US institutions experience all-time low in public trust.

Americans’ Trust in Major U.S. Institutions Hits All-Time Low

Americans’ trust in major U.S. institutions, including the presidency and Congress, is at an all-time low since at least 1979, according to polling from Gallup.

New data from Gallup reveals a concerning trend. Only 26 percent of Americans, on average, have confidence in the country’s major institutions. This represents a 10 percentage point decrease from 2020 and marks the lowest point since Gallup first started asking respondents about these institutions in 1979. Confidence in the presidency stands at 26 percent, while just 8 percent express confidence in Congress.

The highest-rated institutions are small businesses and the military, with confidence levels of 65 and 60 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the police, public schools, large technology companies, and big business have earned their lowest level of confidence ever recorded by Gallup.

Interestingly, there are substantial partisan gaps when it comes to confidence in certain institutions, as reported by Gallup:

The widest partisan differences are seen for the presidency (39 points) and public schools (34 points), about which Democrats are much more positive than Republicans. Democrats also express substantially more confidence than Republicans in organized labor and newspapers.

Republicans have significantly more confidence than Democrats when it comes to the Supreme Court (28 points), the church or organized religion (24 points), and the police (20 points).

This data follows a previous poll in April that found Americans lack trust in economic leaders, including President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to effectively address the economy.