Mark Penn, founder, chair and CEO of marketing network Stagwell, told a gathering of the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, which is housed in the College of Professional Studies (CPS), that despite a broad sense the United States is “living in revolutionary times and on the verge of civil wars,” Americans’ feelings about the government haven’t changed much in the past year.
“Surprisingly there is really not a lot of change,” Penn said. “They like the military a lot. They like the police. They like most institutions. They are clearly unhappy at what is going on with immigration.
“What happened is last year people were really upset about the economy. They were upset about things in general, and they tended to rate a lot of the institutions somewhat lower than they had in the previous years. This year, they changed not that much. [Americans] kind of went back to the standard low,” said Penn, who is also the founder of the Society of Presidential Pollsters, now called the Mark Penn Presidential Pollsters.
Penn was speaking at GSPM’s annual reception where experts and political analysts provide critical insights into where the Americans stand on critical issues, including elections and government performance. The event, titled “Do Americans Still Have Confidence in Their Government,” was held Wednesday evening at the Hall of States in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol.
