Trust is at an all-time low in America right now — in both political leaders and the American public at large.
A recent Gallup poll revealed that trust in both groups are down about 20 percentage points since 2004. Fifty-six percent of those surveyed trust in the American people to make democratic decisions while only 42 percent have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in political leaders.
14-point gap
The 14-point gap in trust between the American people and political leaders is typical, Gallup says, and matches the trend that began during the Watergate era.
Along party lines, democrats are more likely than republicans to say they trust political leaders. Democrats are leading trust levels at 61 percent with republicans trailing at 37 percent. Independents are the least trusting of the major political groups (30 percent).
And while the American people trust their political leaders less, the same is true for the trust political leaders have in the American people. All three major party groups have “significantly less trust in the American people today than in the mid-2000s” with trust levels ranging from 53 to 58 percent, Gallup reported.
The study — which is conducted annually in September — also showed that trust in the mass media has continued its decline while trust in the three branches of federal government and in state and local governments has improved.
At no point in the last four decades have Americans expressed less trust than they do today in U.S. political leaders or in the American people who voted those leaders into office, according to Gallup. (TAB)
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