Report: Americans Believe the Government Needs Big Changes

The December 2024 Daily Kos/Civiqs Poll asked 1,008 registered voters in the United States about their opinions on the 2024 election, the state of government in America, and President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks and campaign promises.

American Government and the 2024 Election

Voters are unhappy with the current state of government in America. A substantial majority (67%) believe that the government needs a massive shake-up and big changes, versus 20% who think the American government is mostly okay and needs only moderate changes.

Republicans (86%) feel most strongly about needing big changes to the U.S. government, but 73% of Independents and a plurality of Democrats (45%) agree.

Where is this desire for change coming from? One answer is that 72% of voters agree with the statement “most politicians are corrupt,” including 83% of Independents, 79% of Republicans, and 55% of Democrats. Younger voters are most likely to think that most politicians are corrupt: 81% of voters ages 18-34 feel this way, compared to 59% of voters ages 65 and over.

Despite negative attitudes towards the government, most voters stop short of believing that “politics in America has gotten so bad that it would be better if the country started over with a new constitution, new political parties, and new leaders.” A minority (17%) agree with this idea, led by 25% of Democrats and 28% of voters under age 34. Young Democrats are most likely to want to “start over” with 41% holding this view. Two in three voters (69%) maintain that politics in America has not gotten bad enough to justify completely starting over.

As Donald Trump prepares to return to office as President in January, Americans remain satisfied with their choices in the 2024 election. Approximately zero voters wish they had voted for a different candidate in 2024.

Trump Campaign Policy Proposals

Americans generally believe that President-elect Trump will follow through on his major campaign promises. An overwhelming majority of voters think that Trump will deport millions of undocumented immigrants (78%) and impose tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada (76%). Fewer voters believe that Trump will follow through on repealing the Affordable Care Act (46%), with 20% who think he will not, and 33% who are unsure.

Voters are evenly divided over support for or opposition to Trump’s campaign promises. About half (53%) support the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, while 46% oppose this. Opinions about tariffs are even more closely divided: 48% support imposing tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada, and 49% oppose it. Voters are more opposed to repealing the Affordable Care Act, with 41% supporting the idea and 52% opposing it.

A majority of Americans (51%) oppose Trump pardoning people convicted for their role in attacking the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. However, 46% of voters support pardons, including 90% of Republicans. In a January 2021 poll conducted just following the attack, 93% of Americans wanted those responsible to be arrested for breaking into the Capitol building.

Trump’s Cabinet Nominees

President-elect Trump has proposed nominees for many of the major Cabinet and other government positions. Voters are split on his choices, with a few nominees receiving more or less support than others:

• Marco Rubio as U.S. Secretary of State: 51% support to 41% oppose
• Elon Musk as co-lead of a new advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency: 50% support to 48% oppose
• Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence: 47% support to 46% oppose
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services: 48% support to 48% oppose
• Vivek Ramaswamy as co-lead of a new advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency: 46% support to 48% oppose
• Kash Patel as FBI Director: 43% support to 48% oppose
• Pete Hegseth as U.S. Secretary of Defense: 42% support to 48% oppose

Civiqs surveyed 1,008 registered voters in the United States from December 7-10, 2024. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of registered voters in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.15. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.3% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.