Since the 1970s, the Gallup Poll has asked “I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one–a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?” … I don’t think anyone will be surprised […] Read more »
Americans now live in two worlds, each with its own reality
… It’s unclear whether Trump is reinforcing existing skepticism about institutions such as the media and the government or whether he’s creating new strains. It’s probably both. As Wonkblog’s Chris Ingraham noted Saturday, the lack of confidence in traditional institutions has spiked since 2008 — at least among Republicans. Trump […] Read more »
Americans’ Confidence in Government Takes Positive Turn
Americans express as much or slightly more confidence in each of the three branches of the federal government than they did in 2014 and 2015, when their confidence fell to record or near-record lows. CONT. Lydia Saad, Gallup Read more »
Americans’ Trust in Mass Media Sinks to New Low
Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last […] Read more »
Americans’ Knowledge of the Branches of Government Is Declining
Only a quarter of Americans can name all three branches of government, the poorest showing on that question in a half-dozen years, a new survey on civic knowledge has found. Nearly a third of Americans cannot name any of the three branches of government, according to the survey conducted by […] Read more »
Trump’s good political timing: Younger Americans are shunning democracy
… Many of us in the media have portrayed Trump as a uniquely dangerous threat to democracy, an aspiring strongman with little regard for checks on executive power by other branches of government, the media or the Constitution. And many of us are shocked that Trump, through charisma alone, has […] Read more »