New Marquette Law School national survey finds 60% disapprove of the work of ICE, with Democrats and independents opposed to ICE and Republicans in favor
Secondary headlines:
- 37% say shooting of Renee Good was justified, 62% say it was not justified
- General support for deportations remains steady, with 56% favoring deporting those in the U.S. illegally
- Overall approval of President Trump is at 42%, continuing a gradual decline
- Opinion of the state of the economy improves from November
MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School poll finds 40% of adults nationwide approve of the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is handling its job, while 60% disapprove. The poll was conducted after the shooting in Minneapolis of Renee Good, but with most interviews completed before the shooting of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, 2026.
Views of ICE are sharply divided along partisan lines with 80% of Republicans approving of its work, compared to 23% of independents and 5% of Democrats.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents say the shooting of Good was justified, and 62% say it was not justified. Here, too, there is a large partisan gap, with 76% of Republicans, 21% of independents, and 5% of Democrats saying it was justified.
The Good shooting was highly visible to Americans, with 76% saying they had heard or read a lot about it, 17% saying they had heard a little, and 7% saying they had heard nothing at all. Independents were less likely to have heard a lot (55%) than either Republicans (76%) or Democrats (84%).
The survey was conducted Jan. 21-28, 2026, interviewing 1,003 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points. For registered voters, the sample size was 869, with a margin of error of +/-3.6. For likely voters, the sample size was 577, with a margin of error of +/-4.4 percentage points.
Opinion about deportations has hardly changed since November. In the current poll, 56% favored deporting “immigrants who are living in the United States illegally,” with 44% opposed. In November, 58% favored and 42% opposed such deportations.
Among those who favor deportations, about a third, 35%, disapprove of the way ICE is enforcing immigration, while 65% approve of ICE’s conduct. Those who oppose deportations are almost unanimously opposed to ICE, with 96% disapproving and 4% approving.
When asked about deportations of those who “have lived here for a number of years, have jobs and no criminal record,” support for deportations declines to 44%, with 56% opposed. This result is unchanged from November.
Those who favor deporting longtime residents without a criminal record are more approving of ICE’s conduct, with 78% approval against 22% disapproval. Of those opposed to deporting longtime residents without a criminal record, 89% disapprove of ICE, while 11% approve.
Fifty-two percent say the United States is mostly deporting immigrants who have no criminal record, while 47% say most deportations are of people with criminal records. Among Republicans, 83% say most deportees have criminal records, while 57% of independents and 86% of Democrats say most deportees have no criminal record.
Approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration stands at 44%, with 56% who disapprove. In November, 45% approved and 55% disapproved of how Trump has handled immigration. Approval on this issue has declined from 50% in May, with net approval standing at -12 percentage points, as shown in Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)
Table 1: Approval of Trump handling of immigration
Among adults
| Poll dates | Approval | ||
| Net approve minus disapprove | Approve | Disapprove | |
| 1/21-28/26 | -12 | 44 | 56 |
| 11/5-12/25 | -10 | 45 | 55 |
| 9/15-24/25 | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| 7/7-16/25 | -6 | 47 | 53 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 0 | 50 | 50 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||
| Question: [Immigration] Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling each of the following issues? | |||
Attention to news
The Good shooting in Minneapolis received the most attention from the public among seven topics covered, with 76% hearing or reading a lot, followed by the military operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro, with 65% hearing a lot. The partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files also caught the attention of more than half of the public.
Items falling below 50% of respondents saying they read or heard a lot include the killing of film director Rob Reiner and the social services fraud in Minnesota. Lower in public attention are the renaming of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Trump-Kennedy Center. The news that got the least attention was the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Texas to use its redrawn congressional districts in the 2026 elections. Table 2 shows the complete results.
Table 2: Attention to events in the news
Among adults
| Item | Heard or read | ||
| A lot | A little | Nothing at all | |
| The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent | 76 | 17 | 7 |
| The U.S. Army operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro | 65 | 27 | 8 |
| The partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the Department of Justice | 57 | 34 | 9 |
| The killing of filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife in December | 48 | 36 | 17 |
| A widespread social services fraud scandal in Minnesota including Medicaid, housing, and autism services | 45 | 31 | 24 |
| Renaming the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington as the Trump-Kennedy Center | 40 | 32 | 28 |
| The U.S. Supreme Court decision in December that allowed Texas to use redrawn congressional districts in the 2026 elections | 29 | 41 | 31 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||
| Question: Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these? | |||
Some news items become equally well known regardless of which news sources people rely upon—only conservative television news sources (Fox News, Newsmax, or OAN) or other network television news (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS or BBC)—while others show substantial differences.
There is little difference in amount heard about the Venezuela operation, the Good shooting, or the killing of Rob Reiner, with small amounts more of other-network TV news consumers hearing more about these events than those who consume only conservative TV news sources.
There are larger differences for news about the Supreme Court’s Texas redistricting decision, and much larger gaps are found for the Epstein files, the Minnesota social services fraud scandal, and renaming the Kennedy Center. More other-network TV news consumers (than those who consume only conservative TV news sources) had heard or read a lot about the Texas redistricting decision by about 10 percentage points (44% to 34%), the Epstein files by 26 points (75% to 49%), and renaming the Kennedy Center by 31 more points (63% to 32%).
With the Minnesota social services fraud scandal, 71% of conversative TV news consumers had heard or read a lot, compared to 45% of other-network TV news consumers—a 26-point difference.
A consistent result across all topics is that those who rely on other news sources, neither conservative nor other network news, are notably less likely to have heard a lot about any of these topics. Only one topic had more than 50% of consumers of other news sources hearing or reading it—60% have heard or read a lot about the Good shooting.
The full results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Attention to events in the news, by news sources
Among adults
| Item | Heard or read a lot | ||||
| Net conservative minus other network | Conservative TV news only | Conservative & other network TV news | Other network TV news only | Only other news sources | |
| The U.S. Army operation in Venezuela that captured Nicolás Maduro | -4 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 47 |
| The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent | -5 | 83 | 84 | 88 | 60 |
| The killing of filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife in December | -7 | 54 | 56 | 61 | 31 |
| The U.S. Supreme Court decision in December that allowed Texas to use redrawn congressional districts in the 2026 elections | -10 | 34 | 29 | 44 | 15 |
| The partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the Department of Justice | -26 | 49 | 65 | 75 | 42 |
| A widespread social services fraud scandal in Minnesota including Medicaid, housing, and autism services | 26 | 71 | 60 | 45 | 30 |
| Renaming the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington as the Trump-Kennedy Center | -31 | 32 | 46 | 63 | 21 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||||
| Question: Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these? | |||||
Partisans differ in where they turn for news, with Republicans more likely to rely on only conservative sources, while Democrats are much more likely to rely only on other network news sources. However, it is notable that 28% of Republicans rely on a mix of conservative and other network sources, while half that many Democrats, 13%, digest this mix of sources. Independents are much more likely than partisans to ignore television news and to rely on other news sources. Table 4 shows these results.
Table 4: News sources, by party identification
Among adults
| Party ID | News sources | |||
| Conservative TV news only | Conservative & other network TV news | Other network TV news only | Only other news sources | |
| Republican | 22 | 28 | 14 | 36 |
| Independent | 6 | 16 | 17 | 61 |
| Democrat | 2 | 13 | 52 | 32 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||||
| Question: Which of the following, if any, have you read, watched, or listened to in the past month for information about political news and current affairs? | ||||
2026 congressional vote
Looking ahead to November, 48% of registered voters say they would vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress and 44% would vote for the Republican candidate. Among likely voters, i.e., those who say they are certain to vote next November, 52% support the Democratic candidate and 45% prefer the Republican. In November 2025, 49% favored the Democrat and 44% the Republican among registered voters.
In this poll, Democrats are only slightly advantaged by a greater commitment to voting in November’s midterm elections. Among registered voters, 72% of Democrats say they are certain to vote, compared to 70% of Republicans. That is a narrower edge than in November’s survey, in which 75% of Democrats were certain to vote versus 68% of Republicans.
Independents are much less likely to vote than either partisan camp, as shown in Table 5.
Table 5: Likelihood of voting, by party identification
Among registered voters
| Poll dates | Likelihood of voting | |||
| Absolutely certain to vote | Very likely to vote | Chances are 50-50 | Don’t think will vote | |
| Republican | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 70 | 18 | 11 | 1 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 68 | 19 | 9 | 4 |
| Independent | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 41 | 26 | 26 | 7 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 37 | 27 | 22 | 14 |
| Democrat | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 72 | 17 | 7 | 4 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 75 | 16 | 7 | 2 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||||
| Question: What are the chances that you will vote in the November 2026 general election for congressional and state offices– are you absolutely certain to vote, very likely to vote, are the chances 50-50, or don’t you think you will vote? | ||||
Approval of how Republicans in Congress are doing their job stands at 39%, with disapproval at 60%. This is little-changed from November, when 40% approved and 60% disapproved.
For Democrats in Congress, 29% of respondents approve and 71% disapprove. This is a considerable decline from November, during the federal government shutdown, when 36% approved and 64% disapproved.
The decline in approval of Democrats, and the stability of Republicans, come from differences in support within their parties. Approval of congressional Democrats among Democratic voters fell from 64% in November to 51% in January. By contrast, approval of Republicans in Congress among Republican voters has remained stable, with 79% approval in November and 80% approval in January.
Democrats in Congress also experienced a decline in approval among independents, from 29% approval in November to 21% approval in January. Approval of congressional Republicans among independents rose 2 points, from 20% in November to 22% in January.
The reason Democrats are able to maintain their lead in the congressional vote is that Democrats are extremely loyal to their party’s congressional candidates, despite their disappointment with their party. Table 6 shows the congressional vote choices by party for January and November among registered voters. Democrats are slightly more loyal to their party than Republicans are to theirs. Democrats also have an advantage among independents, though many of them say they would support neither party or not vote.
Table 6: 2026 congressional vote, by party identification
Among registered voters
| Poll dates | Congressional vote choice | |||
| Democratic candidate | Republican candidate | Neither | Would not vote | |
| Republican | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 6 | 92 | 2 | 0 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 4 | 91 | 5 | 0 |
| Independent | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 36 | 10 | 51 | 4 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 38 | 17 | 39 | 6 |
| Democrat | ||||
| 1/21-28/26 | 95 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 96 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||||
| Question: If the election for Congress were held today, would you vote for the (Democratic) candidate in your district or the (Republican) candidate in your district? | ||||
Which party is better on issues
Across eight issues, the Republicans are seen as better able to handle four issues than Democrats. Democrats are seen as better on two issues. On two issues, there is little difference.
Republicans have substantial advantages on crime, national defense, and immigration and border security, and a smaller advantage on taxes. Democrats have large advantages on health care and on Medicare and Social Security. These party strengths have been common images of the parties for some time.
On the economy and on inflation and the cost of living, the parties are seen as closely matched.
On all eight issues, from a quarter to a third of adults say the parties are about the same or that neither would be good—the latter being a sign of disenchantment with both parties. The full results are shown in Table 7.
Table 7: Which party is better across issues
Among adults
| Issue | Net Rep minus Dem | Republican party | Democratic party | Both about the same | Neither would be good |
| Crime | 23 | 44 | 21 | 22 | 13 |
| National defense | 18 | 43 | 25 | 20 | 11 |
| Immigration and border security | 18 | 46 | 28 | 13 | 13 |
| Taxes | 9 | 39 | 30 | 16 | 15 |
| The economy | 3 | 37 | 34 | 16 | 13 |
| Inflation and the cost of living | -1 | 33 | 34 | 18 | 15 |
| Health care | -18 | 28 | 46 | 12 | 14 |
| Medicare and Social Security | -18 | 28 | 46 | 13 | 13 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||||
| Question: Do you think the (Republican party) or the (Democratic party) would do a better job handling each of the following issues? | |||||
The most important issues
Inflation and the cost of living is the top issue for 38% of adults, followed by the economy at 17% and immigration and border security at 14%. The top two issues are also the two with the smallest difference in which party would do a better job on the issue, as shown in Table 7. The Republican strength on the third most important issue, immigration, is offset by the Democratic party advantage on the next two top issues, Medicare and Social Security and health care. The other issues see below 5% choosing them as most important. Table 8 shows these results.
Table 8: Most important issue
Among adults
| Issue | |
| Percent most important | |
| Inflation and the cost of living | 38 |
| The economy | 17 |
| Immigration and border security | 14 |
| Medicare & Social Security | 9 |
| Health care | 8 |
| Abortion policy | 3 |
| The size of the federal deficit | 3 |
| Crime | 2 |
| The war between Russia and Ukraine | 1 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |
| Question: Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now? | |
Trump job approval across issues
In January, Trump’s overall job approval is 42% and disapproval is 58%. This almost matches his approval late in his first term in September 2020, when 41% approved and 58% disapproved.
This is a slight decline from November, when 43% approved and 57% disapproved. Over the first year of his second term, Trump’s job approval has moved steadily downward in small poll-to-poll changes. His approval has declined from 48% in February 2025, while disapproval has risen from 52%. This has taken him from a small net negative approval of -4 points to a current net of -16 points. Table 9 shows his approval in each Marquette poll of the second term, plus his standing in September 2020.
Table 9: Trump approval trend
Among adults
| Poll dates | Approval | ||
| Net approve minus disapprove | Approve | Disapprove | |
| 1/21-28/26 | -16 | 42 | 58 |
| 11/5-12/25 | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| 9/15-24/25 | -14 | 43 | 57 |
| 7/7-16/25 | -10 | 45 | 55 |
| 5/5-15/25 | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| 3/17-27/25 | -8 | 46 | 54 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | -4 | 48 | 52 |
| 9/8-15/20 | -17 | 41 | 58 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president? | |||
There is a wide range of approval of Trump’s handling across eight topics, with a majority (53%) approving his handling of border security, giving him a net approval on that subject of +6 points. On the low end, 30% approve of his handling of inflation and the cost of living and his handling of information about Jeffrey Epstein. Both of these have a net approval of -39 points. His second highest approval is on immigration, though more disapprove than approve. Opinions of Trump’s handling of the economy and tariffs are both quite negative, with net approvals of -24 points and -25 points, respectively. Two new topics are the situation in Venezuela, with a net approval of -13 points, and his use of military force, a net of -17 points. Table 10 shows these results.
Table 10: Trump job approval across issues
Among adults
| Issue | Net approve minus disapprove | Approve | Disapprove |
| Border security | 6 | 53 | 47 |
| Immigration | -12 | 44 | 56 |
| The situation in Venezuela | -13 | 43 | 56 |
| Overall | -16 | 42 | 58 |
| The use of military force | -17 | 41 | 58 |
| The economy | -24 | 38 | 62 |
| Tariffs | -25 | 37 | 62 |
| Inflation/cost of living | -39 | 30 | 69 |
| Information about Jeffrey Epstein | -39 | 30 | 69 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||
| Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling each of the following issues? | |||
Personal characteristics
Views of Trump’s personal characteristics show some changes since October 2024.
- A majority, 55%, think the phrase “is too old to be president” describes Trump very or somewhat well, a slight decrease from the month before the 2024 election.
- “Shares your values” describes Trump for 39%, a decline of 6 points from 2024.
- Fewer people see Trump as having a strong record of accomplishments, 46%, than in 2024, a decline of 7 points.
- The number of those saying he has the right temperament to be president stands at 36%, little changed since 2024.
These results are shown in Table 11.
Table 11: How well does this phrase describe Trump
Among adults
| Poll dates | How well phrase describes | |
| Very/somewhat well | Not too/not at all well | |
| Is too old to be president | ||
| 1/21-28/26 | 55 | 45 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 59 | 41 |
| Shares your values | ||
| 1/21-28/26 | 39 | 61 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 45 | 55 |
| Strong record of accomplishments | ||
| 1/21-28/26 | 46 | 54 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 53 | 47 |
| Has the right temperament to be president | ||
| 1/21-28/26 | 36 | 64 |
| 10/1-10/24 | 38 | 62 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||
| Question: How well does each of the following phrases describe Donald Trump? | ||
Actions in Venezuela
A majority of adults, 55%, think the United States did the right thing in capturing Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, while 45% think it was the wrong thing to do. This is a substantial change in opinion from November, when respondents were asked “Do you think the United States should attempt to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power or should the United States not get involved in Venezuela?” In November, 24% said the U.S. should attempt to remove Maduro, while 76% said the U.S. should not get involved in Venezuela.
Opinion shifted most dramatically among Republicans, 37% of whom said the U.S. should remove Maduro in November. In January 87% say the U.S. did the right thing in capturing him. Independents also shifted substantially, from 20% support for U.S. action in November rising to 51% in January. Democratic support of intervention almost doubled, from 12% in November to 23% in January.
While support for capturing Maduro rose, the public is reluctant to further expand involvement in Venezuela by sending troops in order to take control of the country. Such expanded involvement is favored by 28% and opposed by 72%. Despite their support for capturing Maduro, Republicans are not inclined to commit troops, with 46% in favor and 54% opposed. Among independents 70% are opposed, as are 89% of Democrats.
The practice of lethal strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs is approved by 45% and disapproved by 54%. In November, 49% approved and 51% disapproved.
Asked who is now running Venezuela, 40% say the United States is in charge, while 60% say the Venezuelan government is running the country.
Greenland
Twenty-nine percent say they favor the U.S. taking control of Greenland, with 70% opposed. In May, 27% favored and 73% were opposed.
Prices and financial situation
The public remains pessimistic about prices, with 61% saying inflation will increase over the next 12 months, 19% saying inflation will stay about the same, and 19% thinking inflation will decrease. That is an improved outlook from November, when 67% expected inflation to increase over the next year.
Prices of specific items can move in different directions, and perceptions of price changes reflect this. Asked about the price of groceries, 70% say this has gone up over the past six months, in line with government estimates of inflation in food prices of about 3% in 2025. Only 11% think grocery prices have gone down.
In contrast, 50% say the price of gasoline has gone down, with 29% who say prices have held steady and 21% say gasoline has become more expensive. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average price of unleaded regular gas declined from $3.339 in September to $3.050 in December.
Perception of grocery price changes is related to whether one does the grocery shopping or someone else in the household does it. For those who say they do most of the shopping, 72% say prices have gone up, while among those who say someone else does the shopping, 58% think prices have increased. Experience at the checkout seems to matter. Of those who say they share the grocery shopping about equally, 71% say prices are up, virtually the same as for those who say they do most of the shopping.
Views of the economy improved from November to January. In November, 28% said the economy was excellent or good, a percentage that rose to 35% in January. At the gloomy end of the scale, the percent saying the economy is poor decreased from 29% in November to 25% in January. Despite the short-term decline, the percentage saying the economy is poor, 15%, was lower in February 2025. The recent trend is shown in Table 12.
Table 12: Views of the national economy
Among adults
| Poll dates | National economy | |||
| Excellent | Good | Not so good | Poor | |
| 1/21-28/26 | 4 | 31 | 40 | 25 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 2 | 26 | 43 | 29 |
| 9/15-24/25 | 2 | 27 | 50 | 20 |
| 7/7-16/25 | 3 | 32 | 44 | 21 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 3 | 29 | 47 | 22 |
| 3/17-27/25 | 2 | 24 | 53 | 20 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | 1 | 26 | 58 | 15 |
| 12/2-11/24 | 4 | 25 | 50 | 21 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||||
| Question: How would you describe the state of the nation’s economy these days? | ||||
There has been a small improvement in how people describe their family financial situation. In January, 40% say they are living comfortably, an improvement from November’s 31%, and a small improvement from a year ago when 36% said they were comfortable. Similarly, the percentage saying they are struggling declined from November to January, and is down slightly over the year. Table 13 shows financial situation poll results since December 2024.
Table 13: Family financial situation
Among adults
| Poll dates | Financial situation | |||
| Living comfortably | Just getting by | Struggling | Skipped/Ref | |
| 1/21-28/26 | 40 | 45 | 15 | 0 |
| 11/5-12/25 | 31 | 44 | 24 | 0 |
| 9/15-24/25 | 37 | 46 | 17 | 0 |
| 7/7-16/25 | 35 | 47 | 18 | 0 |
| 5/5-15/25 | 35 | 48 | 17 | 0 |
| 3/17-27/25 | 38 | 47 | 15 | 0 |
| 1/27-2/6/25 | 36 | 48 | 17 | 0 |
| 12/2-11/24 | 35 | 44 | 20 | 0 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||||
| Question: Thinking about your family’s financial situation, would you say you are living comfortably, just getting by, or struggling to make ends meet? | ||||
Data centers
The construction of large data centers has become controversial in parts of the country. In January, 37% say the benefits of these centers outweigh the costs, while 62% say the costs outweigh the benefits.
While data centers have sparked controversy in some locations, most people have heard little or nothing about them in their state: 14% say they have heard a lot, 43% have heard a little, and 43% have heard nothing at all.
Those who have heard a lot about data centers are more likely to say the costs outweigh the benefits (71%) than those who have heard a little (60%) or those who have heard nothing at all (62%).
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
The public is about equally divided on the question of whether diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs should be terminated in the federal government, education, and business. Forty-six percent favor ending DEI programs, while 53% oppose terminating them. These results are similar to the results in March and May 2025 when 50% and 48% favored ending DEI programs. The March and May questions asked about ending the programs in the federal government but did not mention education or business.
A majority of adults (58%) say that DEI programs do not affect the jobs of white men, while 41% say DEI programs lead to job discrimination against white men.
There are substantial differences in this perception, by race and gender, as shown in Table 14. A majority of white men (60%) believe DEI programs lead to discrimination against white men, while a majority of white women (58%) say it does not. Among nonwhite men and women, more than two-thirds say DEI programs do not produce discrimination against white men.
Table 14: Does DEI lead to job discrimination against white men, by race and gender
Among adults
| Race | Job discrimination | ||
| Gender | Lead to job discrimination against white men | Do not affect the jobs of white men | |
| White | Male | 60 | 39 |
| White | Female | 41 | 58 |
| Nonwhite | Male | 33 | 67 |
| Nonwhite | Female | 23 | 76 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Jan. 21-28, 2026 | |||
| Question: Do you think diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs lead to job discrimination against white men or do they not affect the jobs of white men? | |||
Prospects for democracy and pride in the country
The public is evenly divided about the country’s future as a democracy, with 50% saying they are very or somewhat optimistic and 50% who say they are not very or not at all optimistic. While there is a substantial partisan gap in optimism, the party polarization is not as large as on most issues. While 74% of Republicans are optimistic, 26% are not. And while 66% of Democrats are not optimistic, 34% have an optimistic outlook. Independents are quite pessimistic, with 70% who say they are not optimistic.
As for pride in “who we are as a country,” only a small majority (55%) say they are very or somewhat proud, with 45% saying they are not very or not at all proud.
There is a sharp decline in pride in the country as one moves from people born before 1960 through each succeeding decade of birth, as shown in Table 15.
Table 15: Proud of our country, by decade of birth
Among adults
| Decade of birth | Proud of country | |
| Proud | Not proud | |
| Pre-1960 | 70 | 30 |
| 1960s | 67 | 33 |
| 1970s | 54 | 46 |
| 1980s | 55 | 45 |
| 1990s | 43 | 57 |
| 2000s | 33 | 67 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||
| Question: How proud are you of who we are as a country? | ||
There is also a large partisan gap in pride in the country, with Republicans far more proud than independents or Democrats.
Table 16: Proud of our country, by party identification
Among adults
| Party ID | Proud of country | |
| Proud | Not proud | |
| Republican | 87 | 13 |
| Independent | 36 | 64 |
| Democrat | 30 | 70 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||
| Question: How proud are you of who we are as a country? | ||
Trust in other people
Fifty-two percent of adults say most people can be trusted, while 48% say most people cannot be trusted.
There is a large gradient in trust in other people by decade of birth, shown in Table 16. The most recent birth cohorts are far less trusting that those born in the 1960s or before, and trust declines with each successive recent cohort.
Table 17: Trust in other people, by decade of birth
Among adults
| Decade of birth | Trust in other people | |
| Most people can be trusted | Most people can’t be trusted | |
| Pre-1960 | 75 | 25 |
| 1960s | 55 | 45 |
| 1970s | 56 | 44 |
| 1980s | 46 | 54 |
| 1990s | 44 | 56 |
| 2000s | 33 | 67 |
| Marquette Law School Poll, national survey Jan. 21-28, 2026 | ||
| Question: Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted, or most people can’t be trusted? | ||
About the Marquette Law School Poll
The survey was conducted Jan. 21-28, 2026, interviewing 1,003 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points. For registered voters, the sample size was 869, with a margin of error of +/-3.6. For likely voters the sample size was 577, with a margin of error of +/-4.4 percentage points.
Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample with interviews conducted online. Certain other data from this survey (focusing on those about public views of the Supreme Court) are held for release on Feb. 5. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law School Poll website.