Are Americans Losing Interest in Governance?

By: Ella Crowther, Communications Specialist

With the passing of President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, immigration protests in L.A., and national “No Kings” protests in the United States, governance in the United States remains a topic highly discussed. Nevertheless, the conversation around governance in the United States is rapidly shifting. Last week, the topic of “governance” was the largest driver of impact in news conversations about the U.S. government. This week, the biggest topic is “business continuity.” More striking are trends related to democracy, freedom of speech, and other principles integral to governance. Last week, RepVault showed “democracy” as a diminishing topic, with it now completely gone in RepVault’s analysis of top topics in the news this week. Are Americans burn-out from the ever-changing political landscape? Are Americans becoming watchful of what they say?

It seems, though, that the American public is far from burn-out. Coverage around American protests has continued to increase over the past 3 months. In April, racial justice protests made up 6% of the conversation around protests in the United States. In May, it rose to 21%. PolecatX shows us, as well, that June has already brought about a 30% increase in Anti-Trump activism. As for being watchful, RepVault reveals that topics being discussed in traditional news differs from what’s being discussed through social media. The largest emerging theme from traditional news sources is cryptocurrency, while the largest emerging theme from social media sources is freedom of speech. See the difference in emerging topics below.

RepVault graphs showing emerging topics in regards to the Government of the United States

The Takeaway? A rapidly changing political landscape and rollbacks in U.S. policy means that the conversations across media, stakeholders and social media are also shifting. Nevertheless, stakeholders and consumers are looking to companies to uphold their own governance and act responsibly. Now, clients are more dependent on our data to monitor their reputation and expectations from stakeholders, balancing ever-changing expectations as a company operating in 2025 under intense geopolitical conflict.