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"Axios on HBO" poll: Politics are driving Democrats mad

Illustration of a frowning donkey with a red face
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

More than 70% of Democrats say politics is making them increasingly angry about America, leaving them feeling like “strangers in their own land,” according to an "Axios on HBO" poll conducted by SurveyMonkey.  

Why it matters: Democrats say nearly everything they watch, read or listen to triggers their anger, even the soothing voices of NPR. 

The big picture: Americans, as a whole, are just plain mad and feeling like strangers in their own land, though a lower percentage of Republicans describe themselves as angry (57% compared to 74% of Democrats) or feeling like a stranger (52% compared to 71% of Democrats).

  • Other people are getting angrier too: 58% report their friends, family and co-workers seem angrier than five years ago.

Between the lines: Those who talk about politics the most are also the angriest.

  • 83% of Americans who discuss politics several times a day report feeling angry at least once a day over something they heard or read in the news.
  • That falls to 56% among those who discuss it once a week, and 39% for those who discuss it about once a month.

The bottom line: The Republican anger that animated the Trump rise and presidency gets most of the media attention.

  • Turns out, this is the bipartisan era of rage and estrangement, fueled by rising interest in American politics. 

Go deeper ... Poll: 70% of Americans believe the political system is rigged

Methodology: The data is from a SurveyMonkey online poll conducted among adults ages 18 and older in the United States. The survey was conducted Oct. 17–20 among 2,811 adults. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is ±2.5 percentage points.

Axios on HBO