October 18, 2019

Americans Are Getting More Satisfied in the Trump Era

Apropos of nothing in particular, here is the latest iteration of a poll that Gallup conducts monthly:

We Americans are never very satisfied with how things are going in our country, and we’ve been especially unsatisfied over the past few years. But we’re getting happier! And the Trump years have made us happier still.

Roughly speaking, satisfaction needs to be above 30 percent for an incumbent party to win reelection. That’s not a guarantee, though: Al Gore lost in 2000 even though satisfaction was sky high. Trump is currently at 33 percent.

Just sayin’.

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LET’S TALK ABOUT OPTIMISM FOR A CHANGE

Democracy and journalism are in crisis mode—and have been for a while. So how about doing something different?

Mother Jones did. We just merged with the Center for Investigative Reporting, bringing the radio show Reveal, the documentary film team CIR Studios, and Mother Jones together as one bigger, bolder investigative journalism nonprofit.

And this is the first time we’re asking you to support the new organization we’re building. In “Less Dreading, More Doing,” we lay it all out for you: why we merged, how we’re stronger together, why we’re optimistic about the work ahead, and why we need to raise the First $500,000 in online donations by June 22.

It won’t be easy. There are many exciting new things to share with you, but spoiler: Wiggle room in our budget is not among them. We can’t afford missing these goals. We need this to be a big one. Falling flat would be utterly devastating right now.

A First $500,000 donation of $500, $50, or $5 would mean the world to us—a signal that you believe in the power of independent investigative reporting like we do. And whether you can pitch in or not, we have a free Strengthen Journalism sticker for you so you can help us spread the word and make the most of this huge moment.

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