Sixteen Percent Of Americans Want To Leave US Forever, Per Gallup Poll
A record-breaking number of Americans would like to get out of the United States forever. The uptick began after President Donald Trump took office nearly two years ago. Instead of making American great again, for many Trump is making it unbearable. The poll calls this the “Trump effect.”
According to a report from the Huffington Post, a full 16 percent of U.S. citizens reported they’d like to leave the country forever. That number represents six and five percent higher than those who wanted to go during the administrations of Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Under Obama, 10 percent wanted out while 11 percent wanted to leave under Bush.
Among those who want to leave the most are women, younger people, and people who have lower incomes. Those over 50 feel far less inclined to go at this point.
Perhaps not surprisingly, one out of every five women, a full 20 percent, reported a strong desire to move to somewhere else while only 13 percent of men felt the desire to go. These numbers bring a marked change because, during other administrations, the number of men and women who wanted to leave was mainly the same. Multiple times since his candidacy and after he took office, details about Trump’s misdeeds against women have made headlines. The now president’s infamous talk with Billy Bush along with all the details about the Stormi Daniels payoff combined with his three marriages does not show a strong history of treating women well, which may be the cause for the growing discrepancy between men and women who want to leave the country.
Among 15- to 29-year-olds, a stunning 30 percent no longer want to call the U.S. their home, and when divided along gender, 40 percent of women in this age group want to go compared with 20 percent of men. Meanwhile, for those whose ages fall between 30- to 49, nineteen percent would rather live somewhere else. Another group that is ready to call it quits in the U.S. is those whose incomes are lower.
Of course, wanting to leave and actually moving are two different things. The Gallup poll noted, “people’s desire to migrate is typically much higher than their intention to do so ? as such, it is unlikely that Americans will be flocking to the Canadian border.” In fact, since Trump took office, Canada only reports only a “modest uptick” in U.S. citizens moving to the northern country. Unlike the United States on its southern border with Mexico, Canada does not seem inclined to build a physical barrier on its U.S. border — at least at this time.
The number of people who’d like to leave is relatively average on a global scale, but it’s high for the U.S.’s recent history.
