How many americans belive the USA is out of controle
Executive summary
A new Economist/YouGov survey finds 71% of Americans say the United States is “out of control” under President Trump, with just 18% saying things are “under control” and 11% unsure; the poll was fielded Jan. 16–19 with 1,722 adults and a ±3.2 percentage-point margin of error [1][2]. That headline figure sits inside a broader pattern of rising public pessimism about the country’s direction documented across multiple trackers, but partisan splits and differing question wording mean “how many Americans” depends on which poll and which phrasing is used [3][4].
1. The headline number: 71% — what it measures and where it came from
The oft‑quoted 71% figure comes from an Economist/YouGov question asking respondents whether things in the country are “out of control” under Trump; that item returned 71% saying “out of control,” 18% “under control,” and 11% unsure, based on 1,722 respondents between Jan. 16–19, 2026, giving the result a reported margin of error of ±3.2 points [1][2].
2. Why that number is meaningful — and why it isn’t the whole story
Seventy‑one percent is politically meaningful because it signals overwhelming public alarm in a high‑profile national poll, and it is echoed in media coverage and commentary [5][6]. But polls differ: long‑running trackers such as Gallup and Morning Consult show widespread pessimism about the year ahead and the country’s trajectory without using precisely the same “out of control” phrasing, while other polls earlier in 2025 found near‑majorities describing a political crisis or declining optimism — demonstrating that question wording and timing shape results [3][4][7].
3. Partisan fracture: who is driving the majority view
Multiple sources show partisans interpret the nation’s trajectory very differently: Republicans remain more optimistic on many measures and showed higher positive forecasts for 2026 in some trackers, while Democrats and independents tilt toward negative evaluations — the Economist/YouGov poll’s 71% includes cross‑cutting concerns but is consistent with broader evidence that Democrats and independents are driving negative aggregates, and other surveys document a sharp decline in Republicans’ optimism compared with earlier periods [3][8][9].
4. Context: overlapping polls and public mood indicators
The 71% finding sits alongside other indicators of national unease: Gallup reported majorities predicting negative outcomes across many economic, political and international areas for 2026, and Morning Consult continues to track elevated concerns about the state of the country day‑to‑day [3][4]. Quinnipiac in late 2025 found nearly eight in ten voters saying the United States was in a political crisis, which aligns with the heightened pessimism captured in January’s Economist/YouGov data even if the exact wording differs [7].
5. Limitations, alternate readings and why phrasing matters
Polls are snapshots: the Economist/YouGov question explicitly tied “out of control” to Trump’s presidency, meaning the 71% figure reflects evaluations of leadership and political context as much as objective national metrics; other polls that ask about “direction of the country” or specific issues (economy, crime, institutions) can produce different percentages [1][2][3]. In short, “how many Americans believe the USA is out of control” — in the narrow sense used by the Economist/YouGov poll — is 71%, but that single number must be read alongside other trackers that show partisan variation and fluctuation over time [1][3][4].
6. What to watch next
Future waves of the same trackers (Economist/YouGov, Morning Consult, Gallup, Quinnipiac and issue‑specific polls) will show whether the 71% figure is a sustained ceiling of public alarm or a moment tied to recent events; researchers and journalists should compare identical wording across multiple dates and disaggregate by partisanship and demographics to avoid conflating “out of control under Trump” with a universal belief about the nation’s objective condition [1][3][4].