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2016 was so awful that fewer Americans believe in Santa, poll finds
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

2016 was so awful that fewer Americans believe in Santa, poll finds

The 2016 election cycle was so awful that fewer Americans now believe in Santa Claus, according to Public Policy Polling.

According to the polling firm, when they asked Americans if they believed in Santa following the 2012 election, 52 percent said they did believe in Santa, while 45 percent said they did not.

This year, however, the percentage of respondents who said they believe in Santa dropped to 31 percent. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they don’t believe in Santa.

The disbelief is bipartisan — Democrats who believe in Santa dropped from 55 percent in 2012 to 32 percent in 2016, while Republicans dropped from 52 percent to 34 percent.

“It doesn’t matter whether you voted for Clinton or Trump,” Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said in a statement. “Everyone is feeling a little bit less hope and joy after this year.”

The poll also found that 70 percent of Americans believe they’ve earned a spot on Santa’s “Nice List,” compared to 8 percent who think they belong on the “Naughty List.”

Americans aren’t optimistic about Santa’s view of President-elect Donald Trump. Only 35 percent of voters think that Trump earned a spot on the "Nice List," while 47 percent think he's on the “Naughty List.”

The polling firm also said that only 34 percent of Americans think there's a “war on Christmas,” compared to 51 percent who don't. Trump voters are more likely to believe that there is a “war on Christmas,” with 60 percent responding that they feel there is a war on the holiday. Trump voters are so concerned about the “war on Christmas” that 24 percent said it worries them more than a potential war with China would.

The poll found that more Americans prefer the phrase “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays,” but most Americans say it “doesn't make a difference.”

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