President Trump threatens to cancel 250 concerts nationwide if artists withdraw
President Trump criticized musicians for canceling a series of concerts scheduled for the National Mall to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Americans are feeling depressed as they prepare to celebrate their nation’s 250th anniversary.th Anniversary.
A national survey found that they are primarily critical of President Donald Trump, increasingly pessimistic about democracy and the country’s course, and divided about national pride and the feasibility of the American Dream.
The division runs sharply along political lines, with Republicans primarily at odds with independents and Democrats. Almost 60% of Americans agree that “President Trump is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy,” and more than two-thirds said the United States is “at real risk of losing important democratic rights and freedoms.”
“The fact that nearly seven in 10 Americans believe we are at risk of losing important rights and freedoms should ring alarm bells,” said Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), which conducted the survey. “Partisan divisions on this issue represent a serious threat to the democratic experiment.”
The survey of more than 5,400 adults in all 50 states also found that respondents are uncomfortable with American unilateralism and military aggression.
Seven in 10 respondents said they preferred the U.S. to be “a trusted neighbor who cooperates with other countries and uses military force only as a last resort,” compared to 27 percent who said they preferred the U.S. to be “a strong nation that does not hesitate to use military force to protect our interests.”
Democrats (90%) and independents (75%) were much more likely to agree with the former statement, while Republicans narrowly supported the latter (52%).
“Americans overwhelmingly want a nation that embraces pluralism at home and acts as a good neighbor to the world abroad,” said PRRI Founder and Chairman Robert P. Jones. “Successively, we see Republicans and white evangelicals embracing positions aligned with President Trump’s MAGA policies, but increasingly at odds with their fellow Americans.”
Americans torn over national pride and democratic rights
PRRI, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., also found that Americans are divided over national pride and identity and concerned about democratic freedoms.
About half of respondents said they were very or very proud to be an American (51%) or proud of this country’s 250-year history (49%).
Sixty-eight percent of respondents agreed that the country is at risk of losing important democratic rights and freedoms, but that percentage was highest among Democrats (86%) and independents (70%) and mixed among Republicans (51%). Only 3 in 10 Americans (29%) believe those rights will “continue to be protected into the future.”
Most Americans (60%) also agree that the country is at risk of losing its culture and identity, up from 55% over the past decade. This sentiment was highest among Independents (59%, up from 52% in 2016) and Democrats (54%, up from 40%), but the percentage of Republicans who agree with this fell from 80% to 69%).
“We’ve been in a cycle of decline around this issue for some time now,” said Samuel Kimbriel, founder and director of the Philosophy and Society Initiative at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. “No matter what political party you belong to, there’s an overall feeling of decline and lack of hope.”
Kimbriel said these sentiments are rooted in more than polarization.
“We recognize that society as a whole is going down rather than up, and that’s not increasing its ability to achieve a deep moral vision,” he says. “We don’t know what our country’s purpose is or what unites us.”
Is America still the land of opportunity?
Americans are concerned about whether the American Dream (the idea that you can get ahead through hard work) still applies, with 49% agreeing and 50% disapproving. The survey found that belief in the American Dream has declined across all age groups since 2024, with the largest decline among 18- to 29-year-olds (50% to 36%).
Belief in the American Dream remains strongest among Republicans (76%) but has declined over time, especially among Hispanics, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, women, and young people. Less than half of independents (46%) believe that to be true, while 30% of Democrats agreed.
“The American Dream is at the very heart of our identity and America,” said Mark Rank, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis who teaches a course on the economic realities of the concept. “The fact that it’s in trouble is something we need to pay close attention to.”
Rank said views of the American Dream have worsened because people’s ability to achieve it has become increasingly difficult over the past 50 years. He said the concept includes the idea that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to provide for your children, and the optimism that each generation will do better than the last.
Instead, wages for full-time male workers have been “basically flat” since the early 1970s, Rank said. “They make no more real dollars today than they did back then,” he says.
Meanwhile, the costs of housing, child care, health care, and higher education are rising.
“People are paying more for a lot of things, but they’re not making enough money to keep up,” he says. “They’re playing by the rules, but they’re going against the grain.”
Dissatisfaction with President Trump
The poll found that President Trump’s approval rating has fallen from 41% to 34% over the past two years, driven by independents and less committed Republicans. (A Reuters/IPSOS poll released earlier this week showed President Trump’s approval rating at 36%.)
About 4 in 5 Republicans have a favorable view of the president, compared to 1 in 4 independents and 5% of Democrats. Trump’s approval rating among Republicans has fallen to 79% from 84% in 2024, and among independents it has fallen from 37% to 25%.
A majority of Americans (59%) agree with President Trump’s characterization as a “dangerous dictator” who threatens democracy, including 91% of Democrats and 65% of independents. Meanwhile, 38%, including 78% of Republicans, agreed that the president is a “strong leader who should be given the authority necessary to restore America’s greatness.”
The survey found that about two-thirds of Americans, 66%, disapprove of President Trump’s handling of the Iran war, compared to 29% who approve. Support was highest among Republicans (67%), followed by independents at 21% and Democrats at 4%.
About 6 in 10 Americans (58%) say they disapprove of the president’s handling of immigration, compared to 37% who approve.
“Immigration is part of the American dream,” Rank said. “Coming here is a big step. You don’t just come here on a whim. You come here because you want a better life for yourself and your children.”
“Americans have passion.”
A solid majority of Americans prefer a country that reflects a diversity of faiths and national backgrounds, the survey found. Nearly two-thirds (64%) say they prefer the United States to be a diverse nation of faiths, compared to 34% who think the United States should be a Christian nation.
More than three-quarters of respondents, or 77%, said they preferred the United States to represent people from all over the world, compared to 20% who said they preferred people with a predominantly Western European background.
Half of Americans (50%) agree that Islamic values conflict with American values, a number that has remained consistent since 2011. But this view is increasingly divided, with Republicans even more likely to agree (up from 63%) and Democrats less likely to agree (30%, down from 40%).
More Americans have a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV (56%) than President Trump (34%), and support for the president is higher only among Republicans and conservative white Christians. Less than half (47%) of Republicans view the Pope favorably, compared to 55% of independents and 73% of Democrats.
Aspen Institute’s Kimbriel said that while a divided society seems disappointing, he finds these noisy differences encouraging.
“Americans still have a very strong temperament,” he says. “The problem is figuring out how to bring it to the surface. Rather than tearing apart the fabric of society, a clash of ideals can be productive. Countries where people believe strongly in certain things and are willing to fight for them are much closer to finding their way forward than countries that are lethargic.”
