Americans' Trust in Politicians Hits 10-Year High.
Byline: Jim Norman
Synopsis: Fifty-five percent of Americans say they trust politicians, the highest since 2008. Trust has jumped among GOP supporters and leaners in the past year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Fifty-five percent of Americans said in early September that they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in politicians -- a 10-year high that is up seven percentage points from a year ago and 13 points from the record low of 42% in September 2016.
The poll was conducted Sept. 4-12, while initial hearings were being held on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court but before news stories surfaced concerning accusations that he had committed sexual assault as a teenager in 1982. Hearings last week on that allegation have erupted into a partisan battle that has left Democratic and Republican senators accusing each other of subverting the nomination process to score political points.
In the early September poll, Gallup asked respondents, "How much trust and confidence do you have in general in men and women in political life in this country?" The increase this year in those expressing a "great deal" (6%) or "fair amount" (49%) of confidence pushed the combined total above 50% for the first time since it stood at a near-record high of 66% in September 2008. The question was asked three times in the 1970s, twice in the 1990s, and every year since 2001 except 2006. The highest combined "great deal" and "fair amount" total across the entire span of the trend was 68% measured in 1974, and the lowest was 42% in 2016.
The question is included in Gallup's annual Governance poll which measures the public's views on the role of government and how well federal, state and local governments are performing.
Trust and confidence in American politicians have grown substantially in each of the last two years while remaining fairly stable among Democrats. Republicans have been generally less likely than Democrats to trust politicians since Democrat Barack Obama succeeded Republican George W. Bush as president in 2009 at a time when the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate. Republicans have continued in most years to show less trust even after Republicans gained control of the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014 and the presidency in 2016.
Only a third (33%) of Republicans and independents who leaned toward the Republican Party, compared with 55% of Democrats and leaners, said they trusted politicians in 2016, the final year of...
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