Amid Pandemic, Confidence in Key U.S. Institutions Surges

Americans express higher levels of confidence than they did last year in two U.S. institutions that have been particularly challenged during the coronavirus pandemic — the medical system and public schools. … At the same time that several institutions have engendered greater public confidence, one — the police — stands […] Read more »

Will the Coronavirus Kill What’s Left of Americans’ Faith in Washington?

… Long before the coronavirus crisis, another one was brewing: a slow but steady decline in how many Americans trust the federal government. That number has been declining for decades, through Democratic and Republican administrations. And in 2019, it reached one of the lowest points since the measure began: Just […] Read more »

Destroying trust in the media, science, and government has left America vulnerable to disaster

For America to minimize the damage from the current pandemic, the media must inform, science must innovate, and our government must administer like never before. Yet decades of politically-motivated attacks discrediting all three institutions, taken to a new level by President Trump, leave the American public in a vulnerable position. […] Read more »

Harvard Youth Poll: Joe Biden significantly leads Donald Trump

A new national poll of America’s 18- to 29- year-olds by the Institute of Politics (IOP) at Harvard Kennedy School finds that former Vice President Joe Biden significantly leads President Donald Trump all young Americans (+23), and his advantage among likely voters (+30) is comparable to what Senator Bernie Sanders […] Read more »

Views on the White House, Congress, and the Country’s Leaders

​Few Americans have a high degree of trust in most of the country’s institutions and leadership. Overall, 43% approve of how Trump is handling his job as president and 56% disapprove. Twenty percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, and 79% disapprove. CONT. Associated Press-NORC Center for Public […] Read more »

How Did Americans Lose Faith in Everything?

… When we think about our problems, we tend to imagine our society as a vast open space filled with individuals who are having trouble linking hands. And so we talk about breaking down walls, building bridges, leveling playing fields or casting unifying narratives. But what we are missing is […] Read more »