Democrats have a rosier view of the state of American democracy during President Donald Trump’s first term today than they did at the time.
That’s according to a new report from Bright Line Watch, a nonpartisan group that surveys political scientists and the general public to assess their views of the political moment.
The report, released Thursday, found a pattern of “democratic nostalgia” among Democrats amid Trump’s norm-busting second administration. In 2020, for example, surveyed Democrats rated the country at 52 on a 0—100 scale, with zero as the least democratic. Asked recently what they would rate American democracy in 2020, Democrats rated it more positively, at 60.
“Trump’s first term was a shock,” said Brendan Nyhan, a professor at Dartmouth College and a co-director of Bright Line Watch. “… It might be the case that people understand that experience differently in the second term when he has obviously faced far fewer constraints.”
Overall, the average rating of U.S. democracy among the public is stable at 52, similar to the lowest points reported during the previous two administrations. The partisan gap has narrowed to its lowest level in Trump’s second term, as Republicans have downgraded their evaluation from 64 earlier this year to 59 last month. Ratings among Democrats rose five points over that same period, from 45 to 50 — the highest of Trump’s second term.
As Trump revives claims of election fraud, confidence among Republicans that votes in the November midterms will be counted as voters intend dropped from 70 percent to 58 percent in the last roughly five months, erasing gains in election confidence among GOP voters since Trump’s 2024 win.
Democrats’ confidence in the national vote count increased from 55 percent to 66 percent in the same time span, according to the poll. The opposing changes, the report authors posit, might be connected to the increasing likelihood that Democrats outperform Republicans in the midterms.
The general public’s confidence in national elections remains well below the confidence of surveyed political scientists, which is at 82 percent.
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
The post Democrats’ view of Trump’s first term improves in retrospect, poll finds appeared first on Washington Post.
