A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in conjunction with the UVA Center for Politics finds that a majority of Americans surveyed believe that race relations in the United States have gotten at least somewhat worse since President Donald Trump’s election.
The poll also explores American racial attitudes at the one-year anniversary of a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville last August.
Americans offered more mixed opinions on race relations looking back on President Barack Obama’s presidency, with roughly equal numbers saying race relations got better or got worse during his presidency.
Tables 1 and 2 shows how respondents felt about race relations during both the Trump and Obama presidencies. Americans believe by 57% to 15% that race relations have become worse since President Trump’s election. By contrast, respondents were evenly divided about Barack Obama’s time in the White House, with 38% believing race relations improved and 37% saying they worsened.
Table 1: “Since President Trump’s election, do you believe that race relations in America are better or worse?”
| A lot better | Somewhat better | No different | Somewhat worse | A lot worse | Don’t know | Total Better | Total Worse |
| 4% | 11% | 22% | 17% | 39% | 7% | 15% | 57% |
Table 2: “During President Obama’s presidency, do you believe that race relations in America became better or worse?”
| A lot better | Somewhat better | No different | Somewhat worse | A lot worse | Don’t know | Total Better | Total Worse |
| 14% | 24% | 19% | 14% | 23% | 6% | 38% | 37% |
The poll was conducted in advance of the first anniversary of a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville held on Aug. 12, 2017 and updates a previous Reuters/Ipsos/UVA Center for Politics poll released on Sept. 14, 2017 measuring Americans’ racial attitudes. The new poll, conducted Aug. 2-6, 2018 and featuring 1,450 respondents, asked several of the same questions as the poll from last year.
Tables 3-5 show the recent poll results, the results from last year in response to the same questions, and the amount of change from 2017 to now.
Table 3: “Which comes closest to your opinion?”
| Statement | Total Aug. 2018 | Total Sept. 2017 | Change | |
| Confederate monuments should be removed from all public spaces (i.e. parks, public squares, court houses) | 25% | 26% | -1% | |
| Confederate monuments should remain in all public spaces (i.e. parks, public squares, court houses) | 56% | 57% | -1% | |
| Don’t know | 18% | 17% | 1% |
Table 4: “Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statement(s)”
| Statement | Level of agreement | Total Aug. 2018 | Total Sept. 2017 | Change | |
| “Political correctness” threatens our liberty as Americans to speak our minds. | Strongly agree | 38% | 35% | 3% | |
| Somewhat agree | 24% | 25% | -1% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 15% | 18% | -3% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 6% | 8% | -2% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 10% | 9% | 1% | ||
| Don’t know | 7% | 6% | 1% | ||
| America must protect and preserve its White European heritage. | Strongly agree | 19% | 16% | 3% | |
| Somewhat agree | 16% | 15% | 1% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 26% | 29% | -3% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 8% | 9% | -1% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 24% | 24% | 0% | ||
| Don’t know | 6% | 5% | 1% | ||
| Marriage should only be allowed between people of the same race. | Strongly agree | 10% | 10% | 0% | |
| Somewhat agree | 6% | 6% | 0% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 13% | 14% | -1% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 8% | 6% | 2% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 57% | 59% | -2% | ||
| Don’t know | 5% | 4% | 1% | ||
| People of different races should be free to live wherever they choose. | Strongly agree | 72% | 70% | 2% | |
| Somewhat agree | 14% | 15% | -1% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 7% | 8% | -1% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 2% | 3% | -1% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 2% | 2% | 0% | ||
| Don’t know | 3% | 3% | 0% | ||
| All races are equal. | Strongly agree | 70% | 70% | 0% | |
| Somewhat agree | 12% | 12% | 0% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 7% | 8% | -1% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 4% | 3% | 1% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 4% | 4% | 0% | ||
| Don’t know | 3% | 3% | 0% | ||
| White people are currently under attack in this country. | Strongly agree | 19% | 19% | 0% | |
| Somewhat agree | 24% | 20% | 4% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 16% | 19% | -3% | ||
| Somewhat disagree | 9% | 10% | -1% | ||
| Strongly disagree | 28% | 28% | 0% | ||
| Don’t know | 5% | 4% | 1% | ||
| All races should be treated equally. | Strongly agree | 81% | 80% | 1% | |
| Somewhat agree | 10% | 9% | 1% | ||
| Neither agree nor disagree | 4% | 5% |
Table 5: “Do you support or oppose the following group or movement?”
| Group | Level of support | Total Aug. 2018 | Total Sept. 2017 | Change | |
| Antifa? | Strongly support | 3% | 3% | 0% | |
| Somewhat support | 5% | 5% | 0% | ||
| Neither support not oppose | 16% | 20% | -4% | ||
| Somewhat oppose | 5% | 6% | -1% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 34% | 33% | 1% | ||
| Don’t know | 37% | 32% | 5% | ||
| Black Lives Matter? | Strongly support | 20% | 18% | 2% | |
| Somewhat support | 14% | 14% | 0% | ||
| Neither support not oppose | 21% | 24% | -3% | ||
| Somewhat oppose | 8% | 8% | 0% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 28% | 29% | -1% | ||
| Don’t know | 9% | 7% | 2% | ||
| The alt-right? | Strongly support | 3% | 2% | 1% | |
| Somewhat support | 4% | 4% | 0% | ||
| Neither support not oppose | 17% | 19% | -2% | ||
| Somewhat oppose | 6% | 7% | -1% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 42% | 45% | -3% | ||
| Don’t know | 28% | 23% | 5% | ||
| White nationalism? | Strongly support | 4% | 3% | 1% | |
| Somewhat support | 4% | 4% | 0% | ||
| Neither support not oppose | 17% | 18% | -1% | ||
| Somewhat oppose | 7% | 6% | 1% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 56% | 59% | -3% | ||
| Don’t know | 12% | 10% | 2% | ||
| Neo Nazism? | Strongly support | 2% | 2% | 0% | |
| Somewhat support | 3% | 2% | 1% | ||
| Neither support not oppose | 8% | 10% | -2% | ||
| Somewhat oppose | 4% | 4% | 0% | ||
| Strongly oppose | 72% | 73% | -1% | ||
| Don’t know | 11% | 9% | 2% |
As was the case in last year’s poll, few showed support for white nationalists and neo-Nazis. On the flip side, about a third of respondents did not express clear support for seemingly settled social issues, like support for interracial marriage. Americans generally showed a good deal of consistency on these questions between September 2017 and now. For instance, a majority of Americans both last year and now opposed the removal of Confederate monuments from public spaces.
The full results and methodology from the new polling are available here and the crosstabs are available here.
The full results and methodology from the Sept. 2017 poll are available here and the crosstabs are available here.
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