Gallup has recently published two stories, both based upon an early September poll, that reveal just how little Americans trust Washington these days. The first story shows the radical decline in popular trust and confidence in the three branches of the federal government. The question posed to respondents dealt not with support for policies or particular political figures, but with the "trust and confidence" in the institutions themselves.
A breathtaking 28% of Americans have stated "none at all" as their level of confidence in the "Executive branch headed by the President." No president but Obama has ever scored this low in popular trust. At the height of Watergate, only 20% of respondents gave this lowest possible rating to an executive branch headed by Richard Nixon. The 14% of Americans in the September 2014 poll who expressed a "great deal" of confidence in the Executive Branch approached the lowest levels ever recorded by Gallup for this question.
A breathtaking 28% of Americans have stated "none at all" as their level of confidence in the "Executive branch headed by the President." No president but Obama has ever scored this low in popular trust. At the height of Watergate, only 20% of respondents gave this lowest possible rating to an executive branch headed by Richard Nixon. The 14% of Americans in the September 2014 poll who expressed a "great deal" of confidence in the Executive Branch approached the lowest levels ever recorded by Gallup for this question.
