Record number of Americans think nation is divided

Americans now more than ever believe the nation is divided on the most important issues, a poll released Monday shows.
{mosads}The new Gallup poll shows 77 percent of Americans think the U.S. is divided after a contentious presidential campaign, while only 21 percent believe it is united and in agreement.
That is a new high for the Gallup survey. Over the past 20 years, the public has tended to perceive the nation as being more divided than united, apart from two surveys taken after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The new poll shows that Republicans are less likely to believe the U.S. is divided, while Democrats are more likely to think so.
While 68 percent of Republicans see the nation as divided, 83 percent of Democrats think it is.
Gallup notes that trend is consistent with polls conducted after the presidential elections in 2004 and 2012, when the winning party’s supporters were less likely to perceive the nation as divided.
The new poll also shows Americans are split almost evenly on whether they think President-elect Donald Trump will unite or divide the country.
While 45 percent say Trump will unite the country, 49 percent say he will do more to divide it.
These views fall along party lines, with 88 percent of Republicans saying Trump will do more to unite the country and 81 percent of Democrats saying he will divide it.
The poll was conducted from Nov. 9 to 13 among 1,019 adults aged 18 and older and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
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