About three-quarters of Americans support the release of all files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds
About three-quarters of Americans support the release of all files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll finds.
Another 13% want some of the Epstein files released, while only 9% don’t want any documents released.
President Donald Trump’s administration has faced growing bipartisan pressure to release the government’s files on Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Riding a streak of unexpectedly strong election wins, Democrats have found yet another reason to feel bullish about 2026. A new PBS News/NPR
Alex Samuels at Daily Kos:
Riding a streak of unexpectedly strong election wins, Democrats have found yet another reason to feel bullish about 2026. A new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll shows a clear majority of voters leaning blue if the midterms were held today—a rare cushion in an era defined by razor-thin margins.
The headline number is almost jarring: Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot 55% to 41%. That’s the party’s biggest edge in this poll since late 2017, just before Democrats flipped more than 40 House seats during President Donald Trump’s first term. The symmetry isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough to make operatives on both sides sit up straighter. It’s the same point in Trump’s presidency; same polling drift away from the GOP; same ominous rumble of a potential blue wave.
But the map today is far less forgiving. A decade of hyper-aggressive gerrymandering—much of it encouraged by Trump—has drained the battlefield of competitive districts. Red states have raced to redraw maps mid-decade, and blue states have retaliated. The House is now a chessboard engineered to resist blowouts, even as public sentiment sours against the party in power.
To be sure, the Marist survey paints a rosier picture for Democrats than most. A FiftyPlusOne average of generic-ballot polling shows the party up by only 4 points. Even so, the broader landscape appears to be tilting their way. A November poll from Strength in Numbers/Verasight had Democrats leading 47% to 42%, and that edge widened once voters were reminded that Republicans currently run Washington.
Independents shifted especially hard: In the Marist poll, they prefer a Democrat over a Republican by nearly 2 to 1, an ominous sign for a GOP already stretched thin.
Part of the story is simply political gravity. When one party controls every lever of the federal government, voters tend to flirt with the other. And Democrats come into 2026 freshly emboldened by victories in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia—races that revealed just how fragile the Republican coalition has become under Trump’s second-term stewardship.
Those campaigns also shared a common throughline: an unrelenting focus on the cost of living. While Republicans centered their messaging on immigration and crime, voters kept drifting back to grocery bills and rent. It shows. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say lowering prices should be the president’s top priority. Immigration—Trump’s defining crusade—lags a staggering 41 points behind.
[...]
The GOP-led government shutdown hasn’t helped. As Congress finally broke the 43-day standoff, poll respondents placed the blame squarely on Republican shoulders. Six in 10 say Trump or congressional Republicans caused the crisis, a judgment that tracks with political reality: the GOP controls the presidency, both chambers of Congress, and the Supreme Court.
Beneath all of this sits a deeper erosion. Americans’ faith in institutions has collapsed to historic lows. Congress is the worst hit—80% say they have little or no confidence in it—but the media (75%), the Supreme Court (62%), and both political parties trail not far behind.
Democrats have their own internal vulnerabilities; only 57% of Democratic voters express strong confidence in their party. Republicans fare slightly worse, and independents tilt more favorably toward Democrats on measures of honesty and open-mindedness.
Recent polls reveal that momentum for the 2026 Elections are on the Democrats’ side, as polling massively favors them.
Donald Trump’s overreach and aloofness on the economy are also factors.
See Also:
Strength In Numbers (G. Elliott Morris): New poll: Democrats lead the 2026 House generic ballot, and their edge widens when voters are reminded Republicans control Congress
HuffPost: Poll Shows Democrats With A Huge Advantage Going Into The Midterms
Do you trust information you hear about the coronavirus from (President Trump / News Media / State and Local Governments / Public Health Experts)?
Source: NPR / PBS NewsHour / Marist Poll
Yahoo News Investigation | Weed & the American Family
By Martha Nelson, Global Editor in Chief
The topic of marijuana is at a tipping point. While some aspects of this tectonic shift in American society have been well covered – legalization, the business boom, the political divides – its impact on our most important relationships, those inside our homes, has been curiously underexamined.
Leveraging the power of the Yahoo network, Weed & the American Family is an in-depth and thoughtful examination of the way cannabis is affecting our families – from the generational split over usage, to shifting attitudes, to its impact on parenting and relationships.
At the center of our project is an exclusive Yahoo News/Marist Poll which offers the most comprehensive examination of this hot topic – Weed & the American Family.
This survey of 1,122 adults in America found that marijuana use has become surprisingly acceptable, particularly in families where parents are users. Having used – or merely tried – marijuana makes you much less concerned about its effect on your family, suggesting that as weed becomes more widespread in the age of legalization, more Americans will begin to feel the same way.
See the full poll results here: http://maristpoll.marist.edu/yahoo-newsmarist-poll/
Our examination includes an interview with former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who co-founded an anti-legalization group called Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM); a discussion with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper about the lessons he's learned as a reluctant leader on the front lines of the marijuana revolution; and an intimate conversation with musician, mother and weed advocate Melissa Etheridge. We also produced video diaries of families who share how marijuana has affected their lives, both negatively and positively, including a compelling account of a mother using marijuana to treat postpartum depression and anxiety.
We hope that as you read through our fascinating poll data, reporting and first-person accounts on marijuana use, you’ll be able to develop a better sense of the complex and evolving attitudes about this deeply controversial issue in American life and that it generates discussion where it matters most – within your own family.
Candidate Trump promised to build his border wall (and have Mexico pay for it, but we’ll ignore that part).
Trump won the election (despite losing the popular vote by the largest margin in history, but we’ll ignore that part too).
Therefore, building Trump’s wall is “The Will of the People!”
Reality:
61% of adults in the United States disapprove of Trump “declaring a national emergency to build a wall along the U.S. - Mexico border”; only 36% approve.
58% of adults disagree that “there is currently a national emergency along the U.S. - Mexico border”; only 39% agree.
57% of adults think Trump is “Misusing his presidential power” in declaring a national emergency to build the wall; only 39% think he is “Properly using his presidential power.”
60% of adults think Trump declaring a national emergency to build the wall “Should be legally challenged in court”; only 35% think it “Should not be legally challenged in court.”
Finally, 54% of registered voters say Trump declaring a national emergency to build the wall makes them “Less likely” to “vote for him for re-election in 2020″; only 33% say it makes them “More likely” to vote for him in 2020.
As is typically the case in these polls, the majority opinions remain the same across most demographics, including race, gender, age, income level, education level, and geographic region. Trump doesn’t even have the support of his most reliable boosters, “Men - White - Not College Graduate.” Only the usual three groups unquestioningly side with him:
Voters Blame Trump for Shutdown More Than Democrats 2025
When the lights went off in Washington, people wanted to know who to blame. Many answered the same way: they blame Trump for shutdown. That finding landed fast and sharp in national polls on the shutdown’s first day. The results sketch a tough political moment for Republicans and President Donald Trump. They also show a public worried about services, paychecks, and stability.
Why voters blame…
