Trump enjoys favorability boost, post-election explosion in popularity among young Americans



Despite recently increasing the risk of a direct military confrontation with Russia, President Joe Biden appears poised to end his term not with a bang but with a whimper. According to an Emerson College poll released Tuesday, Biden's approval rating has hit a four-year low of 36%. Gallup polls have captured a similar decline, now putting him at 37%. A total of 52% of respondents told Emerson they disapproved of Biden's performance.

Meanwhile, the once and future Republican president has enjoyed a significant favorability bump following his landslide election win on Nov. 5.

Emerson indicated that President-elect Donald Trump's favorability rating has climbed six percentage points since the start of this month and now sits at 54%. Where mainstream polls go, that's a big deal, especially given Gallup's claim that Trump never cracked 50% during his first term.

When it comes to men, 61% surveyed by Emerson said they viewed Trump favorably, compared to 48% of women. Broken down by race, 59% of whites, 53% of Hispanics, and 28% of blacks said they viewed Trump favorably.

"Trump's favorability varies significantly by gender, race, and age," said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. "Trump's strongest age cohort is among voters 40-59, with 60% viewing him favorably, compared to 48% among those over 70. Notably, his favorability has risen among younger voters, with 55% of those under 30 expressing a favorable opinion."

As Kimball indicated, Trump appears to have made significant inroads with young voters.

According to an Economist/YouGov poll conducted from Nov. 17-19, 57% of respondents ages 18 to 29 said they had a favorable view of Trump. Newsweek highlighted that this marks a net favorability increase of 19 points for Trump among members of that age cohort since YouGov polled them just one week earlier.

'He is the state of play.'

Among voters 30-44, 45-64, and 65+, Trump's favorability rating was somewhat lower — 49%, 51%, and 48%, respectively.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk responded to the poll, tweeting, "President Trump is surging with young voters. According to YouGov, Trump has a +19 point favorability rating with voters ages 18-29. TikTok and X are big reasons why. Our campus videos were seen 3 BILLION times this semester. Truth is ascendant."

Kirk noted prior to the election that "the energy is off the charts. You have a younger generation, Gen Z, who experienced a lot of — they would say — lies and deceit during COVID, and a lot of their life being altered. There is this pent up 'rebellion energy' that has never come out," reported Vanity Fair.

"Gen Z could impact this entire election," added Kirk.

While it was clear that young men were gravitating toward the Republican candidate and toward conservatism more broadly, young women surprised some observers on Election Day with an 11-point shift toward Trump.

NBC exit polling revealed that Biden's 35-point lead over Trump among young women four years ago shrunk to a 24-point lead for Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, recently emphasized that for younger Americans, Trump is not a disruptive force — "He is the state of play."

"They see him through Barstool Sports, through UFC, through golf. They see him through culture; they see him through music, et cetera," Volpe told "CNN Political Briefing." "It's [also] about the message that permeates throughout MAGA, which is, 'He's strong, the opposition is weak, and he exudes this confidence that a lot of younger people clearly are seeking.' Three-quarters of young men, and women aren't so far behind, are stressed out on a regular basis about their future, OK? And they don't have anything that they tell me to give them hope. They think of the world as scary and unclear, and the vision of their future is blurry. So when someone says, 'I will take care of this,' 'I will make sure that you're taken care of for the economy,' et cetera, there's clearly some resonance of that."

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Waning biblical worldview in US coincides with dramatic rejection of morality: Report



The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University conducts an annual national survey measuring the incidence of both biblical and competing worldviews, including satanism, Wicca, Marxism, moralistic therapeutic deism, nihilism, and secular humanism.

In their latest "American Worldview Inventory" report, Dr. George Barna and his team noted a precipitous decline in the incidence of adults holding a biblical worldview in each of the last five generations. Although that might warrant celebration among secularists and others hostile to Christianity, the decline appears to coincide with a growing embrace of immorality.

"The United States is witnessing the destruction of biblical morality," said Barna. "Whatever people may feel about that reality, we must recognize that an inescapable outcome of the rejection of our traditional moral base is the weakening of personal relationships

According to the report, the majority of respondents indicated that they regarded "lying, abortion, consensual intercourse between unmarried adults, gay marriage, and the rejection of absolute moral truth as morally acceptable."

Fewer than than half of respondents indicated that the Bible amounted to their primary guide to morality, and a significant cohort, 29%, indicated that behavior is permissible so long as it is not harmful.

When it comes to abortion, support grew with each successive age cohort. Whereas 60% of Boomers said the execution of the unborn was acceptable behavior, 67% of Millennials and 69% of Gen Zers endorsed the practice.

60% of Boomers said sex between unmarried adults was morally acceptable; the younger generations were far more lenient — 63% of Gen Xers, 69% of Millennials, and 73% of Gen Zers saw no wrong in such uncommitted encounters.

There were, however, two cases in which Gen Zers bucked demoralizing trends. Gen Zers were found to be less likely than members of previous generations to believe that human beings are basically good and to endorse homosexuals getting "married."

Among Christian respondents, Barna and his team found that those who attend Protestant churches were more likely than those attending Catholic churches to possess biblical moral perspectives for three-quarters of the moral choices identified in the survey. Even in the Protestant cohort, there was a perceived split between evangelicals and mainline Protestants — the former far more likely to take a Bible-based view on most moral issues.

Judging from the report's "morality indicators," 62% of adults attending evangelical churches, 42% of Catholics, 46% of mainline Protestants, 35% of people aligned with non-Christian faiths, and 27% of non-believers signaled that they live in harmony with biblical teaching, respectively.

"Biblical worldview incidence has declined with each of the last five generations," said Barna. "During that time, the national incidence of adults holding a biblical worldview has plummeted from 12% to today’s 4% level."

Barna's assessment and figures rely upon an admittedly puristic conformance with his particular criteria. Self-identified Christians who attend church, follow Christ, and attempt to lead moral lives may find themselves in the "syncretist" camp along with 92% of other Americans for having allegedly assimilated philosophies or practices deemed by the CRC to be alien to a biblical world.

"Our studies of teenagers and preteens indicate that the national incidence will drop another two points within the next 15 years, unless some dramatic and unusually effective spiritual renewal event occurs," continued the sociologist. "The expected decline can be explained by the increasing influence of the worldview championed by Millennials and Gen Z as the proportion of adults from the Boomer and Elders generations substantially decreases."

Barna suggested that the multi-generational moral slide helps to partly explain why "Americans no longer trust their central institutions or relationships. Lying, stealing, and cheating have become the new moral norm for a majority of our citizens. We have steadily moved back to the jungle mentality of 'every man for himself.'"

With the understanding that a lasting worldview is more or less formed by the time an individual enters the teenage years, Barna told "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins" that the way to arrest the moral slide is for parents to take action early on.

'Make them a disciple.'

"Our research has consistently shown is that children are not being pointed in the direction of developing a biblical worldview," said the sociologist. "In other words, a decision-making filter that's based on biblical truth. Instead, what they're doing is they're adopting the ways of the world. And part of the reason for that is because their parents love them, and they want them to succeed in life, but toward that end, they're not necessarily setting them up to develop a biblical worldview."

The reluctance or failure on the part of religious communities and parents to furnish children with a biblical worldview does not make for open-minded children, suggested Barna. Rather it leaves them at the mercy of the ideologies and intellectual fads of the day.

"The only people that make disciples are disciples. So number one, as a parent, you've got to be a disciple if you want your child or children to be followers of Jesus. And then secondly, recognize that biblically, it's your dominant responsibility in life. This may be the most important thing you ever do in your life is to raise your child to be an ardent follower of Jesus Christ," said Barna. "Make them a disciple."

"Spend more time on this than you do on sports, than you do on shopping, than you do on hobbies, than you do on watching movies and TV together. It’s the most important thing that you’re ever going to do. Do it well," he added.

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Biden administration changes race, ethnicity options on census and other federal surveys



The White House's Office of Management and Budget, currently in the hands of the Biden administration, has announced that significant changes have been made to questions related to race and ethnicity on most standard federal surveys and questionnaires, including the U.S. census. These are the first such changes to be made in nearly 30 years.

The first major change is that race and ethnicity, which had been addressed in separate questions, will now be conflated, though respondents may still select multiple options. One purpose for this change, the AP reported, is to simplify the process for Hispanic people. The AP claimed that people of Hispanic heritage often "aren't sure how to answer the race question" and as a result either select "some other race" or leave the question blank.

There will also be a new racial category added to the mix. Since 1997, the U.S. has recognized five minimum racial categories: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and white. Now, respondents will have the additional option of selecting Middle Eastern and North African.

Those in charge of creating surveys should also consider breaking several racial categories down even further, the OMB said. For instance, the office suggested, some who select the category "black" might more specifically identify as Haitian or Jamaican.

Finally, the OMB has eliminated the following terms from federal surveys and questionnaires because they are either offensive or inadequate: Negro, Far East, majority, and minority.

Many on the left are celebrating these new changes, which — according to the AP — were made over the last two years by "a group of federal statisticians and bureaucrats who prefer to stay above the political fray."

"It feels good to be seen," said Democrat state Rep. Anna Eskamani of Florida, whose parents were born in Iran. "Growing up, my family would check the 'white' box because we didn’t know what other box reflected our family. Having representation like that, it feels meaningful."

"You can’t underestimate the emotional impact this has on people," added Meeta Anand, senior director for Census and Data Equity at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "You are seeing a desire for people to want to self-identify and be reflected in data so they can tell their own stories."

However, the AP's reporting also notes that the new changes, which will greatly reduce the number of people considered white, will likely have political consequences in terms of congressional districts and the understanding and enforcement of civil rights laws.

Others have some reservations because they believe the Middle Eastern and North African category still isn't inclusive enough. "It is not reflective of the racial diversity of our community," said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. "And it’s wrong."

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40% of Americans dread walking alone at night; fear of being murdered nears record-high



The percentage of Americans afraid of taking an evening stroll alone in their own neighborhood has skyrocketed, reaching a three-decade high.

A new Gallup poll conducted last month found that 40% of 1,009 adult respondents fear walking alone at night within a mile of their homes. This was true of 53% of women and 26% of men.

Beside gender, another apparent correlate concerning fear was wealth. Whereas 49% of those making less than $40,000 admitted being fearful of ambling around at night, 39% of those making $40,000 to $99,999 and 31% of those banking over $100,000 expressed similar concern.

The last time dread was this high was in 1993 when America's violent crime rate was 741.1 (per 100,000 inhabitants). According to the FBI, the forcible rape rate for that year was 41.1; the robbery rate was 256; the aggravated assault rate was 440.5; the property crime rate was 4,740; the burglary rate was 1,099.7; the larceny-theft rate was 3,033.9; and the motor vehicle theft rate was 606.3.

The violent crime rate dropped precipitously to 380.7 in 2022 — a year where 47.7% of crimes took place at home and 20% took place on a street, highway, alley or sidewalk. 44% of perpetrators were white; 43% were black; 1.4% were American Indian or Alaska native; less than 1% were Asian; and nearly 10% were marked "unknown."

Fearful particulars

The latest Gallup poll revealed that falling prey to identity theft was the most common crime concern, with 72% of respondents indicating they frequently or occasionally worry about it.

50% indicated they worried about having their car broken into, which makes sense granted motor vehicle theft offenses jumped to a 13-year high in 2022. 44% said they worried about their home being burglarized when they were out and 37% expressed concern about getting mugged.

The fear of being murdered is at a near-record high. Morbid fears began to jump in 2020, rising from 17% that year to 29% in 2022. This year, 28% of American adults surveyed suggested they frequently or occasionally worried about becoming a murder victim.

The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program put the murder rate at 6.3 per 100,000 people last year, just slightly lower than in 2021, which saw the highest rate in 23 years.

Bound by concern

For some Americans, it appears these fears can be greatly limiting and possibly even debilitating.

28% of all respondents indicated that fear of crime has prevented them from going to social events like concerts or fairs as well as from talking to strangers.

45% of women told pollsters that fear of crime prevents them from taking walks, jogging, or running alone near their homes. 36% indicated fear of crime precluded them from driving around various parts of their towns or cities.

Gallup also found that 63% of Americans say crime is an extremely or very serious problem — an increase of almost 10 points since 2021 and the highest it has been since the polling outfit began asking in 2000.

77% of Americans said there is more crime across the nation than there was a year ago, and 55% said the same about crime in their area.

These responses do not appear to be based simply on speculation.

17% of respondents indicated they were the victim of a crime over the past 12 months, which could mean anything from rape and assault to being mugged. 28% indicated a member of their household had been victimized.

There is a significant partisan skew to the perception of increased crime across the United States. 58% of Democrats said there was more crime this year than in 2022. 78% of independents and 92% of Republicans indicated there had been an increase.

The polling outfit noted that despite what the FBI data and Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization survey say, "Gallup trends indicate there has been an increase in crime victimization since 2020, according to Americans' reports of their own experiences in the past year."

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