Record 80% of Americans believe nation is divided, Gallup poll finds

You don't need a crystal ball to tell you, but a new survey showed that a record-high of Americans can agree on at least one thing: that the country is divided. 

A Gallup poll showed a record-high of 80% of U.S. adults believe the country is divided on values considered the most important. That number was increased from 77% from when the poll was taken in 2016. 

Eighteen percent of Americans believe the country is united. 

RELATED: Trump indicates he won't make another presidential run in 2028 if unsuccessful this time

Researchers said the question of whether the nation is divided was first asked in the General Social Survey in 1993 and has been updated by various organizations ever since. Gallup started asking periodically in 2001. Gallup said it didn't define "most important values" in its survey, instead leaving that up to people's own interpretations.

Much of the time, Democrats, Republicans and independents have held similar views on the county's division, Gallup said, but noted there were some significant differences in some years. 

In 2004 and 2016, more Republicans than Democrats saw the country as unitedly 15 percentage points when George W. Bush was reelected and Donald Trump was elected as president.  In 2012, more Democrats saw the country as united when Barack Obama was reelected president. 

Several arrests are made as pro-abortion protesters shout down Catholic parishioners outside the Catholic church, the Basilica of St. Patrickâs Old Cathedral, in Manhattan New York City, on Saturday, December 3rd, 2022. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu

Researchers said in conclusion, Americans have had a history of believing the nation was divided, but the number has ticked way up in 2024. They believe the political discourse regarding the upcoming closely-contested November election is at the source, adding that trust in the government and in U.S. institutions have eroded. 

PoliticsU.S.News