Public trust in US gov't remains near historic low

Americans' trust in federal government remains near historic low after last year's general election, with only one in five saying they trust the government all the time or most of the time, according to a new poll released Wednesday.


Currently nearly seven in 10 U.S. adults say they trust the government to do what's right only some of the time and 11 percent say they never trust the government, the Pew Research Center poll finds.

The overall trust level in U.S. government is little different from it was before the 2016 general election. In October 2015, a Pew poll showed that 19 percent said they felt they could trust the government in Washington to do what's right always or most of the time.

No more than 30 percent have expressed trust in the federal government to do the right thing at any point over the last decade, marking the longest period of low trust in government since the question was first asked in 1958, the poll shows.

Overall, attitudes toward the federal government today are virtually identical to a year ago, the poll suggested. In March 2016, 57 percent of Americans said they felt frustrated with the federal government, while 21 percent said they were angry and 20 percent said they were basically content.

There also has been a substantial change in partisan attitudes regarding the country's future. Overall, 41 percent of Americans say they have "quite a lot" of confidence in the future of the United States, while 30 percent have some confidence.

The Pew Research Center conducted the national survey between April 5 and 11 among 1,501 adults.
    [china.org.cn/globaltimes.cn/Xinhua]
4/5/17