When asked what the worst thing is about Republicans, the most common response among Americans is President Donald Trump or loyalty to him, while the most common response about Democrats is that they are weak and don’t stand up against Trump or for what’s right, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel conducted April 24 through 28.
In the poll, Americans were asked what they disliked most about both the Democratic and Republican parties in an open-ended question. For each party, only one single response broke double-digits: 10% of Americans said that the worst thing about Democrats was that they were weak and did not stand up to Trump or stand up for what was right.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, May 25, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.
Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images
Combining two categories about Democrats: that they were too liberal, criticizing their policies or calling them “too woke” added to 12%.
And 12% of Americans said the worst thing about Republicans was their loyalty to Trump or just named Trump himself.
All other responses were 7% or lower.
Americans said Democrats were too liberal (6%), were against their policy positions or said they were “too woke” (6%), said they were corrupt, self-serving or favoring the powerful (5%), or mentioned a general dislike of them (5%) – or mentioned pro-Democratic views, despite being asked to provide a negative opinion (5%).
Others mentioned an opposition to Democrats’ views on immigration and the border (4%), that they were out of touch with everyday Americans (4%) or that they were obsessed with being against Trump (4%). Other responses were 3% or less.
Some Americans said they had nothing negative to say about the Republican Party (7%), while others highlighted perceptions of dishonesty, hypocrisy and immorality (6%), a lack of concern for others and cruelty (6%) along with corruption and self-enrichment (5%).
Others said Republican leaders were ineffective or unqualified (4%), that Republicans needed to support Trump more and stand up to Democrats (4%), that Republicans were authoritarian, had a disregard of the rule of law or were anti-Democratic (4%), that Republicans were hostile or bullying (4%) or racist or anti-diversity (4%). All other responses were 3% or less.
What partisans say about Democrats
Republicans’ main criticisms of Democrats were a general dislike of the opposing party (11%), that they were too liberal or socialist (11%) or opposition to their policies or calling them too woke (10%). Others voiced concern over a perception of Democrats having a loose immigration and border stance (9%), an anti-Trump obsession (8%), calling them corrupt, self-serving or favoring the powerful (8%). Another 6% said they were morally wrong, evil, violent or ignorant, 6% said that Democrats meant higher taxes and excess spending, 5% said Democrats were dishonest while another 5% said they were anti-American or unpatriotic.
“DEI, Trump derangement syndrome, democratic socialism,” said a 76-year-old Republican man from West Virginia.
“They are evil people,” said a 78-year-old Republican woman from South Carolina. “I would never vote for a Democrat.”
“Everything... absolutely everything about them and their views,” said a 34-year-old Republican man from New Jersey. “Trump could cure all cancer and they'd find a way to hate him for it. Democrats are just a bunch of Communists and Socialists in disguise.”
“They're too woke!!” said a 19-year-old Republican man from North Carolina. “They seem to not care about or love our country.”
Democrats were most likely to criticize their own party for not standing up to Trump or for what is right (24%) with another 10% saying they had nothing negative to say about their party and 5% mentioning that their party leadership was bad or old. Another 4% said they had unkept promises or flip-flopped and 4% voiced concerns about internal division and disunity.
“Don’t stand up to Trump enough,” said a 38-year-old Democratic woman from Indiana.
“They are too weak and unwilling to seriously stand up to the administration,” said a 30-year-old Democratic man from Virginia.
“I dislike that the Democratic Party always takes the high road, and does not fight dirty like the Republican Party does,” said a 50-year-old Democratic woman from Texas.
Independents were most likely to criticize Democrats for not standing up to Trump or what’s right (9%), opposing certain policies or calling them too woke (6%), saying they were out of touch (5%) or corrupt and self-serving (5%).
“The forceful use to push their extreme gender agenda when they have power, and their dislike for individual second amendment rights,” said a 36-year-old independent man from Washington.
“Their failure to speak out more strongly & take immediate action against the current administration,” said a 65-year-old independent woman from Wisconsin.
“Gone too far to the left, they are more in line with the communist and socialist parties,” said a 59-year-old independent woman from New York. “[They] believe in giving handouts to appease voters rather than helping them find job opportunities.”
Popular Reads
“Obsession with trivial issues not relevant to the general public, lack of fiscal accountability, willingness to tolerate civic disorder and crime,” said a 67-year-old independent woman from California.
What partisans say about Republicans
Democrats were most likely to say that Republicans were too loyal to Trump (25%), while another 10% said Republicans have no concern for ordinary people or are cruel, 9% mentioned authoritarianism, disregard for rule of law or anti-democratic actions and 8% mentioned racist or anti-diversity politics. Another 7% mentioned corruption and self-enrichment while 6% simply said everything.
“The blind allegiance to Trump no matter his actions,” said a 42-year-old Democratic woman from Montana.
“Their hateful beliefs, their leaders, the way they handle situations, the manipulations they believe themselves [that] they are making America great but are actually ruining it,” said a 28-year-old Democratic woman from California.
“How cruel they are,” said a 33-year-old Democratic man from Florida.
When asked about their own party, 15% of Republicans offered no criticism and 11% mentioned that they needed to support Trump and stand up to Democrats more. Another 7% mentioned a lack of unity and cohesive messaging and 5% said they most disliked Trump or the party’s loyalty to Trump.
“There’s nothing I don’t like!” said a 72-year-old Republican man from Indiana. “I LOVE everything about the Republican Party!”
“Nothing,” said a 64-year-old Republican woman from New York. “They are smart and think logically.”
“That we don't stand up enough to the Democratic Party,” said a 58-year-old Republican woman from California.
Independents said the worst thing about Republicans was their loyalty to Trump (10%), perceptions of corruption and self-enrichment (8%), dishonesty, hypocrisy or immorality (7%), a lack of concern for ordinary people or cruelty (6%), and ineffective and weak or unqualified leadership (5%).
“Completely corrupt and brainwashed into the cult of Trump. Making the country far less safe domestically and abroad,” said a 48-year-old independent man from Texas. “They are involved in horrible racism and nativism.”
“The Republican Party has been hijacked by Donald Trump,” said a 67-year-old independent man from Georgia. “Project 2025 is a plan that is clearly racist, homophobic, misogynistic, and unpopular among the majority of Americans.”
“There are no redeeming qualities,” said a 35-year old independent woman from Ohio. “Corrupt, predatory, manipulative, have historically tanked the economy each time they are in office, stifle scientific progress, enforce racist and sexist policies, and fail to maintain separation of church and state. Also actively supported the rise of fascism.”
Methodology – This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted among 1,267 U.S. adults overall and has an error margin of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Error margins are larger among subgroups.
This analysis was aided by the use of BTInsights, an AI open-end coding software that sorts responses into similar categories. Each coded response was reviewed by multiple human coders to ensure it was accurately categorized and then, if necessary, recategorized. Category names were also edited after a review of codes within each group.
Quotes from survey respondents have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.
See PDF for full results and detailed methodology.
ABC News’ Liz Schreier contributed to this report.
Email ABCNEWS.Polls@abc.com to be added to ABC News’ polling distribution list.
More ABC News polls can be found at abcnews.com. Media contacts: Jeannie Kedas and Van Scott.
Previous releases from this poll:
