Poll says is a weekly series rounding up the most important polling trends or data points you need to know, as well as checking in on which direction politics or culture is driving.
What defines MAGA culture?
Certainly, loyalty to President Donald Trump, who is leading the “Make America Great Again” movement, is a big part of it. But ask people what defines a movement’s cultural identity, and you’ll find that their answers don’t always match how MAGA sees itself.
First of all, the public is well aware of this movement. A YouGov A July poll found that 51% of Americans had heard “a lot” about MAGA, and 36% had heard a little. But what catches the eye is who pays the closest amountEntion: A higher percentage of Democrats (62%) than Republicans (48%) have heard a lot, suggesting that their view of MAGA culture may be shaped more by external narratives than by the movement’s actual cultural touchstone.
When asked what cultural touchstone defines Republicans and MAGA Americans tend to relate Movement with a very specific set of symbols: American flags (55%), Confederate flags (49%), A musician who is a friend of Trump Kid Rock (48%), Trump’s old reality show “The Apprentice” (44%), and podcaster Joe Rogan (39%).
However, MAGA Republicans see themselves somewhat differently. American Flags (87%) and Kid Rock (66%) still rank highly in what they consider to be the touchstones of their movement, but they also consider Clint Eastwood (52%), Stick (48%), and Ted Nugent (46%) at the top.
Democrats have their own image of what MAGA likes: Confederate flags (77%), The Apprentice (60%), and Kid Rock (59%) top the list. But only 51% associate American flags with the movement.
YouGov asked about 40 cultural figures and icons in total, though it’s not clear how they arrived at these specific choices. This is one limitation of the survey: if participants had been given a blank sheet of paper to describe their cultural identity, the answers might have looked very different.
However, there is one pattern that stands out.
“The unifying factor in a lot of this seems to be the proximity of these symbols to Trump, which is not entirely surprising given the identity of MAGA,” he said. Rachel Bloomprofessor of political science at the University of Oklahoma. “In this regard, they seem to share a view with the rest of the country: that proximity to Trump is what defines them culturally.”
There are significant cultural fault lines between MAGA and non-MAGA wings of the Republican base.
Two-thirds of MAGA Republicans associate the movement with Kid Rock — double the share of non-MAGA Republicans who say the same. The pattern is repeated elsewhere: 87% of coalition Republicans associate the movement with American flags, while only 56% of their non-coalition counterparts do so. The gap is wide for many others as well, like Clint Eastwood, Tim Allen, and even steak.
Some of this can be explained by “differences in intensity,” Bloom says. Republicans may like many of the same things, but MAGA Republicans identification with them more forcefully.
The divide became more apparent with Rogan. Sixty percent of MAGA Republicans say they “like” or “love” Rogan, but only 25% of non-MAGA Republicans feel the same way. Rogan He supported Trump Before last year’s elections, however newlythe Podcaster He was More important. This suggests that support for Rogan among the MAGA base may be less about what he says now and more about what he said before.
“This seems like a good example of a place where ‘like’ for Rogan is symbolic,” Bloom said. “These people aren’t actually listening to his podcast. They just appreciate that this prominent podcaster is supporting their candidate, and they’re rewarding him for that.”
“There is an extent to which conservatives have long felt that they have been left out of the culture or that the culture is biased against them,” she added. “So, you can almost see them feeling grateful when an important cultural figure finally seems to be on their side.”
However, not everything associated with MAGA is overtly political.
Take steaks and hamburgers for example. They are Hardly specialized itemsYet they have been assimilated into the MAGA cultural identity. That’s partly because food choices don’t line up along party lines, according to some polls. Only 5% of Americans identify as vegetarians and 2% as vegetarians, but Democrats (35%) are slightly more likely than Republicans (21%) to say they would reduce their meat intake, according to 2018 survey From YouGov for The Economist.
Among MAGA Republicans, meat is a staple of their cultural identity. 91% say they like or like steak, and 90% say the same about hamburgers. Democrats also express widespread enthusiasm for steaks and burgers, although MAGA’s embrace of red meat has taken on its own kind of cultural cues.
But MAGA’s cultural identity isn’t just about what its people consume, it’s also about what they don’t care about.
In recent months, Trump supporters have largely avoided the president’s nightly performances bars vs. A YouGov A September poll found that only 4% of Republicans and 6% of Trump voters watch late-night television every day, compared with 9% of Democrats and 12% of those who voted for Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee last year. More than half of Republicans (51%) said they never watch late-night shows, nearly double the share of Democrats (27%).
This gap reflects more than just viewing habits. For many, skipping late night is a political statement.
There’s a similar cultural divide happening with Taylor Swift. She has great stardom acceleration During Trump’s second term, even as he directed insults her way –He fired her twice It’s not “hot” anymore. But this isn’t just celebrity gossip. Swift has become a clear partisan marker.
According to an August Navigator Research poll, Swift’s net advantage among Democrats is +49 percentage points, and among independents, +8 points. But for Republicans, it’s -22 points — a stunning swing from two years ago, when it was +15 points. This transformation then accelerated Swift endorsed Harris on Trump, with the largest decline among voters without college degrees.
What was once the neutral ground of popular culture has turned into another front in the culture wars.
Of course, expressed preferences do not always reflect real-life behavior. Will people who say they don’t like Swift stop listening to her music? Have right-leaning fans tuned in to late night host Stephen Colbert already? Polls can’t tell us that, but they remind us that cultural identity is often messier than clean partisan division.
There are other, quieter signals, too. Republicans are less likely to have read a book in the past year than Democrats — 62% versus 73% — although majorities in both groups still do so, according to a recent study. YouGov reconnaissance. Republicans are also more likely to say they own only one to four books, while Democrats group in between owning 10 and 24 books.
This division reflects a broader reorganization along educational lines.
Data from well respected American National Election Studies It shows that in the 1980s, Democrats enjoyed a 14-point lead among non-college-educated voters, while Republicans had a five-point lead among college graduates. Now that dynamic has reversed: Democrats’ working-class advantage has almost disappeared, while their lead among college-educated voters has risen to 14 points.
Democrats have become the party of the educated class, a force that could also become a ceiling if they cannot reconnect with working-class voters.
However, reading habits are not destiny. YouGov also found that Republicans and Democrats are equally likely to get a library card, a simple reminder that cultural divides aren’t always as stark as they seem.
Of course, some polls don’t tell the whole story, and we shouldn’t be too quick to stereotype anyone based on a few numbers. Still, these early glimpses give us a sense—if only a tentative one—of what the MAGA movement looks like culturally, and raise questions we’ll be monitoring as the movement continues to evolve.
Any updates?
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New poll from The Economist/YouGov It offers a snapshot of how Americans are coping with the ongoing government shutdown. A majority of Americans (54%) say they have felt no personal impact from the shutdown so far. (Maybe they didn’t try it Catch a flight Recently.) However, 45% are optimistic it will be over within a month, although Democrats and Republicans You remain at a dead end. There is strong agreement that federal workers It must be complete Once this staring contest is over: 71% say these workers should get their back wages. Americans are also pushing back on Trump’s threats to use a lockdown To reduce Federal workforce. A majority (54%) oppose the idea of permanently firing workers – likely because it is inherently patently unfair.
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The white house She was embraced Artificial Intelligence with First Lady Melania Trump recently release “AI Challenge” for students and teachers to develop AI projects. But the general public is still more cautious about artificial intelligence. new Pew Research Center The report finds that 50% of US adults are more concerned than excited about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in everyday life, compared to just 10% who say they feel more excited than afraid.
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two weeks ago, Opinion polls showed Voters blame Trump and Republicans for government shutdown. But as the standoff continued, a new problem arose AP-NORC Poll shows Democrats’ political advantage declining. 58% say Trump and Republicans in Congress bear “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of responsibility, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress. Previous polls showed that Republicans are in a more clear dilemma. But both parties are now under fire, suggesting that the shutdown is no longer a unilateral political responsibility — and that Democrats may face a tougher messaging battle than expected.
Check the vibe
With the high-profile election approaching in November, it’s easy to forget another quickly approaching deadline: the holidays, and for many, that means shopping for gifts.
YouGov It found that 22% of US adults have already started or will start this month, but most are waiting: 36% plan to start in November, and 13% will put it off until December.
I’ll admit it, gift giving is one of my love languages, so I rarely set a budget. However, most people are more disciplined: 56% will determine A strict or rough limit on spending, and 14% say they won’t shop at all this year, either by choice or rising costs.
Among those who shop, Plans vary: 17% plan to spend between $100 to $249 on holiday gifts this year, 21% say they spend between $250 to $499, and 17% say $500 to $1,000.
Maybe I’ll hit the middle – a big family, a big love of gifts. What about you?