At a time when polarization often drowns out nuance, a new report from More in Common titled “Shared Ideals, Divergent Realities” offers a revealing portrait of Americans’ views on democracy in the Trump era.
Despite a political climate dominated by division and distrust, the findings underscore a striking and perhaps hopeful truth: Americans across the political spectrum still overwhelmingly support democracy and constitutional norms. The danger lies not in disagreement over those ideals but in our profound divide over who — and what — endangers them.
The report, based on a representative national survey and in-depth qualitative interviews, shows that 63 percent of Americans — including 69 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of Democrats — believe democracy is “definitely the best” form of government for the United States. Over 70 percent agree the president should always act within the bounds of the Constitution, even if it limits his ability to get things done. These are not small numbers. They reflect shared civic values at a time when such agreement often feels out of reach.
But while Americans agree on the importance of democracy, they diverge sharply on how to apply it — particularly when evaluating the actions of President Donald Trump. For most Democrats, Trump’s return to power signals a clear threat to democratic norms. Nearly 80 percent believe he aspires to become a dictator. By contrast, 60 percent of Republicans say it is the courts — not the presidency — that pose the greater threat to democracy. In this mirror-world divide, the same actions are interpreted either as anti-democratic power grabs or as much-needed efforts to root out corruption and inefficiency.
