In 5 Americans Trusts The Government

Approximately 71 percent of GOP voters angry at government view Carson favorably, according to the Pew Research Center survey. In 1958, the American National Election Study found that 73 percent of Americans said they always or mostly trusted the government to do what is right, Pew reported.

Only 19 percent of Americans say they can trust the government always or most of the time, among the lowest levels of the past half-century, according to Pew.

Pew surveyed 6,004 Americans by phone from August 27 to October 4 for the poll, which carries a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. And 75% say there is a major role for government in protecting the environment. Four out of five Republicans (and Republican-leaning independents) told Pew they prefer a smaller government with fewer services, while only three out of ten said so among Democrats and Democratic leaners.

Per usual, though, when it gets down to specific functions of government, Americans (including Republicans) give the feds more leeway.

The American public is generally as distrustful and dissatisfied with the federal government as ever.

The biggest divide is on the size and scope of government.

While negative opinions of politicians are not new, the perception that elected officials don’t care about what people think is now held more widely than it has been in recent years.

When it comes to responding to natural disasters, for example, 82 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of Democrats say the government does a good job. Further reflecting the popularity of Trump’s message, 81% said that it was the responsibility of government to manage the immigration system – but only 28% said it was doing a good job in the area.

With his explosive anti-establishment rhetoric, attacks on political correctness and deeply personal swipes at rival candidates, Trump has successfully tapped into this palpable fury in sectors of the Republican primary electorate and has skipped unharmed through controversies – like branding undocumented immigrants from Mexico rapists and criminals and backing a database for Muslims in the United States – that might have ended more traditional campaigns.

During the 2013 government shutdown the number of Republicans who indicated they were “angry” at the government crept up to 38 percent, the highest number for any party in decades.

Predictably, more Republicans are angry with the government than Democrats (32 percent and 12 percent, respectively), but Republicans have had a historically low level of trust in the government during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Despite all the skepticism, most Americans still trust one another more than those in office, highlighting the sharp disconnect between lawmakers and those they serve. They were also the only group in which those who feel their side usually wins came out on top: 46 percent said they feel as though their side wins more often than it loses. However, just as many view the typical American as intelligent.