Why Trump cannot make Americans happy

A loneliness epidemic is gripping the country, particularly among young adults, with one in five reporting they have no close friends. More Americans are dining alone, living alone, and spending less time engaging in meaningful social interactions. Political polarisation is at an all-time high, creating two completely separate realities, where people see opposing views as existential threats. Perhaps most alarming, deaths of despair—suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related deaths—are still rising in the US, even as they decline in other countries. The most disillusioned group isn’t Trump or Biden supporters but abstainers—those who don’t vote at all—who report the lowest levels of happiness and the highest levels of alienation. Simply put, America is becoming wealthier but lonelier, more divided, and more distrustful—a toxic combination that keeps dragging national happiness down.