- Just 54% of Americans say they drink alcohol — the lowest level recorded in 86 years.
- That’s driven in part by a steep decline in alcohol consumption among self-identified Republicans.
- President Donald Trump is famously a teetotaler, citing his brothers’ struggles with alcoholism.
The number of Republicans who say they drink has plummeted by nearly 20 percentage points in just two years.
That’s according to new polling from Gallup, which found that just 54% of US adults say that they drink — the lowest level since the firm began polling the issue in 1939.
The percentage of Republicans who say they drink alcohol fell from 65% in 2023 to 46% in 2025 — a decline of 19 percentage points.
By contrast, consumption levels have held relatively steady among Democrats, falling from 64% in 2023 to 61% in 2025. Among independents, there’s been a six percentage point decline.
According to Gallup, there’s been little difference between the parties when it comes to alcohol consumption — until now.
Interestingly, Republicans are less likely than Democrats to view moderate drinking as unhealthy. 58% of Democrats say so, while just 44% of Republicans agree.
Overall, an all-time high of 53% say that moderate drinking is unhealthy.
It’s not clear why Republicans are drinking less than Democrats, but President Donald Trump — like President Joe Biden before him — is a teetotaler. He has said that he’s avoided alcohol in part due to the struggles of his late brother, Fred.
Alcohol consumption as a whole has fallen in recent years, sliding from a high of 67% of US adults in 2022. The trend has extended to Silicon Valley, where nine young founders recently told Business Insider that they had cut back on drinking — or stopped altogether.
The Gallup poll included 1,002 US adults and was conducted between July 7 and 21.
