Americans Are Happy With Their Lives but Angry at Government, Poll Shows

Americans are generally happy with their home and work life, but are overwhelmingly angry with the federal government, according to a new poll released Saturday.

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (78%) said they are dissatisfied or angry with the federal government, an Associated Press–GfK poll found. But at the same time, a greater percentage (84%) of respondents said they are enthusiastic or satisfied with their personal relationships, and 77% said the same about their career. Sixty-four percent said they are satisfied with their financial situation.

Respondents said their anger is directed at the overall political system and career politicians who they say don’t put constituents first, the Associated Press reported.

Those findings are consistent with a presidential election that has been defined, in many ways, by voter anger, as anti-Establishment candidates in both parties have found success by tapping into widespread frustration with Washington.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be angry with the government, and those Republicans who are angry are more supportive of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, the poll found.

A majority of Americans (71%) said they think the country is headed in the wrong direction. More Democrats than Republicans said the country is headed in the right direction.

The poll, conducted online between March 31 and April 4, surveyed 1,076 adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.