How Consumers Are Feeling After the Election

Most presidential elections can feel all-consuming for the average American, but with record political ad spending, multiple assassination attempts, a last-minute candidate swap and a divisive winner in Donald Trump, the 2024 cycle was uniquely so. And findings from a new Morning Consult survey conducted just after the race was called last week confirm this sentiment.

Petered out on politics 

We asked U.S. adults to rate how they were feeling about the election and politics in general on a scale of energized to exhausted, and a plurality (32%) said the latter. 

That said, moods varied along both party and gender lines: Notably higher shares of men and Republicans reported feeling “full of energy” or “somewhat energized” than did women and Democrats. 

Much was written about the potential for 2024 to be a “gender gap” election — and exit polls show that, in many ways, it was. A majority of women turned out for Kamala Harris, who made reproductive rights a focus of her candidacy. Men did the same for Trump, who leaned heavily into themes of masculinity throughout his campaign and made frequent appearances on male-centric podcasts and social media channels. 

This pattern was particularly prominent among young people, which previous Morning Consult research suggests may, in part, be related to their prolific internet use: Our February 2024 poll found that the share of Gen Z adults who said using social media has made them feel more negatively toward men (30%) and women (22%) was notably higher than all U.S. adults — and every other major demographic group.

Zooming out, post-election exhaustion means that brands must be mindful when messaging to consumers — especially women consumers — in the coming months. Americans are asked to do and think about a lot of heavy things amid a presidential contest, so any calls to action should be respectful and anchored to explicit consumer benefits.

Political indifference extends to the private sector

Americans’ current mood of malaise is at play elsewhere, too — namely in how closely they are examining the political behaviors of the companies they shop from. 

Just over half of U.S. adults (57%) said they pay “a lot” or “some” attention to the ethics and politics of brands, a figure that is roughly equal to the share who said the same when we last polled on the topic in April 2024 (54%).

Additionally, no notable post-election swings were observed in the share of Americans who said they trust corporations to “do the right thing” and who said they have recently boycotted a company for political reasons. Both figures remained on par with historical levels at 42% and 18%, respectively. 

These results, coupled with the nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults who want companies to stay out of politics entirely following the election of Trump, paint a picture of consumers as somewhat disengaged. And while this sentiment may shift as time goes on and another Trump administration gets underway, it means that, at present, companies’ best bet is to limit any external political engagement while the dust settles on the election and Americans prepare for a second Trump era. 

However, some industries may have an easier time doing so than others. 

Business associations with Trump

When asked which sectors stand to benefit from a second Trump presidency, U.S. adults most frequently cited financial services (52%) and technology (40%). In an open-ended follow up question asking about any specific companies viewed as particularly supportive of Trump, big tech brands were also often mentioned.

This association between Trump and Silicon Valley is a surprising — and new — development. (Just four years ago, then-president Trump tried to ban TikTok from the United States.) One factor driving it is the president-elect’s recent alliance with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who campaigned vigorously for Trump during the final weeks of the election. 

Technology brands have always enjoyed broad popularity among consumers, especially younger ones. But a growing perception of closeness with the uniquely divisive Trump may threaten this position. 

Ultimately, the new Trump era brings with it many unknowns. In any such period, brands — in the technology sector or otherwise — should follow recommendations based on what past Morning Consult research consistently has shown is preferred by consumers: keeping a tight focus on core business activities, rather than on external advocacy.