Cards
Against
Humanity’s
Pulse of the Nation

The Poll

For the fifth day of Cards Against Humanity Saves America, we used your money to fund one year of monthly public opinion polls. We’ll ask the American people about their social and political views, what they think of the president, and their pee-pee habits.

In fact, we secretly started polling three months ago. What a delightful surprise!

To conduct our polls in a scientifically rigorous manner, we’ve partnered with Survey Sampling International — a professional research firm to contact a nationally representative sample of the American public. For the first three polls, we interrupted people’s dinners on both their cell phones and landlines, and a total of about 3,000 adults didn’t hang up immediately. We examined the data for statistically significant correlations, and boy did we find some stuff.

Intro

Last year, as part of Cards Against Humanity Saves America, our backers funded one year of monthly public opinion polls. This month marks the final poll in our series.

We made some important discoveries, like the fact that more than half of the people who support Trump’s border wall think that they themselves could get past it, most of the people who think their economic opinions are well-informed cannot name a single living economist, the vast majority of partisans would refuse to change parties even if their policies were scientifically proven not to work, both Democrats and Republicans believe things that don’t make sense, and most voters generally have no idea what’s going on.

For our final poll, we asked people about the future of democracy, the future of humanity, and the future of America.

The Future of Democracy

We asked people how confident they were that their votes would be counted fairly in the 2018 midterms.

A circle graph displays responses to the following question. How confident are you that your vote in the twenty eighteen midterms will be counted fairly? Twenty nine percent of respondents we surveyed said they were somewhat confident that their vote would be counted fairly. Thirty five respondents said they were very confident their vote would be counted fairly. Thirty five percent of respondents said they were not confident their vote would be counted fairly.

The Future of Democracy – 2 of 5

Democrats are less confident than Republicans that their votes will be counted fairly.

A bar graph displays responses to the following question. How confident are you that your vote in the twenty eighteen midterms will be counted fairly? Of Democrats, forty two percent are not at all confident that their vote will be counted fairly. Thirty four percent are somewhat confident. Twenty five percent are very confident. Of Republicans, twenty percent are not at all confident that their vote will be counted fairly. Twenty nine percent are somewhat confident. Fifty one percent of Republicans are very confident that their vote will be counted fairly.

This is probably because Democrats know that Russia interfered with the previous election.

The Future of Democracy – 3 of 5

Research shows that instant-runoff voting (in which people vote for their first choice candidate, their second choice candidate, and so forth) is superior to the shitty system we have now.

Unfortunately, only a slim majority of Americans support this kind of voting system.

A circle graph displays responses to the following question. Would you support a voting system in which respondents could choose their first choice candidate, their second choice candidate, their third choice candidate, and so on? Fifty three percent of respondents said yes, they would support it. Forty seven percent of respondents said no, they would not support it.

The Future of Democracy – 4 of 5

Younger people are more okay with instant-runoff voting than older people. Which is good news, because old people are going to die soon.

A bar graph displays the age demographics of respondents who support instant runoff voting. Of ages eighteen to twenty four, seventy percent are in support. Of ages twenty five to thirty four, seventy six percent are in support. Of ages forty five to fifty four, fifty nine percent are in support. Of ages fifty five to sixty four, forty eight are in support. Of ages sixty five and above, forty five percent are in support.

The Future of Democracy – 5 of 5

Republicans are less supportive of instant-runoff voting than Democrats, probably because the status quo is working out pretty well for them.

A bar graphs shows that fifty nine percent of Democrats support instant-runoff voting and forty percent of Republicans support instant-runoff voting.

The Future of Humanity

People are pretty optimistic that humanity will survive the next hundred years.

This circle graph shows the results to the following question. Do you think humanity will survive the next hundred years? Seventy five percent of respondents said yes, humanity will survive. Twenty five percent of respondents said no, humanity would not survive.

The Future of Humanity – 2 of 5

Millennials are more optimistic about humanity than their older, gloomier peers. Or alternatively, they are more in denial than their older, wiser peers.

A bar graph displays age demographics of respondents who think humanity will not survive the next hundred years. Of ages eighteen to twenty four, ninety three percent believe humanity will survive. Of ages twenty five to thirty four, eighty two percent believe humanity will survive. Of ages thirty five to forty four, eighty two percent believe humanity will survive. Of ages forty five to fifty four, seventy eight percent believe humanity will survive. Of ages fifty five to sixty four, seventy four percent believe humanity will survive. Of ages sixty five and above, sixty eight believe humanity will survive.

The Future of Humanity – 3 of 5

Turns out the pessimists have some specific concerns in mind: people who doubt that humanity will survive the next century are more likely to believe a war with China is on the horizon, and that Trump will use a nuclear weapon during his time in office.

A bar graph shows that of respondents who believe that the US will go to war with China in the next fifty years, forty percent believe that humanity will not survive the next one hundred years. Nineteen percent of these respondents do not believe that humanity will survive the next one hundred years.A bar graph shows that of respondents who think Trump is at least somewhat likely to use nuclear weapons, thirty four percent believe that humanity will survive the next one hundred years. Fifty seven percent believe that humanity will not survive the next one hundred years.

The Future of Humanity – 4 of 5

People who are more worried about their personal finances are more worried about the world in general. They’re more likely to think America will go to war with China, that Donald Trump will use a nuclear weapon during his time in office, and that humanity will go extinct in the next hundred years.

A bar graph shows that of respondents who believe that the us will go to war in the next fifty years, twenty percent said that they are rarely worried about finances. Twenty seven percent said that they are sometimes worried about finances. Thirty one percent said they are often worried about finances.A bar graph shows that of respondents who think humanity will not survive the next hundred years, twenty three percent are rarely worried about finances. Twenty three percent are sometimes worried about finances. Thirty five percent are often worried about finances.

The Future of Humanity – 5 of 5

A bar graph answering the following question. Is it likely that trump will use nuclear weapons? Sixty nine percent of respondents who answered not at all likely also said that they rarely worried about finances. Twenty six percent of respondents who answered somewhat likely also said that they rarely worried about finances. Five percent of respondents who answered very likely said that they rarely worried about finances. Of those who were sometimes worried about finances, fifty seven percent said that it was not at all likely that trump will use nuclear weapons during his presidency. Thirty five percent said it was somewhat likely. Eight percent said it was very likely. Of those who were often worried about finances, forty six percent said it’s not at all likely that Trump will use nuclear weapons during his presidency. Thirty three percent said that it was somewhat likely. Twenty one percent said that it was very likely.

The Future of America

Next, we asked people if they thought America, as opposed to humanity, would survive the next hundred years. Again, most people were optimistic.

This circle graph shows the results to the following question. Do you think America will survive the next hundred years? Seventy seven percent of respondents said yes, America will survive. Twenty three percent said no, America will not survive.

The Future of America – 2 of 3

Were there any patriotic idiots who said that humanity would go extinct but that America would somehow make it? Yes, almost a third of the people who thought humanity would perish thought that America would survive. They must really believe in America.

A Venn diagram that shows that seventeen point three percent of respondents believe that humanity will not survive the next one hundred years. Sixty eight point seven percent of respondents believe that America will survive the next one hundred years. The center of the graph shows that eight point six percent of respondents said that while humanity would not survive the next one hundred years, America would survive the next one hundred years.

The Future of America – 3 of 3

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the more educated you are, the more likely you are to realize that “America” is a subset of “humanity.”

A bar graph that breaks down the education demographics of respondents who think America will survive the next one hundred years but humanity will not. Fourteen percent of respondents who agreed with this had a high school education or less than. Twelve percent had some college. Four percent had a college degree. Three percent had a graduate degree.

Well, that’s all we got for this year. America has been saved, even if humanity was already doomed. This concludes Cards Against Humanity’s Pulse of the Nation. I love you.

The Common Good

In these divisive times, it brings us comfort to believe that deep down, most Americans are patriots who can set aside partisan differences and put the best interests of our country first. Just to be sure, we asked people a bunch of trick questions to see if this was actually the case.

We asked Democrats. If scientific evidence proved that the policies favored by Republicans improved the economy, lowered crime, and made citizens happier, would you become a Republican? This circle graph shows that fourteen percent of Democrats said yes, they would become a Republican. Eighty six percent of Democrats said no, they would not become a Republican.

Even if their policies were scientifically proven not to work, Democrats would rather stick with them than agree with Republicans. This statistic would look great on a sign at one of those marches for science.

The Common Good – 2 of 3

Now let’s have a look at the Republicans.

We asked Republicans. If scientific evidence proved that policies favored by Democrats improved the economy, lowered crime, and made citizens happier, would you become a Democrat? This circle graph shows that twelve percent of Republicans said yes, they would become a Democrat. Eighty eight percent of Republicans said no they would not become a Democrat.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Republicans would also not be swayed by studies showing their policies don’t work. Democrats should probably stop using this exact strategy to win elections.

The Common Good – 3 of 3

People who strongly identified with their political party had the most damaged brains and were least likely to change their minds based on evidence.

The top line of this bar chat reads. Even if scientific evidence proved that the other party’s policies improved the economy, lowered crime, and made citizens more happy, I would not join that party. The x axis says strong Democrat, leans Democrat, leans Republican, and strong Republican. The y axis is the percentage of each of these groups that responded yes to this question. Eighty nine percent of strong Democrats said they would not join another party. Sixty eight percent of people who lean Democrat would not join another part. Seventy three percent of people who lean Republican would not join another party. Ninety percent of strong Republicans would not join another party.

It turns out that politics is a competition over power and resources, and not a witty exchange of facts and banter like on The West Wing.

Respect My Authority

One of Donald Trump’s big themes is that people should know their place: NFL players shouldn’t kneel, and cable news should respect the president. When we asked, pretty much all Republicans said they agree with the statement: “People need to have more respect for authority in this country.”

We proposed this statement to Republicans. People need to have more respect for authority in this county. This circle graph shows that ninety six percent of the Republicans we surveyed agree with this statement. Four percent do not.

Respect My Authority – 2 of 3

But when it comes time for businesses to respect the authority of the federal government… not so much.

We asked Republicans. In general, do you believe that American businesses should resist government regulations that they perceive to be unfair? This circle graph shows that forty eight percent of the Republicans we surveyed said yes. Fifty two percent said no.

Respect My Authority – 3 of 3

About half of Republicans managed to believe both of these things at the same time.

This venn diagram compares Republican respondents’ answers to two statements. On the left, the statement is: people in this country need more respect for authority. On the right, the statement is: businesses should resist government regulations they think are unfair. Forty six point four percent of Republicans said yes to both of these contradictory statements. Three point one percent said yes to: businesses should resist government regulations they think are unfair, and no to: people in this country need more respect for authority. Forty nine percent said yes to: people in this country need more respect for authority, but no to businesses should resist government regulations they think are unfair. One point five percent said yes to neither of these statements.

It turns out Republicans mostly respect the authority of the people they agree with. Which of course we do too. The people we agree with are awesome.

Stereotypes

Is it wrong to believe a negative stereotype about a group of people based on where they were born? Most Democrats say yes.

We asked Democrats. Is it wrong to endorse negative stereotypes about a group of people based on where they were born? This circle graph shows that eighty two percent of Democrats we surveyed said yes, and eighteen percent said no.

Stereotypes – 2 of 3

But nearly half of Democrats think that if you’re born in “the American south,” you are “more racist than people from other parts of the country.”

We asked Democrats. In general are people from the South more racist than people from other parts of the country? This circle graph shows that forty six percent of Democrats we surveyed said yes and fifty four percent said no.

Stereotypes – 3 of 3

As you might have expected, there’s quite a bit of overlap - the same people who believe that stereotypes are wrong hold negative stereotypes of Southerners.

This venn diagram compares Democrat respondents’ answers to two statements. On the left, the statement is: It is wrong to negatively stereotype people based on their place of birth. On the right, the statement is: Southerners are more racist. Thirty nine point one percent of respondents agree with to both of these contradictory statements. Forty four point one percent agree with this statement. It is wrong to negatively stereotype people based on their place of birth. But disagree with the statement. Southerners are more racist. Seven point nine percent agree with the statement: Southerners are more racist. And disagree with the statement. It is wrong to negatively stereotype people based on their place of birth. Eight point nine percent of respondents disagree to both of these statements.

Just like everyone else, Democrats are mostly okay with stereotypes about people they don’t like. And let’s be honest - the people we don’t like are dumb racist assholes.

The Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established by Richard Nixon in 1970. Most of their staff are engineers and scientists, and they have a budget of about $8 billion each year to protect our clean air and water. But if you watch the Republican debates, you might see many candidates say they want to abolish the EPA. In fact, one in three Republicans we asked would support eliminating the EPA.

We asked Republicans. Would you support the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency? This circle graph shows that twenty nine percent of Republicans said yes, we should eliminate it. Seventy one percent said no, we should not eliminate it.

The Environment – 2 of 5

Yet of the Republicans who want to eliminate the EPA, the vast majority believe that the government should ensure that Americans have access to clean air and drinking water.

We asked Republicans. Should the government make sure that Americans have access to clean air and drinking water? This bar graph compares the responses to this question from Republicans who are pro-eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency, and Republicans who are against eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency. The x axis says Pro E P A elimination Republican, and Anti E P A elimination republican. The y axis is the percentage of each of these groups that responded yes to our question. Eight two percent of Republicans who would support eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency also think that the government make sure that Americans have access to clean air and drinking water. Ninety four percent of Republicans who are against eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency also think that the government make sure that Americans have access to clean air and drinking water.

Maybe they favor an alternate plan, like everyone switching over to Trump Water™ and Trump Air™.

The Environment – 3 of 5

We all know that Republicans are misinformed about environmental policy. But most Democrats are very confident in their own information.

We asked Democrats. Are your opinions on climate change policy well-informed, or not very well-informed? This circle graph shows that seventy two percent of Democrats said yes their opinions are well-informed and fifty four percent said no their opinions are not well-informed.

The Environment – 4 of 5

You can probably see where this is going. When we asked Democrats if nuclear power plants produce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, 65% said they do, which is incorrect.

We asked Democrats. Do nuclear power plants produce carbon emission that contribute to climate change? This circle graph shows that sixty five percent of Democrats said yes, nuclear power plant emissions contribute to climate change. This is incorrect. Thirty five percent said no, nuclear power plant emissions do not contribute to climate change. This is correct.

The Environment – 5 of 5

Of course the same people who think they are well-informed are, in fact, not well-informed.

This venn diagram compares Democrat respondents’ answers to two statements. On the left, the statement is: My views on climate change are well-informed. On the right, the statement is: Nuclear power produces carbon emissions. Forty one point nine percent of respondents agree with to both of these contradictory statements. Thirty one point five percent agree with this statement: My views on climate change are well-informed, but disagree with the statement: Nuclear power produces carbon emissions.Twenty two point seven percent agree with the statement: Nuclear power produces carbon emissions, but disagree with the statement: My views on climate change are well-informed. Three point nine percent of respondents disagree to both of these statements.

Government Handouts

According to 77% of the Republicans we asked, nobody deserves a free handout from the government.

We asked Republicans. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Nobody deserves a free handout from the government. This circle graph shows that seventy seven percent of the Republicans we surveyed agreed with this statement. Twenty three percent did not agree with this statement.

Government Handouts – 2 of 3

Yet most Republicans also believe the government needs to do more to help “small, working class towns in America’s heartland.”

We asked Republicans. Should the government do more to help small, working class towns in America’s heartland? This circle graph shows that seventy two percent of the Republicans we surveyed said yes. Twenty eight percent said no.

Government Handouts – 3 of 3

You can decide for yourself how racist this is. (We give it an 8/10 on the Cards Against Humanity Racism Index.)

This venn diagram compares Republican respondents’ answers to two statements. On the left, the statement is: Nobody deserves a free handout from the government. On the right, government should do more to help small, working class towns in America’s heartland. Fifty four point one percent of respondents agree with to both of these contradictory statements. Twenty two point two percent agree with this statement: Nobody deserves a free handout from the government, but disagree with the statement: The government should do more to help small, working class towns in America’s heartland. Nineteen point one percent agree with the statement: government should do more to help small, working class towns in America’s heartland, but disagree with the statement: Nobody deserves a free handout from the government Four point six percent of respondents disagree to both of these statements.

Poll 10

This month, we teamed up with our friends at Chapo Trap House (check out their book here). Together, we came up with a list of questions about redistribution, fairness, and economic policy.

Redistribution

Do you support redistribution of wealth? It turns out your answer is largely determined by how much of your wealth would be redistributed.

Image of a bar graph titled Percent Who Support the Government Redistribution of Wealth from Rich to Poor. Do you think you'd benefit personally from redistribution? Sixty three percent of people say yes, and thirty four percent say no.

Redistribution – 2 of 2

People also support redistribution because they think it will benefit most of the people they know.

Image of a bar graph titled Percent Who Support the Government Redistribution of Wealth from Rich to Poor. Do you think most people you know would benefit from redistribution? Sixty six percent of people say yes, twenty six percent say no.

Turns out poor people and their friends want money, and rich people and their friends want to keep their money. The good news is that there’s a lot more poor people than rich people. The bad news is we don’t live in a democracy.

Basic Income

Most Americans don’t support a universal basic income.

Image of a pie chart titled Would you support a universal basic income, in which every American would receive an annual sum of money from the government to pay for basic needs, like food and housing? Thirty nine percent of people say yes, and sixty one percent say no.

Basic Income – 2 of 3

That’s probably because people think of “universal basic income” as a pretentious way of saying “redistribution of wealth.”

Image of a bar graph titled Percent Who Support Universal Basic Income. Do you think the government should redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor? Sixty seven percent of people say yes, twenty percent say no.

Basic Income – 3 of 3

People are more likely to support a basic income if they think they’re being paid unfairly by their employer.

Image of a bar graph titled Percent Who Support Universal Income. Do you feel that your employer compensates you fairly? Thirty four percent of people say yes. Fifty two percent of people say no.

Turns out if you’re getting fucked by the system, you’re more interested in unfucking the system.

Minimums and Maximums

We asked people to guess the federal minimum wage, and then to say what they think the minimum wage should be. Most people, regardless of ideology, overestimate the minimum wage, and still think it’s too low.

An image of a scatter plot showing the correlation between what respondents guessed was the federal hourly minimum wage and what it should be. The true value is seven dollars and twenty five cents. The median guess is about eleven dollars.

Minimums and Maximums – 2 of 3

We then asked people to guess the federal tax rate for individuals making more than $500,000 a year, and then to say what they think that rate should be. Liberals want the top tax rate to be higher than they think it is, but embarrassingly, not as high as it actually is.

An image of a scatter plot showing the correlation between what conservatives think the federal tax rate for individuals making more than five hundred thousand dollars per year and what conservatives think it should be. The true value is thirty seven percent, but the conservative’s median guess was about twenty five percent.

Minimums and Maximums – 3 of 3

Conservatives also underestimate the tax rate for rich people, but unlike liberals, they think it should be even lower.

An image of a scatter plot showing the correlation between what liberals think the federal tax rate for individuals making more than five hundred thousand dollars per year and what liberals think it should be. The true value is thirty seven percent, but the liberal’s median guess was about twenty five percent.

Fairness

Most people think it is unfair that the average CEO makes 16 million dollars per year.

Image of a circle graph titled the average CEO is paid about sixteen million dollars per year. Do you think it is fair that they are paid that much money, or unfair? Seventy two percent of people think it is unfair. Twenty eight percent think it is fair.

Fairness – 2 of 5

Even a majority of conservatives think this is unfair.

Image of a bar graph titled, percent who believe the CEO pay is unfair. Eighty four percent of the liberals we surveyed believed that the CEO average pay is unfair. Seventy five percent of moderates think that the average CEO pay is unfair. Sixty percent of conservatives think the average CEO pay is unfair.

Fairness – 3 of 5

But when it comes to Hollywood movie stars making the same amount of money, closer to half of respondents say this is unfair.

Image of a circle graph titled the typical Hollywood movie star is paid about ten or twenty million dollars for every movie that they star in. Do you think it is fair or unfair that they are paid that much money? Forty nine percent of respondents think this is unfair. Fifty one percent of respondents think this is fair.

Fairness – 4 of 5

Conservatives are more likely to say this is unfair than liberals.

 Image of a bar graph with the title percent who believe that movie star pay is unfair. Along the bottom are two bars for liberals and conservatives. Thirty eight percent of the liberals we surveyed believe that movie star pay is unfair. Fifty three percent of conservatives think it’s unfair.

Fairness – 5 of 5

Nearly half of the liberals who think it is fair for movie stars to make millions think it is unfair for CEOS to make millions.

Image of a venn diagram of liberal’s responses. Thirty seven point one percent think CEOs are paid too much, and sixteen point one percent think movie stars are paid fairly. The center of the venn diagram shows that forty four point four percent of liberals agree with both statements. Two point four percent agreed with neither.

In sum, CEOs = faceless, evil conservatives. Movie stars = cool liberals I want to be friends with.

Hot or Not

Now for the important stuff: on a scale of 1 to 10, how physically attractive are you? Of the people who didn’t hang up, most thought they were pretty attractive.

Image of a bar graph titled on a scale from one to ten, how physically attractive are you? No respondents rated themselves lower than a two. Less than five percent of respondents said they would rate themselves a two. Less than five percent of respondents rated themselves a three. Five percent of respondents rated themselves a four. Twenty one percent of respondents rated themselves a five. Thirteen percent of respondents rated themselves a six. Twenty two percent of respondents rated themselves a seven. Twenty four percent of respondents rated themselves an eight. Five percent rated themselves a nine. Eight percent rated themselves a ten.

Hot or Not – 2 of 3

Young people tend to think of themselves as hotter than old people.

Image of a graph titled, Age vs. How Physically Attractive Are you, that shows the mean and standard deviation of responses for a certain age group. For ages eighteen to twenty four, the mean was seven point six with a standard deviation roughly between 5.9 and 9. For ages twenty five to thirty four, the mean was seven point one with a standard deviation roughly between 5.8 and 8.5. For ages thirty five to forty four, the mean was six point eight with a standard deviation roughly between 5.8 and 8.5. For ages forty five to fifty four, the mean was seven point one with a standard deviation roughly between 5.5 and 9. For ages fifty five to sixty four, the mean was six point six with a standard deviation roughly between 4.5 and 8.5. For ages sixty five plus, the mean was six point five with a standard deviation roughly between 4.5 and 8.5.

Hot or Not – 3 of 3

People of color tend to think of themselves as hotter than white people.

Image of a graph titled, Race vs. How Physically Attractive Are you, that shows the mean and standard deviation of responses for a certain age group. For white respondents, the mean was 6.4 with a standard deviation roughly between 4.5 and 8.5. For asian respondents the mean was 6.7 with a standard deviation roughly between 5 and 8.5. For Latino respondents, the mean was 7.4 with a standard deviation roughly between 5.9 and 9. For black respondents, the mean was 8.2 with a standard deviation roughly between 6.5 and 10.

They’re probably right.

Poll 9

For this month’s poll, we teamed up with the folks at Chapo Trap House, a popular comedy/politics podcast (check out their book here). Together, we came up with a list of questions about conspiracy theories, partisan paranoia, and generally idiotic beliefs.

Russia

Do you believe that Russia interfered with the presidential election? This shouldn’t be a partisan issue—it’s a well-reported fact—and yet… oh no.

This graph shows that 88% of Democrats, 55% of Independents, and 28% of Republicans believe that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election.

Russia – 2 of 2

Of the people who believe Russia interfered with the election, nearly one in five support military action against Russia in retaliation.

Of the people who think Russia interfered in the 2016 election, 82% do not support military action in response. 18% do support military action in response.

Do you want a nuclear war? This is a great way to get a nuclear war.

Common Sense

Two-thirds of Americans trust "common sense" more than science.

We asked, what is more important to you when deciding whether something is true: science or common sense? 35% of respondents said science, and 65% said common sense.

Common Sense – 2 of 5

Whether you trust science or common sense more says a lot about you. People who trust common sense tend to be older, less educated, and less likely to have a Twitter account.

This graph shows the percentage of people within certain age ranges who think common sense is more important than science. 33% of 18-24 year olds, 43% of 25-34 year olds, 56% of 35-44 year olds, 55% of 45-54 year older, 69% of 55-64 year olds, and 76% of people aged 65+ said that common sense is more important than science.

Common Sense – 3 of 5

This graph shows the education levels of people who believe that common sense is more important than science. 80% of people with a high school level of education or less believe common sense is more important than science when deciding what is true. 67% of people with some college education, 57% of people with a college degree, and 51% of people with a graduate degree said that common sense is more important than science when deciding what is true.

Common Sense – 4 of 5

43% of Twitter users think that common sense is more important than science when deciding what is true. 68% of all others think that common sense is more important than science when deciding what is true.

Common Sense – 5 of 5

People who trust common sense are also more likely to support military action against Russia in response to their interference with the 2016 election.

This graph is about people who support military action against Russia. 27% of people we interviewed rely on common sense and support military action against Russia. 10% of people rely on science and support military action against Russia.

These people should not be trusting their common sense.

Conspiracy Theories

Is there a "deep state" conspiring to undermine the Trump presidency?

This graph shows Trump approval ratings of deep-state conspiracists. 15% strongly disapprove of Trump, 39% somewhat disapprove of Trump, 60% neither approve nor disapprove of Trump, 69% somewhat approve of Trump, and 85% strongly approve of Trump.

It turns out this question is the same as, “Do you support Donald Trump?”

Conspiracy Theories – 2 of 6

How common is the conspiracy theory that the Parkland school shooting was a left-wing, anti-gun hoax? On the one hand, it’s not very common. On the other hand, it’s probably millions of people.

6% of Democrats, 8% of Independents, and 10% of Republicans believe that the Parkland school shooting was staged and the survivors were paid actors.

Conspiracy Theories – 3 of 6

People who think there’s a “deep state” are seven times more likely to believe this insanity than the people who don’t.

This graph shows that 14% of people we interviewed are deep-state conspiracists and also believe the Parkland school shooting was staged.

Conspiracy Theories – 4 of 6

If you had to guess, what percentage of Americans are currently under Sharia Law? Half of our respondents didn’t know or refused to answer. But of the ones who did answer, a good chunk of them gave a number higher than zero.

We asked: If you had to guess, what percentage of the country is currently under Sharia Law? 52% of respondents refused to answer. 32% said greater than zero percent is under Sharia Law. 16% said 0% of the country is under Sharia Law.

Conspiracy Theories – 5 of 6

Good news! Most Americans understand that wrestling is fake and the Earth is round.

95% of people we interviewed think that professional wrestling, like the WWE, is staged.

Conspiracy Theories – 6 of 6

96% of the people we interviewed do not believe the Earth is flat.

We were worried about these questions, and we’re glad we can relax.

Extra Tidbits

People talk about how social media is destroying Western civilization, yet our results suggest that barely anyone has a Twitter account.

83% of respondents do not have a Twitter account. 17% do have a Twitter account.

Calm down, guys.

Extra Tidbits – 2 of 4

Most people don't believe the pee tape is real.

70% of people do not believe the Russians possess a videotape containing footage of Donald Trump watching sex workers urinate in front of him. 30% of people we interviewed believe that the Russians possess this tape.

Extra Tidbits – 3 of 4

Nearly half of Americans are not aware that the U.S. has interfered with the democratic elections of other nations in the past (or they are in denial).

54% of the people believe the United States has interfered with democratic elections of other nations in the past. 46% do not believe this.

Extra Tidbits – 4 of 4

Republicans are more likely to believe in a fake history than Democrats.

59% of Democrats believe the United States interfered with democratic elections of other nations in the past. 43% of the Republicans believe this.

FYI, here’s the Wikipedia page showing how many times we’ve done this.

Knowledge is Power

For this month's Pulse of the Nation, we sought to test people's political knowledge. So we started with a softball: do you think it’s good for a country to have a high GDP or a low GDP?

61% of the people we interviewed think it’s good for a country to have a high GDP. 10% think it’s good for a country to have a low GDP. 29% don’t know.

We might be in for a bumpy ride.

Knowledge is Power – 2 of 4

The majority of our respondents could not name the three branches of government.

We asked the people we interviewed: What are the three branches of government? 43% answered correctly, naming the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. 57% said something incorrect, or that they don’t know the answer.

Oh my god.

Knowledge is Power – 3 of 4

True or false: If a scientific study finds a correlation between poverty and crime, it proves that poverty causes crime.

The correct answer is false (correlation is not causation), but our respondents were about as knowledgeable as a coin flip.

We asked the following true or false question. If a scientific study finds a correlation between poverty and crime, it proves that poverty causes crime. 48% of people we interviewed think this is true (which is incorrect). 52% think this is false (which is correct).

Knowledge is Power – 4 of 4

Most of our respondents are aware that the Statue of Liberty is not located in Washington, D.C.

This graph shows that 95% of the people we interviewed know that the Statue of Liberty is not located in Washington, D.C. Only 5% of people incorrectly think that the Statue of Liberty is located in Washington, D.C.

Good news! Great job! You get a gold star!

The Dismal Science

Most of our respondents considered their opinions on economic policy to be "well-informed.”

69% of survey respondents think that their opinions about economic policy are well-informed, while 31% think their opinions are not very well-informed.

The Dismal Science – 2 of 3

We were curious where their well-informed opinions came from. So we asked them if they could name a single economist who is alive today. Most could not.

Of the people who named anyone, half of them named non-economists, including media personalities (Rush Limbaugh, Jim Cramer), political figures (Al Gore, Donald Trump), and businessmen (Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg).

We asked our respondents: Can you name a living economist? 76.4% of not able to name any living economists. 12.7% were able to name a real, living economist. 1.4% named dead economists, 4% named media personalities, 2.3% named political figures, 2.5% named business men, and we had no idea what the remaining 0.7% were talking about.

The Dismal Science – 3 of 3

The people who think their economic opinions are well-informed are the same people who cannot name a living economist.

55.9% of the respondents who were unable to name a living economist also said that they believed their opinions about economic policy are well-informed. Huh.

Maybe democracy isn’t such a good idea.

Red Team vs. Blue Team

Now for the question you've all been waiting for: are Democrats more knowledgeable than Republicans? When it comes to naming an economist and listing the three branches of government, the answer is: probably a little bit!

This graph shows that 60% of Democrats could correctly name three branches of government, while only 52% of Republicans could.This graph shows 14% of Democrats could name a living economist while only 9% of Republicans could.

Red Team vs. Blue Team – 2 of 3

But when it comes to knowing that correlation does not prove causation, Democrats are just as stupid as Republicans.

This graph shows that 49% of Democrats know that correlation is not causation. 48% of Republicans also know this.

Red Team vs. Blue Team – 3 of 3

And contrary to the stereotype of smug liberals, Democrats are no more likely than Republicans to think of their opinions as well-informed.

This graph shows that 67% of Democrats believe their opinions on economic policy are well-informed, while 71% of Republicans think their opinions on economic policy are also well-informed.

Sex Without Love

This month’s poll was about everyone’s favorite topic: sex. We started off with a simple question. Is sex without love okay?

60% of the Americans we interviewed think that sex without love is okay. 40% do not think sex without love is okay.

Sex Without Love – 2 of 5

As you might have guessed, people who say yes tend to be liberal, male, and more supportive of legalizing weed.

70% of the men we interviewed think that sex without love is okay. 47% of the women we interviewed think that sex without love is okay.

Sex Without Love – 3 of 5

76% of the liberals, 65% of moderates, and 45% of conservatives think that sex without love is okay.

Sex Without Love – 4 of 5

73% of people who think marijuana should be legal also think that sex without love is okay. Only 36% of people who think that marijuana should be illegal think sex without love is okay.

Sex Without Love – 5 of 5

What does sex have to do with legalizing weed? To find out, we asked people if they thought marijuana smokers were more promiscuous than non-smokers. The people who said yes were three times more likely to oppose legalizing weed.

60% of people who think marijuana smokers are more promiscuous than non-smokers also think that marijuana should be illegal.  21% of people who don’t think marijuana smokers are more promiscuous than non-smokers also think that marijuana should be illegal.

Abortion

It’s time for America’s favorite medical procedure: abortion.

53% of those polled consider themselves to be pro-choice, and 47% pro-life.

Abortion – 2 of 3

Contrary to what you might expect, women aren’t much more likely to be pro-choice than men.

57% of the women and 50% of the men that we surveyed are pro-choice.

Abortion – 3 of 3

If you want to know a person’s views on abortion, ask them if sex without love is okay.

67% of people who think that sex without love is okay are also pro-choice. Only 34% of people who think sex without love is not okay are pro-choice.

And that about does it for abortion!

Bodies

Democrats agree that a woman should have the right to do what she wants with her own body.

94% of Democrats think that a woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body. 6% of Democrats think a woman does not have this right.

Bodies – 2 of 4

Unless she wants to sell her kidney.

70% of Democrats think the sale of human organs for transplants should be against the law. 30% do not.

Bodies – 3 of 4

Or have sex for money.

55% of Democrats think prostitution should not be against the law. 45% do not.

Bodies – 4 of 4

Those are the same Democrats.

This chart (1 of 2) compares our two previous questions: Should a woman have the right to do what she wants with her own body? And, should selling organs be illegal? 64.6% of Democrats we surveyed believe that both of these statements are true.This chart (2 of 2) compares our two previous questions: Should a woman have the right to do what she wants with her own body? And, should selling organs be illegal? 64.6% of Democrats we surveyed believe that both of these statements are true.

Sexual Misconduct

Can a politician who has committed sexual misconduct in their personal life still behave ethically and fulfill their duties while in office? A majority say yes.

63% of Americans we surveyed believe that an elected official who has committed sexual misconduct in their personal life can can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties while in office. 37% do not believe this.

Sexual Misconduct – 2 of 3

White people are mostly okay with sexual misconduct. I wonder what that’s all about?

47% of Blacks, 47% of Latinx, 43% of Asians, and 66% of whites believe that an elected official who has committed sexual misconduct in their personal life can can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties while in office.

Sexual Misconduct – 3 of 3

Oh, right.

51% of Trump opponents and 75% of Trump supporters believe an elected official who has committed sexual misconduct in their personal life can can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties while in office.

Words, words, words

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Donald Trump? Last month, we posed this question to a nationally representative sample of 800 Americans. Here’s what people had to say:

  • “He is strong. He makes America stronger.”
  • “He should do a little better on what he is doing.”
  • “I've never thought about it, but weird maybe.”
  • “He is garbage.”
  • “He is a toilet paper.”
  • “He is a liar because he tells a lot of lies.”
  • “He is honest and pro-life. He keeps his commitments.”
  • “Big guy, he is a big man.”
  • “He seems to be a joker. He says many things.”
  • “Hard butt.”
  • “Apocalypse.”
  • “Pure awesomeness.”
  • “Appointed by God.”
  • “An unfair, silly man or person.”
  • “Typical dickhead male.”
  • “He is pretty bold, unafraid to stand up for what is right.”
  • “He is uncouth and not intelligent. He does not know what he is doing.”
  • “He is trying his darndest.”
  • “He is out of his mind.”
  • “That would be, why? Why is he the president?”
  • “There is nothing.”

Words, words, words – 2 of 3

Here’s a word cloud based on the responses of Trump supporters:

The largest words on this word cloud include president, businessman, economy, man, smart, successful, trying, strong, conservative, leader, right, good, and great.

Words, words, words – 3 of 3

And here’s a word cloud based on the responses of Trump opponents:

The largest words in this word cloud include: idiot, incompetent, asshole, racist, unqualified, liar, arrogant, stupid, terrible, disaster, and orange.

Border Wall

A majority of Americans think they could probably get past Trump’s border wall.

75% of voters we surveyed believe that if they were a Mexican trying to illegally enter the United States, they could get past Trump’s border wall. 25% of voters don’t think they could.

Border Wall – 2 of 3

And yet, a good chunk of those people want to build the wall anyways.

40% of voters we surveyed support Trump’s plan to build a wall. 60% of voters oppose building a wall.

Border Wall – 3 of 3

More than half of the people who support Trump’s border wall believe that they could get past it.

This Venn diagram shows that 15.1% of voters support Trump’s wall, and 51.3% of voters believe they could get past the wall. There is an overlap of 22.7% of voters who agree with both of these contradicting statements. Finally, 10.9% of voters believe neither statements.

Maybe democracy isn't such a good idea.

Two Trumps

Has unemployment gone up, gone down, or stayed the same since Donald Trump became president? Trump supporters are more likely to get this question right (it has gone down approximately 0.7%).

This bar chart shows that 41% of Trump’s opponents think employment has gone down since he became president. (This is the correct answer.)  45% of Trump opponents believe it stayed the same. 15% of Trump opponents think unemployment has increased. The second part of this bar chart shows that 68% of Trump’s supporters believe that unemployment has gone down. (This is the correct answer.) 14% of Trump supporters think it has stayed the same. 18% of Trump supporters think it has gone up.

Two Trumps – 2 of 4

Has Donald Trump always publicly opposed abortion? Trump supporters are more likely to get this question wrong (the answer is no).

We asked voters if they thought the following statement was true or false. “Donald Trump has always publicly opposed abortion. 63% of Trump opponents believe this statement is false. This is the correct answer. 37% of his opponents think this is a true statement. 52% of Trump’s supporters think he has always publicly opposed abortion, which is incorrect. 48% think this is a false statement.

Two Trumps – 3 of 4

We asked Americans to guess Trump’s weight. The guesses were surprisingly close to the weight that was reported in Trump’s medical exam: 239 pounds.

This bar chart shows that almost 25% of voters guessed Donald Trump’s weight at around 230 pounds. This is close to his officially reported weight of 239 pounds.

This is like that time that 12,000 people guessed the weight of a cow.

Two Trumps – 4 of 4

But was that medical exam accurate? Most Trump supporters contend that it was fake news.

This bar chart shows that 11% of Trump’s opponents believe that 239 pounds is too high of an estimate, 54% believe this estimate is accurate, and 35% believe this estimate is too low. The second part of this bar chart shows that 77% of Trump’s supporters believe the estimate of 239 pounds is too high, 6% believe the estimate is accurate, and 17% believe this estimate is too low.

Trump’s supporters would believe he was an Olympic gymnast if that’s what he told them.

Echo Chambers

Ideological echo chambers aren’t as big of a problem as people think. Alternatively, many people are in profound denial of the fact that they live in ideological echo chambers.

18% of the people we surveyed report interacting with mostly liberals on a day-to-day basis, 20% report interacting with only conservatives, and 61% report interacting with a mix of both.

Echo Chambers – 2 of 3

Once you get old, you have no interest in other people’s political opinions.

This bar chart compares the age of our respondents to the people they interact with on a day-to-day basis. Ages 18-24 report interacting with 16% mostly liberals, 13% mostly conservatives, and 70% a mix of both. Ages 25-34 report interacting with 19% liberals, 17% conservatives, and 63% a mix of both. Ages 35-44 report interacting with 16% liberals, 19% conservatives, and 65% a mix of both. Ages 45-54 report interacting with 13% liberals, 21% conservatives, and 66% a mix of both. Ages 55-64 report interacting with 21% liberals, 15% conservatives, and 64% a mix of both. Ages 65 and older report interacting with 22% liberals, 26% conservatives, and 52% a mix of both.

Echo Chambers – 3 of 3

Liberals and conservatives are about equally likely to live in their own bubbles.

This bar chart shows that liberals report interacting with 34% mostly liberals, 9% mostly conservatives, and 57% a mix of both. Moderates report interacting with 17% mostly liberals, 13% mostly conservatives, and 70% a mix of both. Conservatives report interacting with 11% liberals, 36% mostly conservatives, and 53% a mix of both.

The Truth

Are the allegations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump true?

This bar chart shows that 2% of Trump’s opponents think his sexual assault allegations are not at all likely to be true; 28% think it’s somewhat likely, and 70% think it’s very likely. The second part of this bar chart shows that 6% of Trump’s supporters think that his sexual assault allegations are very likely to be true; 42% think it’s somewhat likely, and 52% think it’s not at all likely.

This is pretty much the same question as "Do you support Donald Trump?"

The Truth – 2 of 3

Are Trump supporters planning on voting for Trump again in 2020? Of course they are.

Pie chart shows that 91% of Trump supporters plan to vote for him again in 2020. 9% of Trump supporters do not plan on voting for him in 2020.

The Truth – 3 of 3

We asked those people if they would still vote for Trump if he murdered a journalist who was spreading harmful lies.

This pie chart shows that 29% of Trump’s supporters would continue to support him if he murdered a journalist who spread harmful lies. 71% of supporters said they would not.

About 3 in 10 would stick with the guy. You could either think of that as terrifying or reassuring.

Poll 5

For this month’s Pulse of the Nation survey, we embarked on a magical journey into the mind of the average Democrat. Using public voter registration records, we contacted a random sample of 800 registered Democrats and asked them about their beliefs and values.

Science!

Democrats are all about “science!” Especially if it has an exclamation point.

69% (nice) of the Democrats we surveyed think that if most scientists agree on an issue, we should believe them. 31% disagree.

Science! – 2 of 3

But when it comes to the scientific consensus that GMOs are safe to eat, Democrats are less like “science!” and more like “science?”

We asked Democrats if they believe genetically modified foods are safe to eat. 60% think they’re unsafe to eat, and 40% think they’re safe to eat.

Science! – 3 of 3

One in three Democrats think that they trust scientific consensus but actually do not.

In this chart, we compared the answers of our last two questions, “Do you think GMOs are safe to eat,” and “Do you trust the scientific consensus,” to show inconsistencies in the responses. 34.5% of people who said that they trust the scientific consensus also think that GMOs are not safe to eat. Huh.

Collective Blame

Should we blame all Muslims for terrorist attacks committed in the name of Islam? Most Democrats say no, because blaming an entire group of people for violence committed by a fringe minority is a textbook example of prejudice.

We asked Democrats if they believe that Muslims are at least partially to blame for acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam. 70% of Americans believe that Muslims are not to blame for these acts, while 30% think they are.

Collective Blame – 2 of 3

Should we blame all Trump supporters for the domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville? Sure, fuck those guys!

This past August, a man drove his car into a crowd of protestors at Charlottesville, killing one person and injuring nineteen others. 64% of the Democrats that we surveyed believe that Trump supporters are at least partly to blame for these terrorist attacks, while 36% do not.

Collective Blame – 3 of 3

I see no problem here.

We compared the responses of the last two questions, “Do you think Muslims are to blame for Islamic terrorism,” and “Do Trump supporters bear responsibility for Charlottesville?” to show inconsistencies in responses. 45% of people who said that Muslims are not to blame also said that Trump supporters bear responsibility for Charlottesville. Huh.

Inclusivity

Democrats are nearly unanimous in their support for including people with different backgrounds and perspectives.

This chart shows that 93% of the Democrats we surveyed believe that Americans should be more inclusive of people with different backgrounds and perspectives.

Inclusivity – 2 of 5

Most Democrats also think college students should be more inclusive of conservative speakers on college campuses. How about that.

This chart explains that 74% of Democrats think liberal college students should be more welcoming of conservative speakers on campus, while 26% do not.

Inclusivity – 3 of 5

Wow, ideological consistency! You don’t see that everyday.

We compared the answers of the last two questions to show ideological consistency in our respondents. 68.4% of the Democrats that said Americans should be more inclusive of people with different backgrounds also said that liberal college students should be more welcoming of conservative speakers.

Inclusivity – 4 of 5

But should liberals extend this spirit of inclusivity to Trump Supporters? Democrats are pretty split on this.

We asked Democrats if they agree or disagree with this statement: Liberals should make a greater effort to understand and respect Trump supporters. 44% agree, and 56% disagree.

Inclusivity – 5 of 5

That’s probably because they’re also split on whether most Trump supporters are racist.

This chart shows that 55% of Democrats think that Trump supporters are racist, while 45% do not.

Gender Equality

Ho boy, here we go.
Nearly all Democrats agree that men and women are equal in their talents and abilities.

This chart shows that 92% of Democrats believe that men and women are equal in their talents and abilities. 8% do not.

Gender Equality – 2 of 4

Except the ability to multitask. Women are better at that.

This chart shows that 62% of the Democrats we surveyed believe that women are better than men at multitasking, while 32% do not.

Gender Equality – 3 of 4

And the ability to feel empathy as a leader. Women are better at that too.

We asked Democrats if they feel women in positions of power are better able to feel empathy than men. 57.8% agree with this, while 36% do not.

Gender Equality – 4 of 4

Yep, those are the same Democrats.

We compared the answers of the last few questions to show inconsistencies in the responses we received. 56.4% of the Democrats who said they believe men and women are equal in their talents and abilities also said that women are better at multitasking than men.We compared the answers of the last few questions to show inconsistencies in the responses we received. 57.9% of the Democrats who said that men and women are equal in their talents also said that women in positions of power are better able to feel empathy than men.

Gay America

Finally, we asked Democrats if America would be better or worse if everyone became gay.

We asked Democrats if that thought America would be better if everyone became gay. 48% of Democrats think that America would be worse, and 14% think it would be better. 37% refused to answer this question.

Gay America – 2 of 3

The more educated you are, the more likely you are to wisely refrain from answering this question.

37% of people refused to answer the question, “Would America be better if everyone became gay?” Out of those people, 24% are in high school, 34% had some college education, 42% had a college degree, and 46% had a graduate degree.

Gay America – 3 of 3

Oh no, conservatives’ worst fears are true! Millennial Democrats want to push a radical homosexual agenda on the American people!

14% of people said that America would be better if everyone became gay. Out of those people, 67% were 18-24 years old, 42% were 25-34 years old, 31% were 35-44 years old, and 21% were 55-64 years old. The remaining 14% were 65 or older.

Poll 4

For December’s Pulse of the Nation survey, we shrunk ourselves in a tiny submarine and voyaged into the Republican mind. Using public voter registration records, we contacted a random sample of 800 registered Republicans and asked them about their core values and moral principles.

Getting all Offended

Republicans have had it up to here with everyone being a special snowflake. They’re nearly unanimous in their belief that “people should not be so easily offended.”

This chart shows what percentages of the Republicans we polled agree or disagree with the statement that people should not be so easily offended. 93% agree and only 7% disagree. Woof.

Getting all Offended – 2 of 4

Now let’s all take a sip of water and see what Republicans think about Black Lives Matter:

This chart shows how the Republicans we polled think, based on what they have seen or heard, that Black Lives Matter is offensive. 70% consider it offensive, while 30% do not.

Getting all Offended – 3 of 4

The Republicans who are offended by Black Lives Matter are the same Republicans who think people shouldn’t be so easily offended.

We crunched the numbers to figure out the overlap on them: 65.2% of our respondents hold both of these opinions, while 26.7% of those polled only consider people to be too easily offended and 4.4% only think Black Lives Matter is offensive. Only 3.7% of those polled are not offended by Black Lives Matter and do not consider people to be too easily offended.

Getting all Offended – 4 of 4

Republicans who approve of Trump are more likely to suffer from this cognitive dissonance than Republicans who disapprove of Trump.

This chart shows the overlap amongst the Republicans polled who approve of Trump: there is a 70.5% overlap between those who consider Black Lives Matter offensive and those who think people are too easily offended, while 23.2% only consider people to be too easily offended and 3.9% only consider Black Lives Matter to be offensive. Amongst Trump-approving Republicans polled, only 2.5% neither consider Black Lives Matter to be offensive nor people to be too easily offended.This chart shows these overlaps amongst Republicans polled who disapprove of Donald Trump: this time there is only a 55.2% overlap, while 35.4% only consider people to be too easily offended and 6.2% only consider Black Lives Matter to be offensive. Amongst Republicans polled who disapprove of Donald Trump, 3.1% neither consider Black Lives Matter to be offensive nor people to be too easily offended.

Free Speech

Republicans consider themselves to be staunch defenders of free speech. Most of them think you should be allowed to express a political opinion in the workplace without getting fired.

This chart breaks down how the Republicans we polled think about free speech in the workplace. When asked whether they think that people should be free to express their political opinions in the workplace without getting fired, 74% responded in the affirmative and only 26% responded negatively.

Free Speech – 2 of 4

However, if your workplace is a sports stadium, and your job is “athlete,” you better shut the fuck up about politics and respect the flag!

This chart shows how the Republicans we polled responded to a differently-worded question about whether they think professional athletes should be allowed to sit or kneel during the National Anthem as part of a political protest. Turns out making the question more specific got 19% of Republicans to agree that free speech in the workplace is a good idea while a staggering 81% think employers should be allowed to fire their employees for expressing political opinions (if those employees are athletes).

Free Speech – 3 of 4

These are obviously irreconcilable political positions. And yet here we are.

Again, we crunched the numbers to figure out the overlap on those two: 57.9% of respondents hold the entirely contradictory beliefs that people should be free to express political opinions in the workplace without being fired and that athletes should not be allowed to sit or kneel during the National Anthem as part of a political protest, while 15.7% only thought the former and 22% only thought the latter. Only 4.4% of respondents believed simultaneously that employers should be allowed to fire their employees for expressing political opinions but that athletes should be allowed to do so, which actually kind of reminds me of high school.

Free Speech – 4 of 4

Once again, Trump-supporting Republicans are more “ideologically” “flexible” than Republicans who disapprove of Trump.

This chart shows the overlap amongst the Republicans polled who approve of Trump: there is a 61.3% overlap between those who think people should be free to express political opinions in the workplace without being fired and that athletes should not be allowed to sit or kneel during the National Anthem as part of a political protest, while 12.2% only thought the former and 22.9% only thought the latter. Amongst Trump-approving Republicans polled, 3.6% hold neither opinion.This describes this same overlap amongst Trump-disapproving Republicans: 49% share these two contradictory beliefs, while 30.8% only hold the former and 18.3% only hold the latter. 1.9% hold neither opinion.

Foreigners

Most Republicans think we should be more suspicious—as opposed to more trusting—of foreigners.

This chart breaks down whether the Republicans we polled think we should be more trusting or more suspicious of foreigners. 68% thought we should be more suspicious, while only 32% thought we should be more trusting.

Foreigners – 2 of 4

This makes sense. We should be suspicious of foreigners who are openly hostile to American interests, like Vladimir Putin. Oh, wait.

When asked whether those same Republicans believed Vladimir Putin when he said that he did not interfere with the 2016 Presidential election, we found out that 51% trust Vladimir Putin and 49% do not. Suspicious!

Foreigners – 3 of 4

One in three Republicans manage to distrust foreigners while trusting Vladimir Putin.

How about we look at the overlap between those two response sets? Turns out: 35.3% of Republicans simultaneously believe that Americans are too trusting of foreigners while also trusting Vladimir Putin's statement about not interfering in the 2016 Presidential election. 32.2% only believe that Americans are too trusting of foreigners, while 14.6% only believe in Vladimir Putin's word. 17.9% of respondents believed neither.

Foreigners – 4 of 4

Republicans who approve of Trump are over twice as likely to pull off this feat of mental gymnastics than Republicans who disapprove of Trump.

Amongst Trump-approvers, 41.7% simultaneously believe Americans are too trusting of foreigners while also taking Putin at his word. 33.7% only believe the former, and 14.9% only believe the latter. 9.7% believe neither.The results are pretty different among Trump-disapprovers: 20.3% believe Americans are too trusting of foreigners while also trusting Putin's statement. 31.1% only believe the former, and 14.9% only believe the latter. 33.8% of Republicans polled who disapprove of Donald Trump do not believe that Americans are too trusting of foreigners while still distrusting Vladimir Putin.

OK, we’re getting to the point where exposing hypocrisy is no longer funny and just kind of sad.

Big Government

We asked Republicans if they thought the government should place tighter restrictions on who can buy a gun. They were evenly split on the question.

Turns out, of the Republicans we polled, 48% think the government should place tighter restrictions on who can buy a gun and 52% think it shouldn't.

Big Government – 2 of 2

We asked Republicans if they thought the government should place tighter restrictions on access to pornography. Most said yes.

In fact, 65% said yes and 35% said no.

At least they have their priorities straight.

Jesus Christ

If Jesus were alive today, would he support Donald Trump? For some reason, a lot of Republicans refused to answer this question. We hypothesize that their heads exploded.

Turns out, when you ask the Republicans we polled to consider how Jesus would feel about Donald Trump, a full 22% of them refuse to answer entirely. 61% seem to think Jesus would approve of Donald Trump, while only 17% think Jesus would disapprove.

Yes, gentle Trump, mild and meek, who feeds the poor and heals the sick, who loves his neighbor and blesses those who persecute him, who never looketh upon a woman with lust, and who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Poll 3

For November’s Pulse of the Nation survey, we asked Americans about equality.

Equality

We asked people if they’d rather live in a more equal society or a more unequal society. Almost everyone said they’d rather live in a more equal society.

This chart shows how those polled responded to the question of whether they would rather live in a more equal society or a more unequal society. 90% of respondents would prefer to live in a more equal society, while 10% are thirsty for inequality

Equality – 2 of 3

Look! Even Republicans want to live in a more equal society.

This chart breaks down the responses of those polled who want a more equal society by political affiliation. Amongst those polled, 95% of Democrats, 90% of Independents, and 83% of Republicans would prefer to live in a more equal society, all with very low variance.

Equality – 3 of 3

But when we asked people about actually creating a more equal society through redistribution of wealth... womp womp! Democrats were nearly four times as likely as Republicans to say that the government should redistribute wealth.

This shows what percentage of those polled approve of a government redistribution of wealth, broken up by political affiliation. Amongst those polled: 67% of Democrats, 42% of Independents, and only 17% of Republicans approve of this plan to combat inequality

So Republicans want a more equal society, but only if it happens by magic.

Estimating Equality

We asked people to guess how much of the country’s wealth was owned by the richest 1% of Americans. The answer is 39%, which is insane, but liberals have done such a great job panicking about inequality that most people think it’s worse.

This chart shows percentages of respondents broken down by how mucy money they think the top 1% owns. Responses are high around both the lower and upper end (skewed toward the upper end), but dips deep in the 30-50% range (where the true value lies). I guess we just don't know

Estimating Equality – 2 of 3

As usual, Democrats are a few years ahead of the curve. Maybe they were factoring in the effects of the Republican tax plan.

This plot shows the range of responses from various political identifications to the question of how much wealth the top 1% owns. Ranges are very wide here. Amongst Democrats, responses ranged mostly from 30% to 90% with an overall result of 75%. Amongst Independents the range of responses goes from 25% to 80% with an overall result of 60%. Finally, Republican responses ranged from 10% to 80% with an overall result of 50%.

Estimating Equality – 3 of 3

The more educated you are, the more you overestimate how wealthy the top 1% is.

Finally, we break up ranges of responses based on the education level of the respondent. Amongst those with a high school diploma-equivalent or less, responses ranged from 24% to 80% with an overall result of 50%. Those with some college education responded primarily in the range of 20% to 83% with an overall result of 60%. And, amongst those with a college degree, responses ranged from 24% to 83% with an overall result of 65%.

We were expecting people to underestimate inequality so that we could smugly correct them. Womp womp.

Rap

Is rap music? This is a very complicated question.

We asked people whether rap was music or not, which is obvious whether you like it or not. Turns out, 34% of those polled agree with your racist uncle.

How you answer this question reveals a lot about the kind of person you are. People who don’t think rap is music are more likely to be older, rural, uneducated, conservative, approve of Trump, oppose welfare, and think black people benefit from welfare more than white people.

Rap – 2 of 8

This shows how respondents who don't think rap is music feel about Donald Trump. 23% seem to disapprove of him, but 51% of them approve of Trump.

Yep.

Rap – 3 of 8

Now we've sliced the data by generation. While only 18% of Millennials and 23% of Gen-Xers think your racist uncle is good people, 49% of Boomers consider rap not to be music.

Yep.

Rap – 4 of 8

If we slice up the rap data by education level, we find that as you get more educated you are more likely to correctly believe that rap is, in fact, music. Amongst those polled with a high school diploma or less education, 51% of respondents thought rap was not music. 43% of those with some college education, 23% of those with a college degree, and 24% of those with a graduate degree agree.

Yep.

Rap – 5 of 8

Let's look at this data broken up by political affiliation. Oh, surprise: while only 17% of liberals incorrectly believe that rap is not music, 31% of moderates and a staggering 49% of conservatives are taxonomically incorrect

Yep.

Rap – 6 of 8

Okay how about we try to split that up by population density? 27% of urbanites, 31% of suburbanites and 41% of rural folks do not classify rap as music.

Yep.

Rap – 7 of 8

Okay let's drop the pretension: can we predict whether or not people consider rap to be music based on whether or not they think black people benefit more from welfare. Here comes a shocker: amongst those polled who do not believe black people benefit more from welfare, 71% consider rap to be music. Amongst those polled who believe black people DO benefit more from welfare, it is a very close race with the correct answer winning out by 2 percentage points at 51%

Yep.

Rap – 8 of 8

Finally, we slice this data up based on how folks responded to the question of how they feel about the current welfare funding level. Of those who think it is too low, 28% of respondents did not consider rap to be music. Among those who think it is about right, 29% believe rap is not music. Unsurprisingly, among those who consider the current federal welfare funding level to be too high 46% of respondents did not believe rap to be music.

This might be a good question to ask on a first date.

Farts

Because we could, we asked people if they thought their farts were more smelly or less smelly than other people’s farts. This question made people extremely uncomfortable: about half of respondents refused to answer or hung up the phone. Good thing we asked this question last.

This chart shows the completely subjective results of asking people how smelly they think their farts are in comparison to others. 51% refused to answer entirely for some reason, but 30% of folks believed their farts to be less smelly than average while 19% are confident in the strong, beautiful smells wafting out of their anus

Farts – 2 of 3

Women thought more highly of their farts than men.

Sliced up based on the gender of the respondents, we find that 53% of men and a staggering 74% of women think their smarts are less smelly than the average fart.

Farts – 3 of 3

And here’s one that Republicans can enjoy: Democrats like the smell of their own farts.

Breaking up our fart responses by political affiliation, we find that 70% of Democrats think their farts smell better than usual, while only 56% of Independents and 58% of Republicans think the same.

Poll 2

For October’s Pulse of the Nation survey, we asked citizens about light-hearted topics such as white nationalism, racism, and their love for America.

Civil War II

We asked people whether they thought it was likely that there would be a civil war within the next decade.

A chart describing how, of those polled, a full third believe a civil war is likely to happen in the next decade.

Fuck. We found that one in three Americans think a Civil War is likely. Fuck!

Civil War II – 2 of 3

Democrats are almost twice as worried about civil war as Republicans. This is even more worrying because Democrats are usually right about things.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 43% of Democrats, 33% of Independents, and 26% of Republicans think a second Civil War is likely.

Civil War II – 3 of 3

People who are worried about civil war are more likely to support Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a candidate for president.

A chart describing how, of those polled who believe a civil war is likely in the next decade, 44% would vote for a Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson presidency while 30% would not

Maybe people worried about a civil war are looking to unite the country behind a universally beloved celebrity. Or maybe they’re looking for someone with prior military experience as a Scorpion King.

The Other Side

We asked people if they supported white nationalism, and only 9% of Republicans said yes (assuming, very generously, that they all understood the question).

This chart describes the results of a poll asking what percentage of Republicans those polled believe to be sympathetic to white nationalism, broken down by political affiliation. Amongst Democrats, the range of responses varies between 70% and 22%, with an overall result of 50%. Amongst Independents, the range varies between 60% and 12%, with an overall result of 35%. Finally, amongst Republicans, the range varies between 50% and 5% with an overall result of 15%. An annotation notes that, of Republicans polled, 9% support white nationalism.

Then, we had everybody guess the percentage of Republicans who supported white nationalism.

The Other Side – 2 of 3

Democrats and Independents overestimate Republicans’ support for white nationalism.

Even Republicans overestimate their own party’s support for white nationalism. On average, those who are worried about civil war vastly overestimate Republicans’ support for white nationalism.

This chart describes the results of the poll about what percentage of Republicans those polled believe support white nationalism, sliced up based on whether the respondent believes a civil war is likely in the next decade. Amongst those who find this likely, the responses ranged from 71% to 26% with an overall result of 50%. Amongst those who found it unlikely, the responses ranged from 50% to 7% with an overall result of 25%. An annotation notes that, of Republicans polled, 9% support white nationalism.

The Other Side – 3 of 3

Republicans’ views of Democrats are not so accurate, either. Though 96% of Democrats say they love America, Republicans greatly underestimate this number.

This chart describes the results of a poll asking what percentage of Democrats those polled believe would say they love America, broken down by political affiliation. Amongst Democrats, the range of responses varies between 100% and 77%, with an overall result of 90%. Amongst Independents, the range varies between 99% and 50%, with an overall result of 80%. Finally, amongst Republicans, the range varies between 85% and 40% with an overall result of 70%. An annotation notes that, of Democrats polled, 96% said they love America.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans have any idea what the other side believes. Americans are united in their refusal to understand anyone who disagrees with them. It’s kind of beautiful when you think about it.

Fun Facts About Racism

According to our Twitter feeds, calling white people racists is an important American pastime. Just how racist do Americans think white people are?

This chart describes the percentages of those polled who think most white people are racist, broken down by race. Turns out: 11% of white people, 24% of latinx people, and 25% of black people think most white people are racist.

Across demographics, most people incorrectly believe that white people are not racist. Black and Latino people are twice as likely to correctly believe that white people are, indeed, racist.

Fun Facts About Racism – 2 of 3

Now for the tricky bit. We asked people to guess how many Democrats thought most white people are racist. While only 21% of Democrats actually think most white people are racist, everyone overestimated this number.

This chart describes the results of a poll asking what percentage of Democrats those polled believe would say most white people are racist, broken down by political affiliation. Amongst Democrats, the range of responses varies between 70% and 18%, with an overall result of 40%. Amongst Independents, the range varies between 70% and 24%, with an overall result of 50%. Finally, amongst Republicans, the range varies between 80% and 30% with an overall result of 50%. An annotation notes that, of Democrats polled, 21% think most white people are racist.

Most people think Democrats think most white people are racist, but very few Democrats actually do. TL;DR: everyone overestimates how much Democrats hate white people.

Fun Facts About Racism – 3 of 3

All this talk about white people makes us wonder: what do black people think about all this? Turns out that they’re really worried about another civil war.

This chart describes the percentages of those polled who think a civil war is likely in the next decade, broken up by race. Amongs those polled: 28% of white people, 44% of latinx people, and 56% of black people find it likely that there will be a civil war in the next decade.

Maybe we should believe the Americans who had the most at stake in the previous Civil War.

The Power of the Dark Side

And finally, the simplest question of all: who would you rather have as President, Donald Trump or Darth Vader?

This chart describes whether those polled would prefer Donald Trump or Darth Vader as president. Among those polled, Donald Trump wins with 61% of the vote.

Pretty good showing for a fictional supervillain. Way to go, Darth!

The Power of the Dark Side – 2 of 3

Fully 65% of Democrats, 43% of Independents, and even 8% of Republicans prefer the order of the Galactic Empire to the chaos of the Trump administration.

This chart describes the relationship between preferring Darth Vader over Donald Trump and political affiliation. Of those polled: 65% of Democrats, 43% of Independents, and only 8% of Republicans would prefer the retired pod-racer Darth Vader.

The Power of the Dark Side – 3 of 3

Holy fuck. 71% of African Americans would prefer Darth Vader to Donald Trump.

This chart describes the relationship between the racial identity of those polled and their preference for Donald Trump or Darth Vader. Amongst those polled, 29% of white people (with little margin of error) prefer Darth Vader versus 71% of black people (with a higher margin of error).

Fuuuuuck.

Poll 1

For our very first Pulse of the Nation survey, we ventured into the dark minds of American citizens to see how they feel about Donald Trump and peeing in the shower.

Dumb and Happy

We began our first poll with a classic dilemma: “If you had to choose, would you rather be smart and sad, or dumb and happy?”

A chart showing that, of those polled, 47% of people would rather be smart and sad, while 53% would rather be dumb and happy.

This was the most divisive question in our survey. 10% of our respondents were so flummoxed that they refused to answer.

Dumb and Happy – 2 of 3

Here’s the political breakdown:

A chart showing that, of those polled, 41% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 64% of Republicans would rather be dumb and happy than smart and sad.

Do these results prove that Republicans are happy idiots? Science can never really “prove” anything, but fuck it: the answer is yes.

Dumb and Happy – 3 of 3

Also of interest: people who prefer being smart and sad are more likely to accept the scientific consensus on climate change.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 48% of people who believe climate change is real and caused by people, 57% of those who believe climate change is real but not caused by people, and 69% (nice) of people who belive climate change is not real would rather be dumb and happy than smart and sad.

Robots

Next, we asked respondents whether they thought it was likely or unlikely that robots would take their jobs within the next decade.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 80% of respondents consider it unlikely their jobs will be taken by robots in the next decade and 20% consider it likely.

Turns out that people are not nearly as worried as they should be about technological unemployment.

Robots – 2 of 3

Ethnic minorities are particularly worried about robots taking their jobs. White people are more worried about ethnic minorities taking their jobs.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 16% of white people and 31% of non-white people consider it likely that robots will take their job within the next decade

Robots – 3 of 3

People who have seen more than one Transformers movie are especially worried about robots taking their jobs.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 16% of people who have seen 0-1 Transformers films and 26% of those who have seen 2-5 Transformers films consider it likely their jobs will be taken by robots in the next decade.

If a robot can transform into a car, then it can also transform into a customer service representative.

Pee-Pee

We asked people whether it is okay to pee in the shower, which it is. It’s not a big deal, folks. It all ends up in the same place.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 43% consider it acceptable to pee in the shower while 57% are wrong.

We couldn’t believe that 57% of Americans hold these outdated, puritanical pee-pee beliefs.

Pee-Pee – 2 of 3

But then we looked at the age breakdown:

A chart showing that, of those polled, 56% of Millennials, 43% of Gen-Xers, and only 37% of Baby Boomers correctly consider it acceptable to pee in the shower

Our results indicate that we are in the midst of an inter-generational pee-pee revolution.

Pee-Pee – 3 of 3

Here’s the race breakdown. This is a great opportunity for you to write your own problematic joke!

A chart showing that, of those polled (and with a WIDE margin of error), 34% of black people, 43% of white people, 49% of latinx people, and 55% of asian people consider it acceptable to pee in the shower. Which, again: it is.

Our Dumb President Asshole

No opinion poll would be complete without a reminder of our dumb asshole president’s depressingly non-zero approval rating.

A chart showing that, of those polled, 54% disapprove, 41% approve, and 5% neither approve nor disapprove of our dumb asshole president

What kind of person looks at the news and says “things are going pretty well”?

Our Dumb President Asshole – 2 of 3

The same kind of person who sees one Transformers movie and says, “I’d like to see another Transformers movie.”

A chart describing the relationship between number of Transformers films seen and approval of our dumb asshole president. Margins are relatively wide, but: 45% of those polled who have not seen a Transformers film, 37% of those who have seen a single Transformers film, 42% of those who have seen two or three Transformers films, and 48% of those who have seen four or five Transformers films approve of our dumb asshole president.

Our Dumb President Asshole – 3 of 3

This one’s pretty self-explanatory.

A chart describing how people who would rather be dumb and happy feel about our dumb asshole president. 62% of them approve.

The Future

Your support of Cards Against Humanity Saves America is paying for an entire year of monthly public opinion polls. We’ll keep asking Americans about the important issues of the day, like income inequality, political polarization, and the whole Trump thing. You can find all our results so far, including the raw data, here.

Are you a social scientist or academic who studies public opinion? Want to ask Americans something that no funding agency or internal review board would approve in a million years? Maybe we can help! Apply online to get your questions included in future polls.

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