs. He is President Trump’s nominee to chair the Council of Economic Advisors, and holds a doctorate in economics from Harvard.

Miran supports imposing tariffs of 20 percent on all nations, even our allies, using security guarantees that exist for allies of the U.S. as the leverage for them to submit to the tariffs without retaliating against us.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, believes that tariffs can help resolve issues like national security and unfair competition.

While Dimon generally supports Trump’s tariff plan, he urged being thoughtful in how they are used. “Like any tool, if it’s misused, it can do damage, too,” he noted. He added that the U.S. must consider the downsides of tariffs when used on key trading partners.

And the Associated Press, no friend of Trump, predictably took the negative side: “The Republican president posted on social media that the tariffs were necessary ‘to protect Americans,’ pressing the three nations to do more to curb the manufacture and export of illicit fentanyl and for Canada and Mexico to reduce illegal immigration into the U.S.

“The tariffs, if sustained, could cause inflation to significantly worsen, threatening the trust that many voters placed in Trump to lower the prices of groceries, gasoline, housing, autos and other goods as he promised. They also risked throwing the global economy and Trump’s political mandate into turmoil just two weeks into his second term.”

The American economy is best served when Americans buy things made here. The more goods and services we produce and sell here, the more businesses and jobs we will have, the more vibrant our economy will be, and the greater the revenue that is collected by the government. 

However, if people buy foreign-made goods rather than domestic goods, our economy is less strong than otherwise.

Yes, there are downsides to tariffs. And, while Trump’s tariffs may make imported goods more expensive, with which many will disagree, by imposing positive aspects into the domestic economy, they will strengthen the economy, and that is certainly a positive result.

Agree, or disagree? Of course, there will be effects of these tariffs. But it will take some time before things shake out and we know if they were a good idea, or a bad idea.

Critics say Trump’s tariffs will bring on a trade war, but will they?

President Donald Trump continues with his “America First” campaign, announcing a move that is aimed at the tilted playing field on international trade. Critics say Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum coming into the country will usher in a trade war, and it will harm America.

However, the fact is that we are already in a trade war; we have been it for many years; and we are losing it.

Most Americans probably don’t realize that we are in a trade war because, first, they don’t really follow such things, and neither do the major news media. Also, when a situation exists for a long enough time, it becomes “normal.” That is the case with the uneven tariff situation with other nations, and quite a few of them are our allies.

"We cannot have free and open trade if some countries exploit the system at the expense of others,” Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We support free trade, but it needs to be fair and it needs to be reciprocal. Because, in the end, unfair trade undermines us all."

 “We cannot get our product in [to the European Union], Trump said in a TV interview in late January. “It’s very, very tough. And yet they send their product to us - no taxes, very little taxes. It’s very unfair.” Germany was singled out as a particularly guilty nation.

Trump points out how this has created America’s huge trade gap with foreign countries. “In 2017, the U.S. trade gap leaped 12.1 percent to a nine-year high of $566 billion,” as reported by MarketWatch, which attributed the rise  “to high oil prices and also to a strengthening economy. When Americans are more prosperous, they tend to buy more imported goods.”

“The latest statistics released on March 18 [2017] by the BEA [Bureau of Economic Analysis] show that for every dollar that the United States bought from China in 2009, the Chinese government only let its people buy 28 cents of American products,” reports idealtaxes.com. “Although the Chinese economy was growing by 8.7 percent, the Chinese government managed to shrink Chinese imports of American goods and services.”

The report states “China still maintains high duties on some products that compete with sensitive domestic industries. For example, the tariff on large motorcycles is 30 percent. Likewise, most video, digital video, and audio recorders and players still face duties of approximately 30 percent. Raisins face duties of 35 percent.” However, China did cut tariffs on a few minor items last November.

Trump has also criticized China's currency manipulations, which increase costs of American goods and services by 25 to 40 percent.

As The Washington Times reported last December, “India is still using high tariffs and other protectionist measures to keep U.S. manufacturing goods from entering its domestic market.” The result: America has a $32 billion trade deficit with India, the second largest country on Earth. The Times concludes, “It’s a problem that the Trump administration needs to address — and soon.”

Cars and electronics are largely the fuel for Japan’s $69 billion trade advantage, America’s second largest trade deficit, after China’s. All told, eleven nations impose tariffs on America’s Harley-Davidson motorcycles with engines over 800cc: India at 100 percent; China at 60 percent; and Thailand at 30 percent.  And the EU has had steep tariffs on U.S. imports for years.

To all of that, add in that the tariffs Trump wants to impose resulted from an investigation by the Department of Commerce that showed that imports of both steel and aluminum are sufficiently high that they pose a national security threat.

With those listed anti-American tariffs at work against us, what do we do? Do we merely leave things be, and continue to have our economy and Americans’ pocketbooks negatively affected? Or, do we try to fix the situation.

Trump is not one to merely look the other way under such conditions, and has proposed tariffs that at this point exclude only Canada and Mexico. This, of course, has attracted quite a lot of negative reaction.

So many people are obsessed with criticizing everything Trump does or doesn’t do that they repeated fail in these efforts, and then can’t resist advertising their failure. They don’t go the extra little bit. Instead of instantly denigrating and ridiculing Trump, do a little work and see what he is really doing below the surface.

Trump is a negotiator, and that is a major factor in how he does things. He can propose a 50 percent tariff on a country or some products, and then modify his terms if some accommodation is made, or maybe double down if no accommodation is offered. Ultimately, the conclusion of this exercise will usually be more moderate than the initial proposal, and actually will provide positive change for our country. This is the nature of negotiation, and Trump is a professional negotiator.

As for his many critics, why not just wait and see how the situation evolves, instead of jumping at his first words to try and create the most exciting and damaging comment about something that is just getting under way?