This photo shows the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., the United States, May 11, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, polls show growing public pessimism about the country's political future. Experts say deepening polarization is eroding confidence at home and weakening Washington's ability to provide stable global leadership.
A survey released on Saturday by Elon University in North Carolina found that 68 percent of respondents believe political divisions will worsen over the next 50 years, while 64 percent have little or no confidence that US political institutions will make mostly good decisions over that period.
Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll, said political polarization was the issue respondents viewed most pessimistically.
"We've now basically had a generation and a half, or arguably two generations, of significant political divide in the United States, and very few people see a clear way out of deep, entrenched political polarization," he said in the survey report.
