US satisfaction level at highest point since before 2016 election

Americans today are the most satisfied with the way things are going in the country as they have been since right before the 2016 election, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

Thirty-seven percent of Americans said they were satisfied in May after North Korea announced it would dismantle its nuclear testing site and engage in diplomatic talks with President Trump. That number is up from 29 percent last month.

The same 37 percent satisfaction level was measured right before the November 2016 election, and 36 percent were satisfied right after President Trump’s State of the Union address in February.

{mosads} Gallup has not registered a higher level of satisfaction since September 2005, when it stood at 39 percent.

In the new survey, satisfaction among Republicans rose from 57 percent to 63 percent, as well as from 26 percent to 35 percent among independents.

Democrats’ satisfaction levels remained essentially unchanged since the last poll, with only 14 percent saying they are satisfied with the way things were going, according to Gallup.

The current 37 percent satisfaction level matches the historical average, which dates back to 1979, when the group first began using the question.

The new Gallup poll, conduced from May 1-10, surveyed 1,024 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.