Today's Poll Question: "Would America be better off as two countries?"
The Smerconish Podcast
September 8, 2026
Michael examines the provocative idea of an American “disunion” through two very different lenses: Kurt Andersen’s new novel 'The Break-Up', which imagines a divided United States after civil conflict, and Syracuse professor Ryan Griffiths’ research into real-world secession movements and why they...
Speakers Michael Smerconish
TopicsPoliticsNewsDaily News
SPEAKER_1 (0:01)
Get ready to vote on today's daily poll question at smerconish.com.
SPEAKER_2 (0:05)
But first, Michael explains it for you right here.
SPEAKER_1 (0:08)
Welcome to The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM for Independent Minds.
Michael Smerconish (0:14)
Hello, hello. Summer was over in a flash, wasn't it? Holy smokes. Today is the 8th of September, Tuesday, the 8th of September, three days away from the 25th anniversary of September 11 I've got a really special program planned, very excited for you to hear it, and a very special podcast for Friday as well. More on that to come. So I have been off for a week. It was nice to be off. I'd love to tell you that I caught a lot of R&R. I didn't, but I got a lot of great work done. That's about to pay dividends, I think, both on radio and television and on YouTube. We had good voting in my absence. I, of course, wrote the poll questions every day, as I always do. But the votes were steady. Some of them were stellar.
A week ago Saturday, at a time when the Lindsay Clancy jury was still deliberating, I asked, would you find her guilty of murder? 45,000 people voted. 52.31% said yes. I thought this was interesting as well, as we are now at the outset of the college season, and here comes the NFL. Would you let your child play tackle football?
29,000 and Change voted on that, and it was 70, 30, no. What else did I find of interest? I found this nail-biter of interest. Would a third impeachment of Donald Trump strengthen or weaken him politically? 32,000 and Change voted that day. 50.1% said weaken. 49.9% said strengthen.
Yesterday, in honor of Labor Day and thinking about labor, I asked, should labor unions in the US have more influence than they do today, less influence, or about the same?
52.5% said more. 33.71% said the same, and 13.79% said less. I don't think that's a result that I would have received had I polled on that question, say, 10 years ago. But even among Republicans, even among Republicans, growing numbers for belief in the strength of unions. Today's poll question, it will require an explanation, which I shall provide in just a moment. Would America be better off as two countries? Would America be better off as two countries?
SPEAKER_1 (2:40)
The Smerconish Podcast from SiriusXM.
Michael Smerconish (2:43)
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So in my daily newsletter, I have a note every day. I trust that you're a registrant for the newsletter. It's free and it's worthy, and you get a special note from me each day, usually on the news of the day. But today is different. Today's really special. And here's what I wrote. I said, the kids are back at school, football season is underway, the final sprint toward election day has begun, and summer is unofficially over. Me? I never made it to the Jersey Shore. I fished only once in the Poconos, I golfed just twice, and my vegetable garden, it needs a good weeding.
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