Democrats’ Anger Toward Federal Government Reaches Record High Days Before Shutdown, Pew Poll Shows

The political divide over Americans’ feelings toward the federal government has reached unprecedented levels, according to a newly released Pew Research Center survey. The poll, conducted in late September 2025, reveals record-high anger among Democrats, increasing contentment among Republicans, and near-historic lows in overall public trust—all captured just days before the government entered a 43-day shutdown.

The probability-based, nationally representative survey found that nearly half of Americans (49%) feel frustrated with the federal government, while 26% report feeling angry and only 23% say they are basically content with the government’s performance.

Most striking is the emotional response among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, with 44% reporting anger toward the federal government—the highest percentage expressed by members of either party since Pew began tracking these metrics in 1997. This represents a 10-point increase from the 34% of Democrats who reported feeling angry during President Trump’s first term. Just 8% of Democrats say they are content with the current state of the federal government.

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents present a starkly different emotional profile. Among GOP supporters, 40% report feeling content with the federal government, while half describe themselves as frustrated and only 9% express anger. Republican anger had previously peaked during the Obama and Biden administrations but has subsided significantly since Trump’s return to office.

“This emotional gap between the parties is now the largest we’ve ever measured,” noted Pew researchers in their report, highlighting the unprecedented polarization in how Americans experience their government.

Trust in the federal government has also plummeted to alarming levels. Only about one in five Americans say they trust the government to do what’s right “just about always” or “most of the time”—among the lowest readings in the nearly seven decades since this question was first posed to the American public.

Democratic trust in the federal government has fallen into single digits, while Republican trust, though still limited, has increased compared to a year ago, before Trump’s re-election.

The long-term data collected by Pew indicates that frustration has been the predominant mood among Americans for nearly three decades. However, this latest survey captures a significant structural shift: overall frustration has dipped slightly, while both anger and contentment are rising almost entirely along party lines.

This polarized emotional response to the same administration signals a deepening division in how Americans perceive and react to their government. The emotional divide isn’t simply a reflection of policy disagreements but appears to represent fundamentally different lived experiences of the same political reality.

Political analysts suggest these emotional divisions could have significant implications for governance and electoral politics. Historically, major swings in public anger and trust have preceded shifts in political engagement and voter behavior. Pew researchers have indicated they will continue tracking these attitudes through the 2026 midterm elections.

The timing of the survey—conducted just before a lengthy government shutdown—adds another layer of significance to the findings. The shutdown, which lasted 43 days, likely further strained public sentiment toward federal institutions and may have exacerbated the partisan emotional divide captured in this survey.

“Americans aren’t just divided by politics, but by how they emotionally experience Trump’s second administration,” the Pew researchers concluded. This emotional polarization presents a fundamental challenge to political leaders seeking to govern effectively in an increasingly divided nation.

The White House has not yet responded to requests for comment on the survey’s findings.