Nate Cohn

But I guess I don't know that for sure.

Maybe if we'd asked in 1971 or something, people would have been similarly dark.

But I doubt it.

Now, I should say, just because people are so pessimistic about politics doesn't mean that they see the other side as the enemy.

You know, in this poll, more than 80 percent of voters said that they saw the other side as just fellow Americans who they disagree with, not as the enemy.

Yeah.

So, you know, you mentioned political violence as the sort of thing that might be likely to unfold as voters become more pessimistic about the political system.

And I will say with numbers like that and with the numbers that are produced by other polling firms, I don't see a groundswell of people who are.

inclined to pursue political violence to achieve political goals.

What I do see is a growing share of Americans who are willing to support more and more extreme policies to try and address what they see as deeper and deeper problems with society.

I think you can even interpret the continued political support for Trump in that light, right?

On the one hand, there are Republicans who are likelier to support more extreme steps by Trump that other politicians wouldn't have taken because they think the problems are so bad.

And then alternately, there are also people who may not even support the more extreme measures that Trump takes, but are willing to tolerate them because they think the problems are so bad or because they think the other side is worse.

So I think you can see how this pessimism affects our politics and creates more extreme political parties and politicians.

That's right.

Thanks for having me.

I'm sort of dozing in and out. Haven't gotten all the way, haven't gotten my coffee yet.

I'm sort of dozing in and out. Haven't gotten all the way, haven't gotten my coffee yet.

At a high level, we found that the public has a lot of reservations about Donald Trump's first 100 days. In fact, I think it's pretty hard to find a single number that's good for Donald Trump in this poll.

At a high level, we found that the public has a lot of reservations about Donald Trump's first 100 days. In fact, I think it's pretty hard to find a single number that's good for Donald Trump in this poll.