Losing Confidence in Each Other

January 6, 2022

Chart showing percentage who say they have a certain level of trust and confidence in the wisdom of the American people when it comes to making political decisions.

So much research and commentary have focused on the decline of public trust in various institutions—the media, government, police, the justice system. But over the last decade, we have also seen an erosion of the confidence that Americans have in each other. According to the Pew Research Center, only 38 percent of Americans report they are confident that the “American people” will make wise political decisions. This represents a dramatic reversal from the past. In 1964, Gallup found that over three-quarters (77 percent) of Americans had trust and confidence in the wisdom of the American public when it came to making political decisions.

Survey Reports

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Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the AEI Survey Center on American Life conducted a national survey of Americans that explored a wide range of political attitudes, current voting preferences, and perceptions of the political parties.

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