Americans' trust in major U.S. institutions, including the presidency and Congress, is at an all-time low since at least 1979, according to polling from Gallup.
New data from Gallup show just 26 percent of Americans on average have confidence in the country's major institutions. The figure represents a 10 percentage point decrease from 2020, and the lowest point since Gallup first asked respondents about the institutions in 1979. Americans' confidence in the presidency is at 26 percent, and just 8 percent expressed confidence in Congress.
The highest-rated institutions are small businesses and the military, at 65 and 60 percent, respectively. The police, public schools, large technology companies and big business earned their lowest level of confidence ever recorded by Gallup.
Some of the institutions see a substantial partisan gap, Gallup reported:
The widest partisan differences are seen for the presidency (39 points) and public schools (34 points), about which Democrats are much more positive than Republicans. Democrats also express substantially more confidence than Republicans in organized labor and newspapers.
Republicans have significantly more confidence than Democrats when it comes to the Supreme Court (28 points), the church or organized religion (24 points), and the police (20 points).
The data come after polling in April found Americans have little trust in economic leaders, including President Joe Biden and Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, to fix the economy.