United States public trust in institutions hits historic lows

Recent polling data indicates that public trust in American institutions has reached historic lows, with a significant trend toward partisan-based assessment. According to Gallup, confidence in various institutions is near record lows, with only 9% of the public trusting Congress, 27% trusting the Supreme Court, and 45% trusting the police.

The data reveals a widening partisan gap, particularly regarding the criminal justice system. While the gap in police trust between Republicans and Democrats was only 9 percentage points in 2013, it has expanded to 45 percentage points, the largest recorded gap for a non-elected institution. This suggests that trust is increasingly determined by political affiliation rather than institutional behavior.

Additionally, a Pew Research poll shows that only 17% of Americans express trust in the U.S. government.