US more deeply divided after election: Poll

A new poll shows that over 8-in-10 Americans say the country has become more deeply divided on major issues following a presidential election featuring the two least liked major-party candidates in recent history.

The CNN/ORC poll released Sunday indicates that 85 percent of people in the US say the country is more deeply divided this year than in the past several years.

The survey also shows that more than half of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way democracy is working in the US, after President-elect Donald Trump won the presidency despite losing in the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.

The poll's findings suggest that a growing number of Americans say the US must modify the Constitution so that presidents are elected by popular vote rather than the Electoral College.

And although Clinton won the popular vote, Americans' views of her haven't softened post election. Overall, 57 percent say they have an unfavorable view of her, and 40 percent favorable.

That is Clinton’s lowest favorability rating since immediately after the Republican National Convention in July, and represents the second lowest since her husband Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992.

A Gallup poll released last week found similar results to the CNN poll, showing that a record number of Americans believe the United States is more divided than united.

The survey, conducted November 9-13, found that 77 percent of Americans, a new high, believe the nation is divided on the most important values, while 21 percent believe it is united.

Americans are less optimistic about Trump bringing the country together compared to the last two presidents, Gallup said.

Large protests have erupted nationwide in response to Trump's election victory following a contentious presidential campaign involving two of the least popular candidates in recent US history.

Trump won the US presidency despite extreme unpopularity among minorities, underscoring deep national divisions that have fuelled incidents of racial and political confrontation across the country.

The New York businessman was elected to the White House with 8 percent of the black vote, 28 percent of the Hispanic vote and 27 percent of the Asian-American vote, according to a Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll.

The racial polarization behind Trump’s victory over Clinton has helped set the stage for ethnic and political tensions that have surfaced repeatedly since the election.

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