Voters diverge on how U.S. has changed and where it's headed Compared with 50 years ago, life. people like you in America today is The future of the next generation of Americans
A new national survey finds that Trump supporters overwhelmingly believe that life in America is worse than it was 50 years ago “for people like them.” Fully 81% of registered voters who support Trump say life has gotten worse, compared with just 11% who say it has gotten better (6% say it is about the same).
Most Clinton supporters take the opposite view: 59% say life for people like them has gotten better over the past half-century, while 19% think it has gotten worse and 18% see little change.
The candidates’ supporters have contrasting expectations for the nation’s future. Trump backers are broadly pessimistic – 68% say life for the next generation will be worse than today. Clinton supporters have mixed assessments. Nearly four-in-ten (38%) say life will be better, 28% say it will be about the same and just 30% say it will be worse.
The latest national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted August 9-16 among 2,010 adults, including 1,567 registered voters, finds little change overall in voters’ views of how the nation has changed and its future prospects since March, during the presidential primaries. But the divisions evident in that survey are striking in the context of the general election.
Voters diverge on how U.S. has changed  | and where it's headed  | Compared with 50 years ago, life. people like you in  | America today is  | Worse  | Same  | Better  | All voters  | 47%  | 36%  | 13%  | Clinton supporters  | 19  | 59  | 18  | Trump supporters 81  | 11  | 6  | The future of the next generation of Americans  | will be compared with life today (%)  | Worse  | Same  | Better  | All voters  | 24%  | 22%  | 49%  | Clinton supporters  | 30  | 28  | 38  | Trump supporters  | 68  | 11  | 15  | Notes: Based on registered voters. Q7  | Don' 't know responses not shown. Q7 and Q8,  | Source: Survey conducted August 9-16, 2016.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 