Sharp partisan differences in interest in Semiquincentennial contrast with little partisan difference during the 1976 Bicentennial

Also:

• A quarter or less are paying a lot of attention to the landmark anniversary
• Two-thirds are proud of the country and more say the country has succeeded at least a fair amount in achieving the ideals of the founding; three-quarters say the U.S. is better than most countries
• Optimism for the future as a democracy is evenly divided
• Benjamin Franklin seen most favorably among the founders, followed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson; Benedict Arnold remains in ill repute
• Trump’s job approval remains at 38%
• There has been a notable decline in approval of Trump’s job performance in rural areas of the country, as well as among other groups, across his second term

MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that only 26% of Americans have read or heard a lot about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence coming on July 4. Another 57% say they have heard some about the Semiquincentennial, while 17% have heard nothing at all about it.

This modest size of the group most engaged, accompanied by a larger share who are moderately engaged, is a theme running through the findings of this poll of how Americans feel about their country on this commemoration of the nation’s birth. Relatively small percentages are the most involved with, most proud of, and most optimistic about the country, while a considerably larger share are positive in their feelings but not strongly so.

A consistent minority express relatively negative views of the current state of the nation and its future prospects.

This pattern was also found 50 years ago on the 200th anniversary of the Declaration. In a Roper Organization poll conducted June 12-19, 1976, 28% said they were following news about the Bicentennial closely, with 50% following casually and 22% paying no attention. Raw data from the 1976 survey were provided by the Roper Center data archive at Cornell University, with analysis conducted by Marquette Law School Poll staff.

Interest in the 250th commemoration is also mixed, with just 17% who say they are very interested and another 39% who are fairly interested, while 31% are not too interested and 13% are not at all interested. Here, too, the similarity to 1976 is striking. In the Roper poll, 18% were very interested, 43% fairly interested, 26% not too interested, and 11% not at all interested.

The new Marquette Law survey was conducted June 9-15, 2026, interviewing 1,514 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points.

One substantial difference from 50 years ago is found in the partisan patterns of interest and attention to the Declaration’s anniversary. President Donald Trump has emphasized the 250th anniversary and assumed control of some related celebrations, recently declaring it will be the “most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all” on his Truth Social account. This association of the July 4 events with the president is reflected in more substantial interest in the event among Republicans and Trump supporters and much less interest among Democrats and those who disapprove of the president.

Those who strongly approve of Trump are most likely to say they are very or fairly interested in the 250th celebrations, while interest declines as approval declines, as shown in Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages.)

Table 1: Interest in 250th anniversary, by Trump approval

Among adults

Trump approval	Interest in 250th
	Very/fairly interested	Not too/not at all interested
Among all adults	57	43
Strongly approve	88	12
Somewhat approve	71	29
Somewhat disapprove	58	42
Strongly disapprove	39	61
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: How interested are you personally in the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?

This pattern is also clear by partisanship, with Republicans much more interested than independents or Democrats. In contrast, in 1976 there was very little difference across partisan categories, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Interest in Semiquincentennial and Bicentennial, by party identification

Among adults

Party ID	Interest
	Very/fairly interested	Not too/not at all interested
Semiquincentennial
Among all adults	57	43
Republican	76	24
Independent	50	49
Democrat	43	57
Bicentennial
Among all adults	61	38
Republican	66	33
Independent	56	44
Democrat	63	35
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026. Roper Organization national survey, June 12-19, 1976
Question: Marquette 2026: How interested are you personally in the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?
Question: Roper 1976: How interested are you personally in the Bicentennial Celebration?

Beyond general interest, 20% say they have recently watched a television show or a movie about the American Revolution, and 18% have recently read a book or an article about it. Unlike general interest in the anniversary, there is little partisan difference in viewing shows or reading about the revolution.

Views of the country

A majority of adults have positive views of the country, but more are moderately positive rather than strongly so.

A sizable 75% either strongly or somewhat agree that America is a better country than most other countries. This positive view is about evenly divided, with 35% who strongly agree and 40% who somewhat agree. Only 7% strongly disagree, with 19% who somewhat disagree.

A similar view holds of how well the country has succeeded in achieving the ideals of the founding, with 71% saying a great deal or a fair amount, but with more saying a fair amount, 53% rather than a great deal, 18%. Among those saying we have fallen short of the revolution’s ideals, 24% say we have “not very much” achieved the ideals, while 5% that those ideals have been not at all achieved.

Sixty-six percent are very or somewhat proud of who we are as a country, with 28% very proud and 38% somewhat proud. Almost a quarter, 24%, are not very proud and 10% are not at all proud.

Americans are evenly divided on the country’s future as a democracy, with 52% who are very or somewhat optimistic. Here, limited optimism is much greater, with 41% who are somewhat optimistic and only 11% very optimistic. A sizable 36% are not very optimistic, and 12% are not at all optimistic about the future.

There are significant differences across partisan and generational lines in these views, with more modest differences by race. Republicans and older adults are more positive than are Democrats and younger people, though majorities remain positive on these topics except pride in the country and optimism for the future, where some groups fall short of a positive majority.

Majorities of each partisan, age, and racial or ethnic group strongly or somewhat agree that America is better than most other countries. Racial and ethnic groups are generally similar in their positive views, while partisan gaps are large, as are differences by age. These comparisons are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: America is better than most countries, by party identification, age, and race/ethnicity

Among adults

	America is better
	Strongly/somewhat agree	Strongly/somewhat disagree
Party ID
Republican	93	7
Independent	59	41
Democrat	62	38
Age
18-29	58	42
30-44	70	30
45-59	79	21
60+	85	15
Race/ethnicity
White	77	23
Black	65	35
Hispanic	70	30
Other/Multiple	80	20
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Generally speaking, America is a better country than most other countries?

Opinion of how well the country has achieved the ideals of the American Revolution show majorities saying we’ve achieved a great deal or a fair amount of those ideals, but with differences across groups in the size of that majority. Black adults and independents make up the smallest majorities saying these ideals have been achieved. These results are in Table 4.

Table 4: How much of the ideals of the revolution have been achieved, by party identification, age, and race/ethnicity

Among adults

	Achieved how much of the ideals
	Great deal/fair amount	Not very much/not at all
Party ID
Republican	83	17
Independent	56	44
Democrat	63	37
Age
18-29	61	39
30-44	66	34
45-59	74	26
60+	78	22
Race/ethnicity
White	74	26
Black	57	42
Hispanic	67	33
Other/Multiple	73	27
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: Looking at America, how much do you think we have succeeded over these 250 years in achieving the ideals for which this country was founded, as you understand them?

A related question was asked in the 1976 Roper survey. In 1976, 18% said the country still represented the ideals of the founding, while 46% said it had moved somewhat away from those ideals and 30% thought the country had moved far away from the founding ideals. With the difference in wording, these percentages are not directly comparable to the question of how much the country has achieved the ideals of the founding in the current survey. But this comparison over 50 years does show that, in 1976, the views about shifting ideals were barely related to partisanship, age, or race, whereas there are larger gaps across each of these three groups in 2026. The results for 1976 are shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Country still represents ideals of the founding, by party identification, age and race, 1976

Among adults

	Represents ideals
	Still represents ideals	Moved somewhat away	Moved far away
Party ID
Republican	22	47	26
Independent	14	46	34
Democrat	17	45	31
Age
18-29	16	48	29
30-44	18	49	26
45-59	17	46	31
60+	18	39	34
Race
White	17	48	31
Black	24	35	26
Other race	30	30	22
Roper Organization, national survey, June 12-19, 1976
Question: Thinking of the principles and ideals on which our country was founded, do you think 200 years later that this country pretty much still represents those principles and ideals, or that we have moved somewhat away from them, or that we have moved far away from those principles and ideals?

Pride in who we are as a country is somewhat more muted than positive opinion on the previous topics, as the numbers of Democrats, 18-29 year olds, and Black respondents slip just under 50% saying they are proud, while majorities of other groups are very or somewhat proud, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Pride in who we are as a country, by party identification, age, and race/ethnicity

Among adults

	Proud of who we are
	Very/somewhat proud	Not very/not at all proud
Party ID
Republican	88	12
Independent	56	44
Democrat	49	51
Age
18-29	48	52
30-44	62	38
45-59	73	27
60+	76	24
Race/ethnicity
White	70	30
Black	48	52
Hispanic	66	34
Other/Multiple	71	29
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: How proud are you of who we are as a country?

Optimism about the country’s future as a democracy is more divided, with majorities of several groups falling at or below 50% expressing optimism. Divisions by party and by age remain larger than divisions across racial and ethnic lines, as shown in Table 7.

Table 7: Optimism about future as a democracy, by party identification, age, and race/ethnicity

Among adults

	Future as a democracy
	Very/somewhat optimistic	Not very/not at all optimistic
Party ID
Republican	66	34
Independent	43	57
Democrat	41	59
Age
18-29	44	56
30-44	46	54
45-59	55	45
60+	60	40
Race/ethnicity
White	54	46
Black	42	58
Hispanic	50	50
Other/Multiple	54	46
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: How optimistic are you about our country’s future as a democracy?

Opinions of the founders

Taking a modern tool of public opinion back to the 18th century, respondents were asked how favorable or unfavorable their opinions were on eight prominent figures from the founding era. Six founders are all rated quite positively, though with variation in how many people are unfamiliar with them and modest variation in unfavorable opinion. Two other figures from the era are viewed negatively, but are also less well known.

Benjamin Franklin has the highest net favorability rating and is almost as well known as George Washington, who has the second-highest net favorability. Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, has the third-highest rating and is also well known. These three stand together, although there is a 15-point gap in net favorability between Franklin and Jefferson, much more than the 2-point gap in their name recognition.

A second group of founders includes John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, each with net favorability close to 50 points, but with 21% to 28% saying they don’t know enough to have an opinion. Despite the popularity of the musical Hamilton, the author of much of the Federalist Papers falls below the top three figures in visibility. Each of these three, as with Washington and Jefferson, receives unfavorable ratings in the mid-teens.

One less-popular figure is Aaron Burr, eventual vice president and winner of a duel with Hamilton. Burr was also featured prominently in the Hamilton musical. He has a net -7 point favorability. Almost half of respondents say they haven’t heard enough about Burr to rate him.

Benedict Arnold, who fought with distinction for the Continental Army early in the revolution before defecting to the British in 1780 and leading British forces against the Americans, retains a strongly negative favorability rating after some 250 years. A third of respondents say they are unfamiliar with him.

The ratings of all these figures are shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Favorability to figures from the founding era

Among adults, ordered by net favorable

Who	Favorability
	Net favorable minus unfavorable	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Benjamin Franklin	75	84	9	7
George Washington	68	81	13	6
Thomas Jefferson	60	76	16	9
John Adams	53	66	13	21
Alexander Hamilton	50	64	14	22
James Madison	46	59	13	28
Aaron Burr	-7	22	29	49
Benedict Arnold	-38	15	53	32
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Modern political ideology has some influence on how we view the revolutionary-era figures. The ordering by net favorability is very similar regardless of ideology, but conservatives are more favorable to each of the six founders, as identified above (Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and Madison), and liberals least favorable, with moderates falling in between. Unfavorable views of Washington and Jefferson, in particular, reach 19% and 27% respectively among liberals, while less than 10% among conservatives hold unfavorable opinions of them. The differences in net favorability between conservatives and liberals are rather large for Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, while somewhat smaller for Hamilton and Franklin. Moderates are also somewhat more likely to lack an opinion than are either conservatives or liberals. The full set of comparisons are shown in Table 9.

Table 9: Favorability to figures from the founding era, by ideology

Among adults

Who	Favorability
	Net favorable minus unfavorable	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough
Benjamin Franklin
Conservative	83	89	6	5
Moderate	73	82	9	8
Liberal	70	81	11	8
George Washington
Conservative	80	88	8	4
Moderate	62	77	15	8
Liberal	55	74	19	7
Thomas Jefferson
Conservative	77	85	8	7
Moderate	57	73	16	11
Liberal	38	65	27	8
John Adams
Conservative	70	77	7	16
Moderate	46	59	13	27
Liberal	40	60	20	20
Alexander Hamilton
Conservative	56	68	12	19
Moderate	47	59	12	29
Liberal	47	65	18	18
James Madison
Conservative	60	69	9	21
Moderate	39	51	12	37
Liberal	37	55	18	26
Aaron Burr
Conservative	-2	25	27	47
Moderate	0	21	21	58
Liberal	-24	18	42	40
Benedict Arnold
Conservative	-38	18	56	26
Moderate	-28	17	45	38
Liberal	-50	10	60	30
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Presidential approval

Returning to the present, President Trump’s job approval rating is unchanged from May, with 38% approving and 62% disapproving. Approval has declined from poll to poll by small amounts, or remained steady, throughout Trump’s second term. In early February 2025, 48% approved and 52% disapproved. The trend of regular decline is shown for all Marquette Law School Poll national surveys is shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Trump job approval in second term

Among adults

Poll dates	Net approve minus disapprove	Approve	Disapprove
6/9-15/26	-24	38	62
5/20-26/26	-24	38	62
4/8-16/26	-21	39	60
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
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Over the second term, the intensity of support has declined notably and strong opposition has increased, with strong approval falling from 29% in February 2025 to 16% in this poll and strong disapproval rising from 40% to 47% over that time. This is shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Strength of Trump job approval in second term

Among adults

Poll dates	Strongly approve	Somewhat approve	Somewhat disapprove	Strongly disapprove
6/9-15/26	16	22	15	47
5/20-26/26	16	22	17	45
4/8-16/26	17	22	12	48
1/21-28/26	19	23	14	44
11/5-12/25	21	22	13	44
9/15-24/25	23	20	16	40
7/7-16/25	23	22	11	44
5/5-15/25	24	22	13	41
3/17-27/25	26	20	13	41
1/27-2/6/25	29	19	12	40
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

Approval by party has declined across all partisan groups since February 2025, with smaller decreases among Republicans and larger decreases among independents. Republican approval has declined from 89% to 77%, while approval among independents has fallen from 37% to 20%, though that is up slightly from 16% among independents in May. Democratic approval has remained quite low throughout the second term, as shown in Table 12.

Table 12: Trump job approval in second term, by party identification

Among adults

Poll dates	Republican	Independent	Democrat
6/9-15/26	77	20	6
5/20-26/26	77	16	7
4/8-16/26	78	20	6
1/21-28/26	83	24	6
11/5-12/25	85	25	5
9/15-24/25	81	27	8
7/7-16/25	86	38	7
5/5-15/25	87	31	8
3/17-27/25	87	32	10
1/27-2/6/25	89	37	9
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

As with Republicans, approval among 2024 Trump voters has declined, from 94% shortly after the inauguration to 80% now.

There have been declines in support for Trump among groups that were important supporters in 2024.

Approval of Trump has fallen substantially among residents of the nation’s rural areas, with moderate declines in metropolitan areas and suburbs. In February 2025, 63% of rural residents approved of Trump’s handling of his job, but that has fallen to 44% as of June. Republican strength in rural America has been a hallmark of elections in recent years, so this decline in support is notable. Declines in support in central cities and counties that contain central cities have been smaller, by 9 percentage points in each. Approval is lower in the central cities at 31% than the 39% approval in the surrounding counties. Suburbs have seen a small decline, from 51% approval to 46%. Table 13 shows these results.

Table 13: Trump job approval in second term, by urban-rural residence

Among adults

Poll dates	Urbanicity: Center city	Urbanicity: County of center city	Urbanicity: Suburban	Urbanicity: Rural
6/9-15/26	31	39	46	44
5/20-26/26	31	36	44	52
4/8-16/26	34	40	46	41
1/21-28/26	31	44	50	51
11/5-12/25	31	47	48	53
9/15-24/25	34	46	47	56
7/7-16/25	37	41	58	62
5/5-15/25	36	48	50	60
3/17-27/25	35	48	57	61
1/27-2/6/25	40	48	51	63
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

White adults without a college degree were quite positive about Trump at the start of the second term, there has been a decline in approval among white, non-college men, together with a larger decline among white, non-college women, who are now below 50% approval at 45%. Among white adults with a college degree, approval has also declined by 8 or 9 points for both women and men. Among non-white adults, approval has declined from 36% in early 2025 to 29% now. These results appear in Table 14.

Table 14: Trump job approval in second term, by race, education and gender

Among adults

Poll dates	White, non-college, men	White, non-college, women	White, college, men	White, college, women	Non-white
6/9-15/26	60	45	33	32	29
5/20-26/26	55	48	41	37	25
4/8-16/26	60	52	45	35	24
1/21-28/26	63	49	47	34	29
11/5-12/25	63	57	46	36	28
9/15-24/25	60	60	45	46	26
7/7-16/25	70	58	41	38	30
5/5-15/25	60	60	39	39	36
3/17-27/25	68	59	43	37	34
1/27-2/6/25	66	62	42	40	36
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

In 2024, Trump made gains in votes from younger voters. During the second term, he has suffered larger declines in approval among those between the ages of 18-29 and 30-45, while facing smaller declines with those 45 and older. The youngest group provided a sizable 40% approval rating at the beginning of the second term, but that fell quickly in the early months and has held below 30% throughout 2026. Opinion among 30-44 year olds has declined more steadily, falling from 47% approval initially to 32% now. Older groups have declined by 7 points for both those 45-59 and those over 60. These results are shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Trump job approval in second term, by age

Among adults

Poll dates	18-29	30-44	45-59	60+
6/9-15/26	28	32	45	44
5/20-26/26	22	35	41	47
4/8-16/26	19	39	42	48
1/21-28/26	28	40	42	51
11/5-12/25	30	38	45	52
9/15-24/25	26	41	44	54
7/7-16/25	34	41	53	50
5/5-15/25	35	43	51	50
3/17-27/25	30	43	57	50
1/27-2/6/25	40	47	52	51
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?

News sources and Trump approval

There is variation in approval by news source. Because people select news sources they find agreeable, this does not mean the news content is solely responsible for these differences. However, it is noteworthy that, for example, 46% of Republicans say they watch Fox News, versus 11% of Democrats, or 31% of Democrats say they watch CNN, compared to 12% of Republicans.

The Fox News audience is far more positive to Trump than other audiences, though those who listen to podcasts for political news are also much more positive than are adults as a whole. All other audiences are more disapproving than approving. Listeners to local radio stations are less negative than the average American, and the audience for local TV news is identical in approval to the population as a whole. Those who get news from social media, a very diverse set of sources, are slightly more disapproving than the general population. People who rely on traditional news sources of local newspapers, the three historical broadcast networks, national newspapers, and CNN are increasingly negative to Trump’s handling of his job. These comparisons are presented in Table 16.

Table 16: Trump approval, by news source

Among adults

News source	Approval
	Net approval minus disapproval	Approve	Disapprove
Among all adults	-24	38	62
Fox news	32	66	34
Podcasts	8	54	46
Local radio station	-14	43	57
Local TV news	-24	38	62
Social media	-28	36	64
Local newspaper	-34	33	67
CBS News	-42	29	71
ABC News	-46	27	73
NBC News	-52	24	76
National newspapers	-58	21	79
CNN	-62	19	81
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey June 9-15, 2026
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?
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?

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted June 9-15, 2026, interviewing 1,514 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-2.7 percentage points. The poll conducted by the Roper Organization, cited above, was conducted June 12-19, 1976, and interviewed 2,004 adults nationally with a margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points. The Roper Organization poll raw data were provided by the Roper Center data archive at Cornell University, with all analysis conducted by Marquette Law School Poll staff.

Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample with interviews conducted online. Certain other data from this survey are held for future release. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.

Also:

• 57% say the Court goes out of its way to avoid a ruling Trump might refuse to obey
• Public is evenly divided on whether the Court is motivated mainly by law or by politics
• Approval of the Court rose to 46% in May, from 42% in April
• Opinion is evenly divided on enlarging the Court, but 79% favor limited terms for justices
• Two-thirds disagree with Trump’s position against birthright citizenship and with his claim of a president’s right to remove members of Federal Reserve
• 63% say state laws banning transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s teams should be upheld

MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds 61% of adults think the United States Supreme Court is ruling for President Donald Trump “almost always” or “most of the time,” while 39% say the Court is ruling for him “only some of the time” or “almost never.”

Republicans and independents are less inclined to think the Court favors Trump, with 45% of Republicans and 47% of independents saying the Court rules for Trump almost always or most of the time. Small majorities say it rules for him only some of the time or almost never, a total of 55% and 53% respectively for Republicans and independents. Democrats, in contrast, are much more convinced that the Court favors Trump, with 79% saying the Court rules for Trump almost always or most of the time.

When the question is posed in terms of how challengers to Trump fare at the Court, the results are very similar, with 36% saying challengers almost always or mostly win (therefore Trump loses) and 64% saying challengers mostly lose (therefore Trump wins).

A 57% majority say the Court is going out of its way to avoid a ruling Trump might refuse to obey, while 43% say the Court is not avoiding such a ruling. On this question, the partisan divide is larger, with 67% of Republicans saying the Court is not avoiding ruling against Trump, while 80% of Democrats say it is avoiding ruling against Trump. Among independents, 60% say the Court is avoiding ruling against Trump.

The public is about evenly divided on whether the justices’ decisions are motivated mainly by the law, 48%, or mainly by politics, 52%. Among Republicans, 64% say the law is the main motivation, while 67% of Democrats and 57% of independents say politics are the main motivation.

The survey was conducted May 20-26, 2026, interviewing 1,001 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points.

Approval for the Supreme Court rose to 46% in May from 42% in April. This reverses a general downward trend since March 2025 when approval of the Court was 54%. Republicans are much more approving of the Court, 76%, than are independents, 39%, or Democrats, 20%.

Changes to the Supreme Court

The public is evenly divided on proposals to expand the size of the Court, with 50% in favor of adding more justices and 50% opposed. Opinion on this has varied little since the question was first asked in Marquette Law School Poll surveys in September 2019, when 42% favored enlarging the Court. In nine polls from 2021 to 2026, support for adding justices has held between 48% and 54%, the high mark coming in September 2023. Sixty-one percent of Republicans are opposed to adding to the Court, while 62% of Democrats favor expansion. There is much more support for instituting fixed terms of service for Supreme Court justices, a change that likely would require a constitutional amendment. In May, 79% favor fixed terms for justices, and 21% are opposed. Support was 71% in 2019, rising to a high of 83% in October 2024. Unlike expansion of the court, term limits for justices enjoy strong bipartisan support, with 73% of Republicans, 71% of independents, and 87% of Democrats in favor.

Cases filed against Trump critics and against Trump

Fifty-five percent say the Justice Department has filed unjustified criminal cases against Trump’s political opponents, while 45% say the cases are justified. This perception is unchanged since November 2025. There is little difference in partisan perception of this issue, with 53% of Republicans, 55% of independents, and 58% of Democrats saying unjustified cases have been filed.

As for criminal cases brought against Trump in 2022-2024, 45% say those cases were unjustified and 55% say they were justified. Here, there is a large partisan split, with 77% of Republicans calling those charges unjustified, while 86% of Democrats saying they were justified. Independents are more evenly divided, with 44% calling them unjustified and 55% saying justified.

Attention to the Court

Attention to news about the Court has declined slightly since last November. In May, 24% say they heard a lot about the Court in the last month, down from 30% in November. Meanwhile, those hearing nothing at all rose to 19% from 10% in November. Attention to the Court is typically cyclical, peaking around the end of each Court term in late June each year and falling off after.

Most adults correctly say that Republican presidents have appointed a majority of the Court’s nine justices, 81%, while 19% incorrectly say Democratic presidents appointed a majority of the Court. Such knowledge of the majority has increased since the first Marquette Law School Poll in September 2019, when 72% correctly noted a majority appointed by Republican presidents. Republican appointees have been a majority of the Court since the 1970-71 Court term, with the exception of 14 months in 2016-17 following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, when the members of the Court were evenly divided in terms of the party of their appointing president.

Recent decisions and pending cases

On April 29, the Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did not require Louisiana to create a second majority-minority congressional district, finding the creation of a second such district an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Among survey respondents, 49% favor this ruling, while 51% oppose it. Among Republicans, 73% favor the ruling, 72% of Democrats oppose it, and 60% of independents oppose it.

In Chiles v. Salazar, on March 31, the Court ruled that a Colorado law banning “conversion therapy,” as it applies to talk therapy in cases involving gender-identity issues, likely is an unconstitutional violation of the therapist’s right to free speech under the First Amendment, not a permissible regulation of medical practice. The Court sent the case back to a lower court for reconsideration under a more speech-friendly standard, hinting that the Colorado law likely would be found unconstitutional. This ruling was favored by 52% and opposed by 48%. There was only a modest partisan split in opinion on this case, with 57% of Republicans favoring the ruling and 54% of Democrats opposed. Fifty-two percent of independents favored the decision.

On May 14, the Court issued a stay of a lower federal court decision that would have prevented abortion providers from prescribing mifepristone, a medication that induces abortions, by telemedicine and shipping it to patients in states that ban most abortions. The Court returned the case to lower courts for further proceedings. Among survey respondents, 57% say the Court should allow shipments of the drug to continue, while 43% said it should have allowed the ban on shipments to remain in place. Among Republicans, 69% say the Court should uphold the lower court decision, while 64% of independents and 79% of Democrats say the Court should allow shipments of the drug.

On April 1, the Court heard a case asking whether an executive order can legally declare that only children born to at least one citizen parent or to lawful permanent residents are citizens of the United States, or whether the order is unconstitutional because the 14th Amendment makes all those born in the United States citizens. Sixty-eight percent say the Court should rule for “birthright citizenship” under the 14th Amendment, while 32% say the president can limit citizenship by executive order. Limits on citizenship are supported by 57% of Republicans but opposed by 71% of independents and 91% of Democrats.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the fall in a case asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. Sixty-three percent say the state laws should be found constitutional, while 37% say these laws violate the equal protection clause. Republicans are strongly in favor of upholding the state laws, 81%, while independents and Democrats are closely divided, with 53% of independents and 49% of Democrats favoring the state laws.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging a state law that allows absentee ballots to be counted that are postmarked by election day but arrive up to five days after the election. A 56% majority say state law should be upheld and late-arriving ballots counted, while 44% say the law should be struck down. There is a gulf between the parties, with 81% of Democrats saying the law should allow late-arriving ballots to be counted, while a majority of Republicans, 68%, say the law should be struck down. Among independents, 54% would uphold the law and 46% would strike it down.

Trump v. Cook asks whether Trump, as president, can remove a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Among poll respondents, 66% say the president may not remove members of the Federal Reserve, while 34% say he has that authority. Ninety-two percent of Democrats and 68% of independents say the president cannot remove Federal Reserve members, but 60% of Republicans say the Court should rule that he does have that authority.

Trump v. Slaughter, a case involving removal of members of independent federal agencies, was argued Dec. 8, 2025. By federal statute, individuals appointed to serve on independent, multimember regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, can be removed only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” This case asks whether such congressional requirements for removal infringe on the president’s executive power under the Constitution. Seventy-three percent of respondents say that statutes can set requirements for removal, while 27% say the president has the power to remove appointees to independent agencies. In this case, a majority of each partisan group says statutes can set requirements for removal, with 54% of Republicans, 72% of independents, and 93% of Democrats holding this view.

On Dec. 9, 2025, the Supreme Court heard arguments challenging a federal law limiting the amount of money that political parties can spend in coordination with a candidate for office. The challengers argue that the limits violate First Amendment free speech rights. Supporters argue that the law appropriately ensures that contributors cannot use donations to parties to evade limits on contributions directly to candidates. Among survey respondents, 74% say the law is an appropriate regulation of contributions, while 26% say it is a violation of First Amendment speech rights. There is little partisan polarization on this case, with 74% of Republicans, 64% of independents, and 78% of Democrats saying the law is appropriate.

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted May 20-26, 2026, interviewing 1,001 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 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 national political issues) were released on June 3. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website.

Wording of questions about recent and pending Supreme Court decisions: These items do not attempt to exactly frame the particular issues in specific cases but rather address the topic in more general terms.

The wording of questions about recent cases includes the following (the names of the cases were not included in the survey):

Louisiana v. Callais

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 does not require states to create congressional districts where nonwhite voters are in the majority, and that Louisiana’s having done so to protect the ability of Blacks to elect candidates of their choice was a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Chiles v. Salazar

A Colorado law restricts mental health therapists from trying to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of clients under age 18, often called “conversion therapy.” On March 31, the Supreme Court ruled that the law, as it applies to talk therapy, likely is an unconstitutional violation of the therapist’s right to free speech under the First Amendment, and not a permissible regulation of medical practice. The Court sent the case back to a lower court for reconsideration under a more speech friendly standard, hinting that the Colorado law likely would be found unconstitutional. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana

A lower federal court decision would prevent abortion providers from prescribing mifepristone, a medication that induces abortions, by telemedicine and shipping it to patients in states that ban most abortions. Should the U.S. Supreme Court uphold this decision or overturn it?

Trump v. Barbara

The Supreme Court heard arguments on April 1 asking whether an executive order can legally declare that only children born to at least one citizen parent or to lawful permanent residents are citizens of the United States or whether the order is unconstitutional because the 14th Amendment makes all those born in the United States citizens. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case asking whether state laws that prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Watson v. Republican National Committee

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case asking whether to uphold a state law that allows absentee ballots to be counted that are postmarked by election day, but that arrive up to five days after the election, or whether this state law conflicts with the federal law setting the date of elections. Should the Supreme Court uphold the state law to count late-arriving ballots, or should it strike down the state law because it is not consistent with federal law?

Trump v. Cook

The Supreme Court has heard arguments in a case asking whether President Trump can remove a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. A lower court ruling prevented the removal, which the Supreme Court is now considering. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

Trump v. Slaughter

By federal statute, individuals appointed to serve on independent, multi-member regulatory agencies, like the Federal Trade Commission, can be removed only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” The Supreme Court has heard arguments in a case asking whether such Congressional requirements for removal infringe on the president’s executive power. How do you think the Supreme Court should rule?

National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission

In December, the Supreme Court heard arguments challenging a federal law limiting the amount of money that political parties can spend in coordination with a candidate for office. The challengers argue that the limits violate First Amendment free speech rights. Supporters argue that the law appropriately ensures that contributors cannot use donations to parties to evade limits on contributions directly to candidates.