Jan 23, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Poll: 72% of Americans think U.S. moving in "wrong direction"

Ivana Saric

anti-vax mandate protest — Anti-vaccination protestors march in Washington on Jan. 23. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Significant majorities of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and that American democracy is in danger, according to a new poll from NBC News.

Why it matters: Having recently completed his first year in office, President Biden is facing a difficult reality of an ongoing pandemic, a stalled agenda and the low polling numbers that result.

The big picture: 72% of Americans polled believe the country is headed in the "wrong direction."

60% of Americans believe that their family income is falling behind the cost of living, according to the poll. Only 30% felt they're keeping up and 7% felt that their incomes are increasing faster than the cost of living.
70% of respondents said that the nation cannot come together and that its partisan divisions will continue to grow.
76% of Americans polled said they felt that American democracy is under threat.

The bottom line: Asked to describe the state of the country, the most popular responses were "downhill,” “divisive,” “negative,” “struggling,” “lost” and “bad," per NBC News.

Methodology: This poll was conducted Jan. 14-18 by NBC News survey. The margin of error for 1,000 adults is 3.1%.

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Poll: 72% of Americans think U.S. moving in "wrong direction"

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