A Desire for Unity

As President Donald Trump returns to office, and the country moves beyond the 2024 election, More in Common set out to understand Americans’ attitudes about the country and this new chapter in American politics and governing.

We find Americans’ desire to seek unity is top of mind and with good reason: our divisions appear to distort our understanding of each other, even on matters of life and death.  Findings from our January 2025 poll show an overwhelming desire to overcome our country’s divisions. 

This may be the most important consensus for our country to recognize—that we widely seek to be more united—and yet, this common desire is almost entirely unknown to everyday Americans.

Attitudes About the US

Americans are most likely to use the word “divided” to describe the country today.

• Given 24 different words to choose from to describe America today, “divided” is the one Americans most often select—and the only one that is chosen by a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.

When asked to picture their ideal America 10 years from now, most Americans chose “united” as the top quality they want for the country. Yet Republicans and Democrats don’t believe unity is a priority for the other side, obscuring our ability to achieve this shared aspiration.

• Republicans mistakenly think that “united” is an unimportant quality to Democrats, and they list it below seven other attributes like being “green”, “tolerant”, and “global”.
• Meanwhile, Democrats also think that being “united” is not a priority for Republicans—they rank it beneath seven other qualities like being “traditional”, “Christian/ Religious”, and “orderly” that they imagine matter more to Republicans.

As we enter a new administration, Americans feel more passive. Republicans are more likely to feel hopeful than excited and Democrats are more likely to feel disappointed than angry.

•  When asked how they “feel about the country today”, Republicans aren’t particularly excited (6%) or proud (5%); they’re more likely to be hopeful (28%), disappointed (27%), or anxious (14%).
• Similarly, Democrats aren’t particularly angry (5%) but are also more likely to be disappointed (34%) or anxious (20%) instead.

Governing Preferences

Republicans want President Trump to bring change to America, but it matters to them how that’s accomplished.

• When asked whether Republicans want President-elect Trump to either “keep things stable and quiet” or “shake things up and make some noise”, most Republicans (65%) want the latter, compared to 32% of Independents, and just 11% of Democrats.  

• But noise is not tantamount to being disrespectful of the rule or law. When asked whether they prefer “a leader who is willing to bend the rules or a leader who respects the rules?”, 61% of Republicans either prefer or strongly prefer one who “respects the rules”, while only 36% of Republicans prefer a leader who is “willing to bend the rules”.

• Crucially, respect for the Constitution remains paramount. Across Americans, just 15% (and 17% of Republicans) believe that Trump “should get things done, even it means sometimes ignoring the Constitution”, while 74% of Americans, including 73% of Republicans, believe that he should “always follow the Constitution, even if means he sometimes can’t get things done.” 

Support for Federal Wildfire Relief

Americans overwhelmingly support providing federal assistance for relief efforts for the California wildfires.

• 78% of Americans support federal assistance to California to “to help repair the damage and assist victims of the fires”, while just 6% of Americans are opposed. This includes support from 90% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans.   

Yet Republican support for federal aid is grossly underestimated by Democrats.

• Democrats estimate only 40% of Republicans believe the federal government should provide aid, where as 73% of Republicans think so.