UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the years since the 2016 election, countless news stories and public opinion polls have sought to answer the question of what divides Republicans and Democrats.
Results from the latest Penn State Mood of the Nation Poll show that not only do people with opposing political beliefs fundamentally disagree, they find it difficult — if not impossible — to put themselves in the shoes of someone from the other side.
The Mood of the Nation Poll, conducted by Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy, utilizes open-ended questions that allow participants to respond in their own words, express what’s on their minds, and provide unique observations on contemporary American politics.