A new CBS poll showcased what Americans thought about some of the biggest topics of 2021 including the January 6 attack on the Capitol, coronavirus a year later, and Joe Biden’s first year in office.
CBS News said they polled “thousands” of people across the country on a variety of headlines and issues over the course of the year.
In January, they polled citizens following the January 6 attack on the Capitol and a staggering 71% of people said they felt U.S. Democracy was threated due to the incident.
In February, Joe Biden had been president for a month and of a bipartisan group polled, 61% approved of his performance. However, 71% of Republicans were still behind Donald Trump and said if anyone wanted to convict or impeach the 45th president, they were disloyal.
March marked a year into the coronavirus shutdown and many felt 2021 would be better but emotionally felt worse than they did at the start of the pandemic.
In April, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd and 75% of those polled felt that it was the right verdict to convict the former cop.
In May, Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a critic of Trump and his actions on January 6 and one of the few Republicans who voted to impeach him over the matter, was removed from her House leadership post and 80% of those polled agreed with the party’s decision to do so.
In June, Americans were polled by CBS News and were asked if they would like to stay home and work, go back to the office or have a mix of both. Of those polled, 43% said they would like to work from home, 31% wanted to return to office, while 26% wanted a mix of both.
In July, CBS News asked what should happen to the voting process and 38% said it should be easier, while 35% said it should not change and 27% said it should be harder.
The U.S. withdraw of Afghanistan dominated headlines in August and 44% of those polled said it went badly with just 5% saying it went very well. It also altered Biden’s approval rating among those polled with an even split of 50% among those who approved and disapproved of his job rating.
September marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and 66% of those polled believed it changed America forever while 29% said it changed “for a while” but not permanently with 5% saying they saw no change.
October was all about Biden’s Build Back Better plan which had amendments to infrastructure, health care, taxes, and universal pre-K. CBS News’ poll wasn’t about if Americans approved or disapproved of the plan but more about what they knew about it since it was chock full of new bills. Some of the least-heard items of those polled were lower drug prices, with only 40% aware; 40% heard about Medicare coverage for dental and vision, and 73% heard about paid family/medical leave.
In November, inflation grew and therefore Biden’s approval numbers dropped and 44% of those polled approved of his performance.
As 2021 came to a close, those polled in December felt optimistic about the future and 71% remained hopeful for a better 2022.