Yahoo Poll: The most serious problem facing the United States is no longer the new crown epidemic but violent crime

According to a recent poll released by Yahoo News, a growing number of Americans believe that the surge in violent crime is the most serious problem facing the United States compared to the new crown epidemic. This shift suggests that as the epidemic eases, policing and public safety will become central issues dominating U.S. politics.

The poll says only 32 percent of Americans today consider the new crown epidemic a serious problem, down from 61 percent last July, while at the same time, the number of people who consider crime a serious problem rose 10 points from 39 percent last year to 49 percent, making it the most worrisome issue, ahead of 39 percent for economic issues, 39 percent for political correctness and 41 percent for ethnic relations.

The U.S. has gradually emerged from the new crown epidemic, with new new crown cases, hospitalizations and deaths all down to their lowest levels in months, while violent crime has been on the rise. Although many states have returned to normalcy as vaccinations have increased, crime rates remain well above 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the number of murders in 32 U.S. cities rose 24 percent, aggravated assaults rose 7 percent and assaults with guns rose 22 percent compared to the same period last year.

Polls show that concerns about violent crime have remained steady across the political spectrum since last summer, but concerns about ethnic relations have slipped from their post-Floyd highs. In last year’s poll, 60 percent of Americans believed there was a systemic racism problem with police enforcement and 63 percent believed there was a systemic racism problem in the U.S. Today, the numbers are 51 percent and 55 percent, respectively. Last June, 57 percent of Americans supported the Black Lives Matter movement; today, only 43 percent support it and 45 percent oppose it. Overall, the percentage of Americans who believe ethnic relations is a “very big problem” in the United States has dropped 13 percentage points from last July.

When asked who has done a better job dealing with crime, 34 percent of Americans say Trump has done a better job than Biden’s 32 percent; among independents, 39 percent approve of the way Trump has handled crime, while only 23 percent support Biden.

The poll was completed by Yahoo News between May 24 and 26, with 1,588 U.S. adults surveyed and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.