SEPTEMBER HARVARD CAPS / HARRIS POLL: 70% OF VOTERS OPPOSE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, WITH 65% IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRATIC CONCESSIONS
TRUMP JOB APPROVAL STEADY AT 46% WHILE CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FALLS 5 PTS. FROM AUGUST
MOST VOTERS UNDERESTIMATE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND OVERESTIMATE INFLATION
85% OF VOTERS SAY CELEBRATION OVER KIRK'S DEATH BY MEDIA PERSONALITIES WAS INAPPROPRIATE
71% OF VOTERS SUPPORT SINKING SOUTH AMERICAN SHIPS CARRYING DRUGS INTO THE COUNTRY
34% OF AMERICANS FEEL THEY WILL EVENTUALLY LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM AND 24% BELIEVE THEY ARE LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM
78% OF VOTERS SAY AMERICANS ARE BETTER OFF WITH FREE ENTERPRISE RATHER THAN SOCIALISM
56% OF VOTERS SUPPORT TRUMP'S GAZA PEACE PLAN
NEW YORK and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Stagwell (NASDAQ: STGW) today released the results of the September Harvard CAPS / Harris poll, a monthly collaboration between the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard (CAPS) and the Harris Poll and HarrisX.
President Donald Trump's approval rating is at 46%. Trump's job approval is highest on fighting crime in U.S. cities (50%), immigration (49%), and returning America to its values (48%), and lowest on handling inflation (40%) and tariffs and trade policy (40%). This month's poll also covered public opinion on the economy, political violence, the government shutdown, the American Dream, conflicts in the Middle East, and the war in Ukraine. Download the key results here.
"Voters' outlook on the country remains largely the same with strong opposition to the government shutdown," said Mark Penn, Co-Director of the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll and Stagwell Chairman and CEO. "They feel the rhetoric of today's political leaders has grown too polarizing and is fueling political violence, and they want leadership that works to unite the country."
CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL DROPS FROM LAST MONTH
MAJORITY OF VOTERS BELIEVE INFLATION IS ABOVE 3 PERCENT AND THE ECONOMY IS SHRINKING
VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
THREE IN FOUR VOTERS BELIEVE TODAY's POLITICAL RHETORIC IS TOO EXTREME, BLAMING IT FOR VIOLENCE
STRONG MAJORITY OF VOTERS FOUND MEDIA CELEBRATION OF KIRK'S DEATH INAPPROPRIATE BUT SAY SUCH BEHAVIOR IS PROTECTED BY FREE SPEECH
MOST OF TRUMP POLICIES CONTINUE TO SEE MAJORITY SUPPORT INCLUDING SINKING BOATS WITH DRUGS, THOUGH A SMALL MAJORITY SAY TRUMP HAS EXCEEDED HIS AUTHORITY AS PRESIDENT
AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY FAVOR FREE ENTERPRISE OVER SOCIALISM AND BELIEVE IN HARD WORK, BUT A PLURALITY ARE SKEPTICAL THEY WILL EVER ACHIEVE THE AMERICAN DREAM
STRONG MAJORITY OF VOTERS VALUE FAMILY AND KIDS, THOUGH YOUNGER VOTERS ARE PRIORITIZING ECONOMIC SUCCESS
MAJORITY OF VOTERS SUPPORT TRUMP'S GAZA PEACE PLAN
TRUMP GIVEN CREDIT FOR HIS EFFORTS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE
The September Harvard CAPS / Harris poll survey was conducted online within the United States on October 1-2, 2025, among 2,413 registered voters by The Harris Poll and HarrisX. Follow the Harvard CAPS / Harris poll podcast at https://www.markpennpolls.com/ or on iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast platforms.
About The Harris Poll & HarrisX
The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. It works with clients in three primary areas: building twenty-first-century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. One of the longest-running surveys in the U.S., The Harris Poll has tracked public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963, and is now part of Stagwell, the challenger holding company built to transform marketing.
HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that conducts multi-method research in the U.S. and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
About the Harvard Center for American Political Studies
The Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) is committed to and fosters the interdisciplinary study of U.S. politics. Governed by a group of political scientists, sociologists, historians, and economists within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, CAPS drives discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of U.S. politics. CAPS encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal mathematical modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts. More information at https://caps.gov.harvard.edu/.
Contact:
Carrie Hsu
pr@stagwellglobal.com
SOURCE Stagwell Inc.