Report · Politics

Half say the U.S. now has an unchecked president and a weak economy

Reading

A slim majority of Americans (52%) describe the United States over the past year as having an unchecked president and weak economic growth, according to a Verasight survey conducted March 6-16, 2026.

Close to three-in-ten (29%) instead see a checked president alongside strong economic growth, and about one-in-ten land on each of the mixed pictures: an unchecked president with strong growth (10%) and a checked president with weak growth (9%).

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Half say the U.S. now has an unchecked president and a weak economy.

Over the last 12 months, which do you think best describes the United States?

  • A president who is unchecked and there is weak economic growth 52.0%
  • A president who is checked and there is strong economic growth 28.9%
  • A president who is unchecked and there is strong economic growth 9.8%
  • A president who is checked and there is weak economic growth 9.3%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.5%

Module 3: Elections, Civic Life, & the Environment

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-03-06 → 2026-03-16
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.5%
Module
Module 3: Elections, Civic Life, & the Environment

Source

Citation

Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044#q-3-22

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.