A significant majority of American adults have confidence in the military to act in the interest of the public, in stark contrast to much smaller percentages that exhibit trust in the news media and elected officials.
According to data released this week by the Pew Research Center, 79 percent of U.S. adults have confidence in the military to act in the interests of the American public, including 33 percent who express "a great deal" of confidence in the American armed forces.
Only 15 percent of Americans say they have "not too much" confidence in the military, and only 5 percent have no confidence at all.
The share of Americans who express confidence in the military is more than two times that showing confidence in the news media and nearly three times the share displaying confidence in elected officials.
While considerable trust in the U.S. military spans all age groups, older Americans are more likely to voice trust in armed forces to act in the public’s interest.
The data comes at a time when the U.S. military is continuing to meet commitments abroad despite budget constraints and force reductions. Currently, thousands of U.S. forces remain in Afghanistan to carry out a years-long mission there, and the U.S. is also focused on its train-and-assist mission to help local fighters liberate Iraq and Syria from Islamic State control. The U.S. military also maintains a forward presence in Europe and the Indo-Asia-Pacific to deter provocations from other powers.
American adults express similar trust in scientists to act in the interest of the public, especially medical scientists. According to the data, 76 percent of U.S. adults hold confidence in scientists in general, and 84 percent in medical scientists in particular.
The data for these three groups stands in stark contrast to that concerning the American public’s confidence in the news media, business leaders, and elected officials.
Only 38 percent of American adults have at least a fair amount of confidence in the media, including a mere 5 percent that have "a great deal" of confidence in news outlets’ to act in the interest of the public. A majority of 61 percent, meanwhile, have either little or no confidence in the news media to serve the public.
Bias in the news media has long been a source of debate and criticism. The new data comes at a time when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is openly accusing the media of "rigging" the election in favor of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.
The trends are worse for elected officials.
Only 27 percent of Americans are confident that elected officials will act in their interests, and only 3 percent express a great deal of trust in these representatives. In contrast, a whopping 73 percent of U.S. adults have little or no confidence in elected officials to act in the public’s interest.
Confidence in the federal government has sank to near-record lows over the past year, as gridlock in Washington has stalled cooperation on the federal budget and a number of other issues.
The numbers are also discouraging for business leaders, in which 58 percent of American adults have little or no trust.