A new survey of Americans about discrimination in the U.S. reveals Republicans see a lot less of it than Democrats do — unless it’s directed at them. Still, a majority of Republicans said that trans people face at least some discrimination and half said that gay and lesbian people do too, even as they support politicians working to increase that discrimination.

Perceptions of discrimination against racial and ethnic groups – Black people, Hispanic people, Asian people, and white people – have declined over the past year among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. The change coincides with last November’s elections.

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Americans are more LGBTQ+ – and more bisexual in particular – than ever.

The Pew Research Center survey of 3,589 U.S. adults was conducted from April 7 to 13, 2025.

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While the partisan patterns are consistent with previous annual surveys, the shift among Republicans is notable — for where they don’t see discrimination and where they do.

The survey found virtually no changes in the views of Democrats and Democratic leaners over the last year.

Overall, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say that most of the groups that were asked about face at least some discrimination, but there are stark differences when it comes to groups that traditionally lean Republican themselves.

Republicans believe there is more discrimination than Democrats do against White people (55% vs. 21%), Evangelical Christians (57% vs. 31%), men (42% vs. 27%), and people who are religious (63% vs. 51%).

The starkest differences came with their views of discrimination against people who are gay and lesbian (50% of Republicans believe there is a lot or some vs. 90% Democrats who do), Black people (54% vs. 94%), and immigrants who are legally in the U.S. (45% vs. 84%).

The share of Republicans who say there is discrimination against gay and lesbian people has declined compared to previous years, down from 64% in 2017 and 59% in 2021.

In the first year Pew Research has asked about transgender discrimination, about nine-in-ten Democrats (91%) and six-in-ten Republicans (63%) say transgender people face at least some discrimination.

As the current administration continues its campaign to erase trans identity from the federal government and society at large, Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say transgender people experience “a lot” of discrimination (70% vs. 26%).  

When it comes to discrimination against men, more than half of Republican men (51%) believe they experience some level of discrimination. Much smaller shares of Republican women (31%), Democratic men (28%), and Democratic women (26%) share their view.

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