This was inevitable. After one of the most grueling and high-stakes election seasons in modern history, the American people are naturally exhausted and are tuning out at a massive rate when it comes to the realm of politics.
According to an AP-NORC poll, Americans are shutting it off by a whopping 65 percent, but most of these Americans are Democrats. Probably not surprising, given the massive loss they took against what many of them consider to be the worst person on the planet:
The urge to take a step back from the news is shared by people in both parties. Democrats are slightly more likely than Republicans to say they feel the need to limit their media consumption on government and politics (72% vs 59%). Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to feel the need to avoid news about climate change (48% vs 37%).
People are not eager for politics to mix with their entertainment or commerce experiences. Forty-three percent of adults approve of small businesses speaking out on political issues and 20% disapprove. But, only a quarter approve of celebrities, professional athletes, or large companies speaking out while 4 in 10 disapprove.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to approve of celebrities, professional athletes, and large companies speaking out about politics. Small businesses speaking out on political issues is viewed similarly by Democrats and Republicans.
An interesting thing about this poll is how differently Republicans and Democrats allow politics into the public conversation. Celebrity political opinions are more welcome among Democrats, likely due to their alignment, but it would appear that even among the left, celebrity opinions are becoming tiresome as they consistently interfere with the need for escapism.
Moreover, it’s interesting that the number of Republicans who want to avoid news about climate change — which most consider to be junk science — isn’t higher, while I personally find it surprising that the number of Democrats who don’t want to hear it is as high as it is.
This might be a temporary thing, as even among Democrats, the economy took a higher priority than almost everything else this election cycle. This gives some weight to the New York Post’s declaration back in November that the radical climate change agenda is “cloudy”:
Donald Trump’s resounding election victory marks not only the Obama-Biden era’s end but the beginning of the end of the radical climate agenda.
After all, one candidate promised to “drill, baby, drill” while the other had called climate change an “existential threat to who we are as a species.”
Voters had a clear choice, and they chose accordingly.
The climate movement’s future is cloudy at best.
That said, I also anticipate this disinterest in politics will abate, as it always does. We’re post-election, post-Christmas, and the New Year is approaching. There’s an exhaustion on many levels right now, and as the Trump administration begins its next four years, there will be a reawakening of interest in a big way.
The Trump administration is looking to do something that hasn’t been seen in decades, and this is likely going to cause a huge upset to many institutions.
