Has the election made Republicans love the government?

As Americans, we aren’t exactly famous for our love of the government. But how is the reelection of Donald Trump affecting our attitudes?

In what they are touting as the first such poll released since the presidential election, Democratic strategists from GW and Schoen Cooperman Research are revealing “shocking findings about the state of Americans’ trust in the government and media” — namely, that nearly 40 percent of the public says they trust the government less going forward.

According to findings by pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman, post-election perceptions of government correlate, unsurprisingly, to about how you’d expect them to as far as political parties are concerned: Democrats and women have a more negative view of government now that President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, and Republicans and men view government more positively in light of his election. How respondents view the government’s effectiveness also falls along party lines, though the research group notes, “a slight plurality of the public also believes government will be more effective at getting things done following the election.”

Though Americans generally stick to partisan belief systems, one thing that’s driving us closer together is a shared skepticism of our institutions. According to the findings, approximately seven in ten US adults say increasing misinformation and disinformation “made it personally harder for them to access fair and accurate information on the election”; 39 percent responded that the 2024 election results made them trust government less going forward, and 41 percent said the election results made them less confident that government will share fair and accurate information.

“To that end,” the polling firm found, “a plurality of the public trusts neither the government nor the news for accurate information, indicating a broader trend of distrust in institutions.”

“While it is not particularly surprising that as a result of the election, Republicans have a more positive view of government while Democrats have a more negative outlook, I think the data sheds light on what kind of election took place and why people voted the way they did,” Cooperman told The Spectator. “This is an election where people prioritized getting things done — it was not a values election like it was in 2020. Thus, while this poll shows that people have less trust in government following the election, they think it may ultimately be more effective. These findings are especially magnified when you look at the results with Independents: by a thirteen-point margin, the election results make them trust the government less going forward, but by a ten-point margin, they believe that the government will be more effective at getting things done.”

Cooperman says, “it’s fascinating to see the extent with which media consumption has become so fragmented by age.” Most respondents under thirty said they get their news primarily from social media — TikTok and Instagram, primarily — while most over sixty-five get their news primarily from television.

What must our institutions do to regain the trust they’ve lost? Cooperman suggests “actually getting things done and addressing the issues that are important to people” and “communicating its actions and information proactively.”

-Teresa Mull

On our radar

WRAY TO GO FBI director Christopher Wray isn’t going to let the door hit him on the way out. He announced today that he will be vacating his post, the ten-year term of which started when Trump nominated him to it 2017, before President-elect Trump takes office again. 

BRITISH BAN The British government — which includes agreements with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — has banned puberty blockers for children (under the age of eighteen) indefinitely. 

MALIBU BURNS Malibu, the celebrity enclave California paradise, is ablaze. An evacuation order has been issued for some residents, and Hollywood stars Cher and Dick Van Dyke have left their homes.

Spotify stolen valor roils governor’s race

It’s that time of year: everyone shares their Spotify Wrapped lists (or if they’re weird, their Apple Music charts). Feelings are mixed: pride, shame, excitement. For those who wish to erase parts of the year, there’s always a way to blot out the sad-girl hour Gracie Abrams.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey native, took a different track: posting a doctored Spotify Wrapped in order to inflate his Bruce Springsteen bona fides ahead of next year’s gubernatorial election.

“No surprises here,” Gottheimer posted. “Fun fact: my first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see the Boss!”

Internet sleuths, however, remain undefeated — and quickly pointed out the congressman’s Spotify stolen valor. The “g” used in his graphic, for example, differs from the standard one used by Spotify in its graphics for its legendary year-end music wrap up.

Gottheimer quickly confessed — then blamed his kids for listening to too much Taylor Swift, and ruining his 5/5 Springsteen lineup.

“This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my twelve- and fifteen-year-old kids,” he said. “While it’s Springsteen all day for me — don’t get me wrong, I still love listening to Taylor Swift!”

Spotify did not respond to a request for comment. Perhaps Gottheimer is not Born to Run after all…

–Matthew Foldi

Nancy Mace’s assault: political violence or a strong handshake?

Congresswoman Nancy Mace was attacked by a transgender activist, who was arrested after injuring her arm in what some are calling a fierce handshake.

“The United States Capitol Police arrested a person who is accused of assaulting a US representative,” a Capitol Police spokesperson said of the incident. “Just before 6 p.m., the member of Congress’s office reported an incident in the Rayburn House Office Building. House Division officers, and agents with the Threat Assessment Section, tracked down the suspect. After an investigative interview, officers arrested the suspect, thirty-three-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois. McIntyre is facing a charge for Assaulting a Government Official.”

The purported attack came after Mace launched a withering assault featuring hundreds of tweets, at least one bullhorn and countless fundraising texts against trans usage of shared bathrooms on Capitol Hill. The problem began following the election of the House’s first openly trans member, Sarah McBride.

Some who were present have pushed back on the narrative of assault. It was just “a normal handshake and interaction that I would expect any legislator to expect from anyone as a constituent,” an attendee at the event Mace spoke at said.

While Mace hasn’t bathed herself in glory with her at-times gratuitous attacks against her incoming colleague, the trans community isn’t doing themselves any favors either. A large group of trans women stormed a women’s bathroom on Capitol Hill, seeming to make Mace’s point for her: that biological men should not be in women’s-only spaces.

Mace has posted a series of specific death threats issued against her by trans activists as well, and she is insistent that the barrage of real and potential death threats won’t deter her further.

A trans activist assaulting Mace is ironic for two main reasons: first, she is effectively the first trans member of Congress, as Cockburn has previously noted, and the attack — suspect as it may be — will engender sympathy for Mace, who is now boasting “one new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm.”

Fortunately for Mace, she won’t need any white knights of either gender to come to her rescue. “It’ll heal just fine,” she said.

–Cockburn