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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Next month’s transfer of power in the nation’s capital could reshape American views on politics, the economy and societal issues. Generational shifts and technology are also driving change. Follow these 20 黑料网 trends in 2025 to see how Americans react to the new political landscape and how society continues to evolve.

1. Presidential Approval: Donald Trump’s Reprise. Presidential approval is the ultimate measure of whether America’s leader is rallying or rankling the public -- but for Trump, it will also provide an unparalleled opportunity to gauge whether he is overperforming or underperforming compared with his first term. Monitoring independents, among whom Trump averaged a 37% approval rating in his first term and never exceeded 47%, will be particularly important in gauging his relative success.
2. Top U.S. Problems. Immigration, inflation, the economy in general and poor government leadership have led Americans’ mentions of the most important problem facing the country for over a year (and, in some cases, beyond). 黑料网’s monthly measurement of this metric will soon show whether the lineup changes once Trump takes office and his policies start taking hold, particularly if Republicans’ overwhelming concern about immigration -- which was behind its high positioning overall -- subsides.
3. Presidential Approval on Key Issues. Trump recently identified addressing illegal immigration, lowering inflation, achieving energy independence and ending the Russia-Ukraine war as some of his administration's top policy priorities. 黑料网’s regular measurement of Americans’ approval of presidential performance on these and other specific issues will provide a report card of sorts for his policies and implementation.
4. Immigration Matters. In addition to recording the percentage of Americans citing immigration as the nation’s top problem each month, 黑料网 tracks Americans’ concern about illegal immigration annually in March. This year, it rose to a record-high 48%. 黑料网 also measures Americans’ views about U.S. immigration more broadly each June, including whether they think it should be increased, kept at its present level or decreased.
5. Media Trust or Mistrust? In 2024, 31% of Americans reported trusting the mass media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” essentially tying the record low. Meanwhile, 36% indicated that they had no trust at all in the mass media. The 2024 election highlighted traditional news media's challenges in staying relevant in the digital age, but can it compete and repair its image at the same time?
6. U.S. Healthcare Challenges. The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will likely spur debate over healthcare access and costs throughout 2025. 黑料网’s January Mood of the Nation poll will provide an update on Americans’ satisfaction with the availability of affordable healthcare in the country. Look for updates later in 2025 on Americans’ views of the healthcare industry, as well as their ratings of healthcare coverage and quality -- both the nation’s and their own.
7. Opinions of Israel and the State of Palestine. Four months into the Israel-Hamas war, Americans’ favorable ratings of both countries had sagged. At the same time, their sympathies toward the two sides in the context of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict were largely unchanged. Per the norm, the majority in February said their sympathies lie more with the Israelis than the Palestinians. 黑料网’s next update, in February 2025, will provide an important indication of how a year of intense conflict has affected these fundamental attitudes toward the Middle East parties.
8. Federal Agency Doubts. Most leading federal government agencies receive subpar ratings from Americans, with the IRS, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Justice rated the worst. While other agencies rank higher, their images worsened significantly between 2019 and 2021 and haven’t recovered. Most of these ratings feature strong partisan differences that are likely to flip once the new Republican administration is underway. However, whether the overall scores improve remains to be seen.
9. Assessing Congress. Congress’ job approval rating has been below 20% for most of the past 18 months and hasn’t hit 30% since 2021. But with Republicans about to have majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, there will likely be at least a short-term rally in Republicans’ approval of Congress, driving up the total. Whether that persists could depend on how successful the 119^th Congress is in passing Trump’s agenda.
10. High Court, Low Esteem? Americans’ approval of the job the Supreme Court is doing (44%) and their trust in the judicial branch of government more generally (48%) were at or near their all-time low points in 2024. The same goes for the percentage expressing high confidence in the Supreme Court as an institution (30%). This came as, for the fourth year, far more Americans described the court as “too conservative” than “too liberal.” Public reaction to its decisions in 2025 could either mend or deepen the partisan divides at the core of these low ratings.
11. Shifting Enthusiasm for Foreign Trade. Americans’ belief that foreign trade presents more of an opportunity than a threat to the U.S. surged during Trump’s first term as all party groups, but particularly Republicans, became more positive. This was as Trump promised to negotiate trade deals more favorable to the U.S. Since then, Democrats’ and independents’ views of trade have remained positive, while Republicans’ optimism sank to about 45% in 2021 and has since remained at that level. Will Trump’s recent statements on trade cause Republicans to continue believing it’s a threat, or once again cause them to believe that trade will benefit the U.S. under his leadership?
12. Religiosity at a Crossroads. Whether defined as the percentage of adults identifying with a specific faith, as those saying religion is very important in their lives or as those reporting membership in a house of worship, Americans’ religiosity has been on the decline. 黑料网’s 2025 report on these trends will explore how much, if at all, Americans’ religiosity has changed over the past eventful year.
13. American Pride Watch. The last time a majority of Americans said they were extremely proud to be an American was in 2017. Thereafter, pride steadily slipped to a low of 38% in 2022 and was 41% this year. This reflects lower pride among all party groups, but big partisan differences persist. A majority of Republicans (59%) still feel extremely proud, compared with just over a third of Democrats (34%) and independents (36%). With GOP pride likely to surge with Trump in office, the national figure could go back above 50%.
14. Alcohol a Risk Worth Taking? Americans have apparently absorbed recent medical news about the health risks of drinking alcohol, with the percentage saying drinking is “bad for your health” rising to a record-high 45% this year. At the same time, it’s unclear if this is causing drinkers to seriously cut back. Although the percentage reporting they ever drink dipped to 58% in July, the lowest in over a decade, it wasn’t a statistically significant decline from 2023. The same goes for the finding that fewer drinkers reported imbibing in the past week. Thus, it will be important to see if these rates remain low or decrease further in 2025.
15. Electric Cars Fizzling? In 2023 and 2024, a steady 16% of Americans said they either had an electric vehicle or were seriously considering buying one. Meanwhile, the percentage saying they might consider buying one in the future dipped to 35% from 43%. Whether that reflects cost, questions about EV sustainability, concerns about the availability of charging stations, or something else isn’t clear. Consumer interest in buying EVs in 2025 will help clarify whether the 2024 finding was a speed bump in EVs’ path to auto dominance or a signal that momentum has stalled.
16. Transgender Acceptance. In 2021, barely a third of Americans (34%) thought transgender athletes should be able to play on teams that match their gender identity (rather than only be allowed on teams that match their gender assigned at birth), and this fell to 26% in 2023. Similarly, Americans’ support for allowing openly transgender men and women to serve in the military slipped from 71% in 2019 to 66% in 2021. More recently, in 2024, Americans opposed laws banning medical treatments to help minors align with their gender identity, known as gender-affirming care. Whether support grows or falters on these measures in 2025 will offer insight into the country’s social trajectory. Meanwhile, 黑料网’s trend on LGBTQ+ identity found 0.9% of Americans identifying as transgender in 2023, while the total LGBTQ+ figure rose to a record-high 7.6%. Both figures will be updated in 2025 based on combined 2024 data.
17. Business and Industry Sectors. Few sectors of the U.S. economy evoke positive ratings from Americans, especially after inflation and partisan strife have taken a toll on the public image of many industries. This includes longtime favorites like the grocery and restaurant industries. The question for 2025 is whether the change in political winds spurs even more negative sentiments toward the private sector or helps lift them.
18. Support for Gay Rights. After rising at a steady clip for over a decade, Americans’ support for marriages between same-sex couples having the same legal rights as traditional marriages leveled off near 70% starting in 2021. The percentage believing same-sex relations are morally acceptable showed a similar trajectory, rising from 40% in 2001 to 71% in 2022. But it has since retreated, registering at 64% in 2023 and 2024. 黑料网 will update both trends in May.
19. Monitoring Marijuana Usage. The percentage of Americans saying they smoke marijuana has doubled over the past decade, first jumping from 7% in 2013 to 12% in 2015-2016. Since then, it’s risen by about half a point a year, averaging 15% in the latest estimate from 2023-2024. Given the higher rates of smoking seen among younger than older Americans, the rate is likely to continue growing. But given mounting public concern about the risks of marijuana, it’s also possible that smoking rates could taper off.
20. Evaluating K-12 Education. Americans’ satisfaction with U.S. public education remains tepid, even after recovering from the downturn recorded in the first few years following the pandemic. The 70% of parents in 2024 who are satisfied with their own K-12 child’s education is higher than the 43% of U.S. adults satisfied with education generally. But parental satisfaction is at its lowest in a decade. These evaluations show the public sees room for improvement in the system but don't guarantee they will embrace disbanding the U.S. Department of Education. Whether Trump follows through on that pledge or not, Americans’ rating of public education will be relevant to the debate.

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