In this 2018 survey, eight percent of respondents stated they think the biggest problem for the United States today is Donald Trump. In fact, most of the important problems mentioned are somehow related to the current POTUS – the most mentioned one being immigration and racism.

A country divided

Since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, political camps in the United States are deeply divided and global politics is in turmoil; Trump’s job approval ratings are notoriously low, and in fact, they are lower than Reagan’s or Nixon’s averages ever were. Trump’s leadership is controversial at best and his executive orders often cause protests, especially among Democrats and liberals – like the travel ban for Muslims.

On the other side

One of Trump’s main campaign promises was a wall on the border with Mexico in order to keep potential illegal immigrants out and enhance security for American citizens. When he did not get the majority for this plan, he declared a national emergency to force the budget to be allocated, even though the majority of Americans did not support this idea, and it is unclear if the situation at the Mexican border actually warrants it. In fact, the total number of unauthorized immigrants has decreased over the last few years and today, many Americans believe that their country benefits from immigrants and their work .

A 2024 survey found that over half of U.S. individuals indicated the cost of accessing treatment was the biggest problem facing the national healthcare system. This is much higher than the global average of 32 percent and is in line with the high cost of health care in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries. Bureaucracy along with a lack of staff were also considered to be pressing issues. This statistic reveals the share of individuals who said select problems were the biggest facing the health care system in the United States in 2024.

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the general public on matters related to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. This public opinion study of the United States focused on respondents' opinions of the United States' leadership role in the world and the challenges the country faces domestically and internationally. The survey covered the following international topics: relations with other countries, role in foreign affairs, possible threats to vital interests in the next ten years, foreign policy goals, benefits or drawbacks of globalization, situations that might justify the use of United States troops in other parts of the world, the number and location of United States military bases overseas, respondent feelings toward people of other countries, opinions on the influence of other countries in the world and how much influence those countries should have, whether there should be a global regulating body to prevent economic instability, international trade, United States participation in potential treaties, the United States' role in the United Nations and NATO, respondent opinions on international institutions and regulating bodies such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, whether the United States will continue to be the world's leading power in the next 50 years, democracy in the Middle East and South Korea, the role of the United Nations Security Council, which side the United States should take in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what measures should be taken to deal with Iran's nuclear program, the military effort in Afghanistan, opinions on efforts to combat terrorism and the use of torture to extract information from prisoners, whether the respondent favors or opposes the government selling military equipment to other nations and using nuclear weapons in various circumstances, the economic development of China, and the conflict between North and South Korea. Domestic issues included economic prospects for American children when they become adults, funding for government programs, the fairness of the current distribution of income in the United States, the role of government, whether the government can be trusted to do what is right, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, United States' dependence on foreign energy sources, drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of the United States, and relations with Mexico including such issues as the ongoing drug war, as well as immigration and immigration reform. Demographic and other background information included age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, left-right political self-placement, political affiliation, employment status, highest level of education, and religious preference. Also included are household size and composition, whether the respondent is head of household, household income, housing type, ownership status of living quarters, household Internet access, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) status, and region and state of residence.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, 55 percent of Americans said that they disapproved of the way President Biden was handling the issue of immigration and the issue of guns in the United States. A further 45 percent said that they disapproved of the way President Biden was handling the issue of race in that year.

Inflation was the most worrying topic worldwide as of May 2025, with ********* of the respondents choosing that option. Crime and violence, as well as poverty and social inequality, followed behind. Moreover, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza, *** percent of the respondents were worried about military conflict between nations. Only *** percent were worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, which dominated the world after its outbreak in 2020. Global inflation and rising prices Inflation rates have spiked substantially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From 2020 to 2021, the worldwide inflation rate increased from 3.5 percent to 4.7 percent, and from 2021 to 2022, the rate increased sharply from 4.7 percent to 8.7 percent. While rates are predicted to fall come 2025, many are continuing to struggle with price increases on basic necessities. Poverty and global development Poverty and social inequality were the third most worrying issues to respondents. While poverty and inequality are still prominent, global poverty rates have been on a steady decline over the years. In 1994, 64 percent of people in low-income countries and around one percent of people in high-income countries lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. By 2018, this had fallen to almost 44 percent of people in low-income countries and 0.6 percent in high-income countries. Moreover, fewer people globally are dying of preventable diseases, and people are living longer lives. Despite these aspects, issues such as wealth inequality have global prominence.

United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others data was reported at 5.000 % in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.000 % for Feb 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others data is updated monthly, averaging 7.000 % from Jan 2014 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.000 % in May 2023 and a record low of 3.000 % in Jul 2024. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Federation of Independent Business. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S042: NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

According to the data from January 2024, 22 percent of respondents said that rising health care costs were the most important health issue facing the United States. Mental health ranked second on the list with 15 percent. Issues with healthcare costsCurrently, the most urgent problem facing American healthcare is the high costs of care. The high expense of healthcare may deter people from getting the appropriate treatment when they need medical care or cause them to completely forego preventative care visits. Many Americans reported that they may skip prescription doses or refrain from taking medication as prescribed due to financial concerns. Such health-related behavior can result in major health problems, which may raise the long-term cost of care. Inflation, medical debt, and unforeseen medical expenses have all added to the burden that health costs are placing on household income. Gun violence issueThe gun violence epidemic has plagued the United States over the past few years, yet very little has been done to address the issue. In recent years, gun violence has become the leading cause of death among American children and teens. Even though more than half of Americans are in favor of tougher gun control regulations, there is little political will to strongly reform the current gun law. Gun violence has a deep traumatic impact on survivors and society, it is developing into a major public health crisis in the United States.

This statistic shows the leading economic problems in black communities in the United States in 2018, by the severity of the problem. During the survey, 85 percent of respondents reported that low wages that are not enough to sustain a family are a major problem in black communities.

In December 2024, 11 percent of survey respondents said that the most important problem facing the United States was the high cost of living and inflation. Another 20percent said that the government and poor leadership was the most serious concern for the nation.

This special topic poll, conducted April 30 to May 6, 1996, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. This poll sought Americans' views on the most important problems facing the United States, their local communities and their own families. Respondents rated the public schools, crime, and drug problems at the national and local levels, their level of optimism about their own future and that of the country, and the reasons they felt that way. Respondents were asked whether they were better off financially than their parents were at their age, whether they expected their own children to be better off financially than they were, and whether the American Dream was still possible for most people. Respondents then compared their expectations about life to their actual experiences in areas such as job security, financial earnings, employment benefits, job opportunities, health care benefits, retirement savings, and leisure time. A series of questions asked whether the United States was in a long-term economic and moral decline, whether the country's main problems were caused more by a lack of economic opportunity or a lack of morality, and whether the United States was still the best country in the world. Additional topics covered immigration policy and the extent to which respondents trusted the federal, state, and local governments. Demographic variables included respondents' sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration and participation history, labor union membership, the presence of children in the household, whether these children attended a public school, and the employment status of respondents and their spouses. telephone interviewThe data available for download are not weighted and users will need to weight the data prior to analysis.The data collection was produced by Chilton Research Services of Radnor, PA. Original reports using these data may be found via the ABC News Polling Unit Website.According to the data collection instrument, code 3 in the variable Q909 (Education Level) included respondents who answered that they had attended a technical school.The original data file contained four records per case and was reformatted into a data file with one record per case. To protect respondent confidentiality, respondent names were removed from the data file.The CASEID variable was created for use with online analysis. The data contain a weight variable (WEIGHT) that should be used in analyzing the data. This poll consists of "standard" national representative samples of the adult population with sample balancing of sex, race, age, and education. Households were selected by random-digit dialing. Within households, the respondent selected was the adult living in the household who last had a birthday and who was at home at the time of interview. Persons aged 18 and over living in households with telephones in the contiguous 48 United States. Datasets: DS1: ABC News Listening to America Poll, May 1996

United States SB: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data was reported at 37.300 % in 11 Apr 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 34.700 % for 04 Apr 2022. United States SB: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data is updated weekly, averaging 35.300 % from Nov 2021 (Median) to 11 Apr 2022, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 40.100 % in 28 Feb 2022 and a record low of 32.400 % in 22 Nov 2021. United States SB: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S053: Small Business Pulse Survey: by State: West Region: Weekly, Beg Monday (Discontinued).

The New York Times is releasing a series of data files with cumulative counts of coronavirus cases in the United States, at the state and county level, over time. We are compiling this time series data from state and local governments and health departments in an attempt to provide a complete record of the ongoing outbreak.

Since the first reported coronavirus case in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020, The Times has tracked cases of coronavirus in real time as they were identified after testing. Because of the widespread shortage of testing, however, the data is necessarily limited in the picture it presents of the outbreak.

We have used this data to power our maps and reporting tracking the outbreak, and it is now being made available to the public in response to requests from researchers, scientists and government officials who would like access to the data to better understand the outbreak.

The data begins with the first reported coronavirus case in Washington State on Jan. 21, 2020. We will publish regular updates to the data in this repository.

As part of an ongoing data collection effort, CBS News and The New York Times conducted a series of interviews. The substantive common denominator in the surveys was a continuing evaluation of the Reagan presidency. Each survey also raised questions of topical relevance and/or broader social concern, including the following: Part 1: Government figures and race relations in New York City. Part 2: The space program, 1988 presidential candidates, the Iran-Contra matter, economic problems, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Part 3: The Tower Commission Report and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 4: Ronald Reagan's speech of March 4, 1987 and the Iran-Contra matter. Part 5: Television evangelists, focusing on the PTL and Jim Bakker. Parts 6 and 7: Israeli involvement in the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the Iranian arms sale, and relations between the United States and Israel. Part 8: The Iran-Contra matter and 1988 presidential candidates with special emphasis on Gary Hart. Part 9: The Constitution, examining the operation, characteristics and relations among the three branches of the federal government. Part 10: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony and actions of Oliver North. Part 11: The Iran-Contra hearings and testimony of Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter. Part 12: Aid to the contras, the Iranian arms sale, the Bork nomination to the Supreme Court, and l988 presidential candidates focusing on George Bush. Part 13: Pope John Paul the Second and moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 14: The role of parish priests and the current moral, social, and political issues facing the Catholic Church. Part 15: Arms control and Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Part 16: Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork and United States Navy ships in the Persian Gulf. Part 17: Business and industry in the United States. Part 18: l988 presidential candidates, social and economic problems facing the United States, and a comparison of the the two major political parties. Part 19: The campaigns of l988 Presidential candidates from each party, social and economic problems facing the United States, and Iowa's caucus system. Part 20: The Ginsburg nomination to the Supreme Court and his withdrawal, and respondents' opinions of factors that might disqualify someone from serving in public office. Part 21: The federal budget deficit, foreign trade, 1988 presidential candidates, and United States-Soviet arms control negotiations. Part 22: 1988 presidential candidates, and the re-entry of Gary Hart into the race. All surveys contain demographic information on respondents.

This dataset covers ballots 280-83, and 285, spanning January, March, May, July, and November 1960. The dataset contains the data resulting from these polls in ASCII. The ballots are as follows: 280 - January This Gallup poll looks to collect the opinions and ideas of Canadians on subjects of interest and importance to the country. Some of these important topics concern unions, strikes, defence policy and old age pensions. There are also several variables that deal with religious and moral questions like the afterlife and capital punishment. Respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social variables. Topics of interest include: advertisements; the afterlife; big business influencing laws; Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) benefits; capital punishment abolishment; church attendance; defence policy; Diefenbaker's performance as Prime Minister; family issues; the Federal election; the frequency of the respondents reading the Bible; labour influencing laws; magazine advertisements; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); newspaper advertisements; whether CPP payments should be paid to ex-patriots; radio commercials; railroad workers pay raises; the truthfulness of radio commercials; union membership; and voting behaviour. Basic demographics variables are also included. 281 - March This Gallup poll seeks the opinions of Canadians on various topics. Included in the discussion are questions about problems facing the country and their solutions, sweepstakes, marriage, divorce, and issues involving the employment of women. Respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social variables. Topics of interest include: belief in Hell; birth control information; canned laughter on television; credit cards and purchases; divorce; employment equity; federal elections; goods produced by different countries; marriage issues; the population explosion; quarrels in marriage; the United Nations; voting behaviour; women's fashion; and working women. Basic demographics variables are also included. 282 - May This Gallup poll seeks the opinions of Canadians on leading topics of the day. The primary subjects of this survey are politics and foreign affairs. In addition to asking questions of a political nature dealing specifically with Canada and its politicians, the survey aims to collect the opinions on policies, leaders, and relations with Canada of other countries, mainly the United States. The respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social groups. Topics of interest include: alcohol consumption; American foreign policy; anti Jewish feelings; bomb shelter; C.C.F. party; Conservative party; Diefenbaker's performance as Prime Minister; federal elections; friction between Canada and the United States; Liberal party; likelihood of another world war; likelihood of Nazis returning to power; marriage issues; preferred political parties; the prosperity of Canada; Social Credit party; union membership; United States; voting behaviour; and preparedness in the event of war. Basic demographics variables are also included. 283 - July This Gallup poll seeks the opinions of Canadians on various topics. Included in the discussion are questions about problems facing the country and their solutions, issues involving unemployment, US presidential elections, political party preference, and ways to prevent war. Respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social variables. Topics of interest include: alcohol consumption; world conflicts; personal savings; John Diefenbaker, voting behaviour; neutral and non neutral countries; federal elections; power of the Provinces; immigration; and union membership. Basic demographics variables are also included. 285 - November This Gallup poll seeks to attain the views Canadians have of primarily political subjects. The majority of questions are about Canadian politics, and Canadian relations with the United States. There are also some questions about some other leading issues of the day, including birth control, and seeing movies on Sunday. The respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social variables. Topics of interest include: the American president; whether birth control is right or wrong; Diefenbaker's performance as Prime Minister; federal elections; whether movie theatres should be open on Sundays; price predictions; socialism for Canada; unemployment predictions; union membership; and voting behaviour. Basic demographics variables are also included.The codebook for this dataset is available through the UBC Library catalogue, with call number HN110.Z9 P84.

This special topic poll, conducted January 15-18, 2004, was undertaken to assess public opinion prior to President George W. Bush's 2004 State of the Union Address. Views were sought on President Bush and his handling of the presidency and issues such as the economy, foreign affairs, immigration, taxes, and education. Respondents were asked which issue they most wanted President Bush to discuss in his upcoming State of the Union Address, whether terrorism or the economy was a bigger problem facing the country, and how they felt about the policies of the Bush administration. Questions regarding the war with Iraq asked whether it was worth fighting, whether it contributed to the long-term security of the United States, and whether the number of United States military casualties in Iraq so far was acceptable. Opinions were solicited on the success of the United States efforts to break up the al Qaeda terrorist network, to win the cooperation of other countries in fighting terrorism, and to prevent further terrorist attacks in the United States, and whether the country was safer from terrorism now than before September 11, 2001. Several questions focused on the condition of the national economy, whether the economy was in a recession, and whether most Americans were better off financially than they were in 2001 when Bush became president. Respondents were also polled on how closely they were following the 2004 presidential campaign, whether they would vote for President Bush or a Democratic candidate, and whether President Bush or the Democrats in Congress could be trusted to deal with the main problems facing the nation in the next few years. Other topics addressed government spending on space exploration, whether same-sex marriages and civil unions should be legal, and whether entrepreneur Martha Stewart was guilty on charges of obstructing a federal investigation into possible insider stock trading. Background information on respondents includes sex, age, education, ethnicity, marital status, religion, household income, labor union membership, political orientation, political party affiliation, and the strength of their political party affiliation.

This Voice of the People poll seeks the opinions of Canadians, on predominantly economic, political, and social issues. The questions ask opinions about corruption, democracy, government, and world issues. There are also questions on topics such as the reduction and elimination of incidences of torture, familiarity with global institutions, predictions about the next generation, public school trends, and public clinics/hospitals. There are also questions on other topics of interest such as problems facing Canada, private/public sector contribution to the improvement of social services, trust in people, and globalization/globalisation. The respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic and social variables. Topics of interest include: economy; corruption; American foreign policy; politics; next generation; elections; public schools; public clinics/hospitals; torture; global institution; democracy; and trust. Basic demographic variables are also included.

Responding to a 2024 survey, data center industry professionals in the United States cited a lack of capacity as a key challenge faced by utilities when connecting data centers to the grid.

This Gallup poll seeks the opinions on Canadians on several leading topics of the day. Some of the major subjects of discussion include labour unions, problems facing the country, political issues, and opinions toward trade and investment with other countries, specifically the United States. The respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic, demographic, and social variables. Topics of interest include: American investment in Canada; brand name recognition; Communist China in the United Nations; criticisms of labour unions; defence policy; federal elections; high income taxes; high prices; preferred political parties; priorities of labour unions; problems facing Canada; railway workers strike; trade with the United States; union membership; and voting behaviour. Basic demographics variables are also included.

Abstract (en): This poll, fielded April 5-12, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way that Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit, what they liked best and least about Obama, whether they thought things in the country were going in the right direction, and what they thought was the most important problem facing the country. Information was collected on whether respondents approved or disapproved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether they approved or disapproved of the way their representative in Congress was handling their job, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of President Obama, how respondents would rate the national economy, and who they thought was mostly to blame for the state of the national economy. Respondents were queried on whether they thought that the government's stimulus package made the economy better or worse, whether they thought that the country needed a third political party, whether they would rather have a smaller government with fewer services or a bigger government providing more services, how they felt things were going in Washington, DC, whether they thought the federal government should spend money to create jobs even if it means increasing the budget deficit, and whether they would rather reduce the federal budget deficit or cut taxes. Respondents were also asked who they thought was to blame for the current federal budget deficit, whether they thought providing government money to banks and other financial institutions was necessary to get the economy out of a recession, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, John McCain, George Bush, Ron Paul, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin. Information was collected on what political figure the respondents admired most, whether they thought Sarah Palin would have the ability to be an effective president, whether they thought President Obama understands the need and problems of people like themselves, whether respondents thought he was more of a liberal, a moderate, or a conservative, whether they thought his policies were moving the country more towards socialism, whether they thought he favored a particular race over another, and whether they thought the Obama Administration had raised or lowered taxes for most Americans. Respondents were asked whether they thought that the federal government should require nearly all Americans to have health insurance, whether they thought it would be a good idea to raise income taxes on households that make more than $250,000 a year in order to help provide health insurance for people who do not already have it, whether they approved or disapproved of requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies regardless of whether they have an existing medical condition, and whether they thought that the programs such as Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost of those programs for taxpayers. Respondents were queried on whether they thought legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its presents level, increased, or decreased, how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought that global warming was causing a serious environmental problem, whether they thought gay couples should be allowed to marry, whether they thought abortion should be legal, whether they thought gun control law should be made more strict, what socialism means to them, and whether they thought it was ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government. Respondents were also asked a number of questions about the Tea Party movement, including how much have they heard about it, whether they had a favorable opinion of it, whether they supported it, and whether they thought the Tea Party movement generally reflected the views of most Americans. Finally, respondents were asked if they were ever active in a political campaign, whether they purchased gold bars or coins in the past year, what political party they usually vote for, what news network they watched most, how concerned were they that they or someone in their household would lose their job in the next year, whether they ever felt at risk of falling out of their social class, how they would rate...

A report held in June 2022 among Gen Z and millennials in the United States revealed that 86 percent believed that news stories creating conflict rather than addressing them were a major or minor problem. Meanwhile, 52 percent felt that made-up stories were a pertinent issue in the news industry, as well as 45 percent who considered journalists having too much opinion in their stories to be very problematic.