Americans are sick of lawmakers bickering. They don't have much hope that will change
ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll out today finds Americans want their leaders to compromise.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
But while that's the hope, the poll shows they don't have much confidence it'll actually happen.
SCHMITZ: Joining us to talk about this and more is NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, who has all the numbers as usual. Good morning, Domenico.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey, Rob.
SCHMITZ: Domenico, there will be a new Congress sworn in in just a few weeks. Is the idea of compromise even likely?
MONTANARO: Well, people say often that they want compromise, but usually they want the other side to compromise with them, you know?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, that's what I thought you would say.
MONTANARO: But the finding in this poll was striking because it wasn't a small number who are saying so. Seventy-four percent say they want members of Congress to compromise rather than stand on principle, which is actually the highest level we've seen in a decade. We're headed into divided government here in Washington, and it's notable that people want, as one Republican respondent who wanted to see compromise told me, members of Congress to, quote, "stop acting like children." But the incentives in Congress tend to lean in the opposite direction. You know, for example, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy wants to be speaker, and to get 218 votes from his conference to get there, he's probably going to have to make some steep concessions to the far right, not the middle, most likely.
SCHMITZ: Right.
MONTANARO: And those realities and what we've seen over the past decade or so isn't really engendering hope of compromise. Fifty-eight percent in the poll say they have no confidence the parties will do so. People have become far more pessimistic about their leaders. In 2008, it was only 23% that said they had no confidence, so a huge shift here. And it's been Republicans who have been the least likely to compromise or want compromise.
SCHMITZ: Does the poll say anything about what people want Congress to do?
MONTANARO: Overall, they want Congress to tackle inflation. You know, it's still a top concern. That's followed by preserving democracy and immigration, which has seen a surge. But Republicans and Democrats, I have to tell you, seem like they're coming from Mars or Venus or some other planet because when it comes to the issues, they're pretty far apart. I mean, take immigration and climate change, for example. Republicans think immigration should be a top priority, though likely not in the kind of comprehensive way that Democrats want or is needed. But only 1% of Democrats think it should be a priority. On the other hand, Democrats think climate change should be a top priority, but only 1% of Republicans do - so very far apart on their concerns, which makes compromise all the more difficult.
SCHMITZ: That's right. And we've also heard so much after these midterm elections about what the results mean for President Biden and, for that matter, former President Trump, who has already announced that he's running again. What does the poll say about how people feel about them?
MONTANARO: Well, neither of them have the majority support of potential voters in their respective primaries. Majorities say they'd prefer to have someone else, and yet both are the frontrunners still at this point to get the nominations again. Biden, for example, has just 35% who say that they'd prefer that he ran in 2024 as their standard bearer, but they don't seem to love any of the other alternatives. You know, Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, gets just 17%. Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, gets only 16%. On the Republican side, despite all the buzz around Florida Governor Ron DeSantis - and it is very real. You know, Republican primary voters say they'd prefer Trump over DeSantis, 46 to 33%, with former Vice President Pence getting just 8%.
So it really just shows that, like in 2016, a crowded field really is Trump's best friend. And that is a big thing that a lot of people are pointing to, even as Republican primary voters continue to say that they're unsure of Trump and that he maybe doesn't have the best political skills or helped the party in the last few elections.
SCHMITZ: That's NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Thank you.
MONTANARO: You're welcome.
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