There was a time when a large majority of Americans (77%) trusted the federal government. But that was 1964. Today, just 17% say they trust the government, according to the latest survey from Pew Research Center.
Given the number of times the federal government has lied to the public and mismanaged the economy, it’s easy to understand why. While trust in government has been low for decades, only once has it been this low. The decline in trust by party affiliation is even more telling.
Toward the end of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office, 26% of Republicans or those who lean Republican trusted the government, compared with only 9% of Democrats or those who lean Democrat. Of course, those numbers were largely reversed when President Joe Biden was in the White House.
How Did We Get Here?
The 77% peak was reached in October 1964. Lyndon Johnson had been president for nearly a year, but the Vietnam War was escalating. The Johnson administration claimed the United States was winning. But it didn’t appear that way to many Americans who increasingly opposed the war.
A multiyear Gallup poll asked the public:
“In view of developments since we entered the fighting in Vietnam, do you think the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to fight in Vietnam?”
In 1965, 61% said it was not a mistake. By 1971, that number had dropped to 28%. Subsequent revelations, especially the release of the Pentagon Papers, confirmed the public’s suspicions that the administration had not been honest, justifying the growing public mistrust.
Public trust dropped even faster under President Richard Nixon—from 62% to 36%—especially as the Watergate scandal consumed the country. And both Nixon and President Jimmy Carter grossly mismanaged the economy. Nixon imposed price controls to try to stem inflation and failed. Inflation was 5.5% his first year in office but 11.1% when he resigned.
Following Nixon, President Gerald Ford proposed a tax hike of 5% and created a useless, voluntary inflation-fighting organization: WIN — Whip Inflation Now. Inflation averaged about 8% for his 2.5 years in office.
Then came Carter, a decent man who was in way over his head in both economic and foreign policy. Inflation continued to climb, hitting 13.5% in 1980. In addition, the Islamic Republic of Iran attacked the U.S. embassy, taking 66 American hostages, most of whom were held until President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January 1981. Under Carter, public trust in government declined to a then-historic low of 26%.
But Reagan changed all that. He stopped the 16-year decline, and public trust rose to 40% in his third year in office and 44% after he passed long-overdue tax cut legislation in 1986. Inflation dropped from 10.3% in 1981, Reagan’s first year, to an amazing 1.9% in 1986, and then increased slightly. No wonder public trust was improving.
Then George H.W. Bush became president. Under Bush, the savings and loan financial crisis took center stage, inflation went back up to 5.4% in 1990, but then began to decline as the country entered a short recession. Importantly, Bush also broke his famous campaign pledge:
“Read my lips. No new taxes!”
That decision once again undermined public trust, which had dropped to 22% by the 1992 presidential election. Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, though with only 43% of the popular vote, meaning a large majority of voters didn’t trust him to begin with.
Public trust went sideways because of Clinton’s failed attempt to remake the healthcare system, mandating that every American have “Hillarycare.” The effort was so unpopular that Republicans took control of the House and Senate in the 1994 midterm election—the first time Republicans held both houses in nearly 40 years. Interestingly, under divided government, public trust began to rise again, reaching 40% by the 2000 presidential election.
When President George W. Bush took office in January 2001, public trust was on the rise, peaking at 49% the month after 9/11. But a short recession hit, followed by Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, which, along with Afghanistan, turned into another round of costly, endless wars. Bush claimed the Iraq invasion was necessary to eliminate Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, but none were discovered, again undermining public trust. By the presidential election in 2008, the Great Recession (2007–2009) and the government spending needed to prosecute the wars had pushed public trust back down to 24%.
President Barack Obama took public trust even lower. His idea of “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor” and his announcement that he had “a pen and a phone” and would bypass Congress to achieve his objectives once again confirmed the public’s fears that they could not trust a government that was seemingly broken. For all the Democrats’ fond memories of the Obama years, public trust fell to 15% by 2011 and was only slightly higher when he left office.
Roller Coaster Ride Under Trump and Biden
During President Donald Trump’s first term, trust in government edged down initially, but then ticked up to 24% during the pandemic, which seems counterintuitive given all the criticism he received from Democrats and the media about the government’s response. Trust in government went on a steady decline under President Joe Biden, bottoming out around 18%. How could voters trust the government when federal officials repeatedly denied Biden’s mental or physical decline—even though the public could see it daily?
Public trust declined slightly in Trump’s first year back. The widespread imposition of tariffs last April rattled the markets and public confidence. Investors are looking for stability and predictability, which is hard to do under widespread tariffs.
3 Ways to Build Trust
1. End Costly, Prolonged Wars – It’s easy to see how we got to the lowest level of public trust in history, but can we see our way out? Public trust increased under both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton’s divided government. So it can happen. Americans abhor costly, prolonged wars—as well they should. The public may support a war at first if it seems justified. But long, drawn-out wars can cost the country a lot of money and the president a lot of support.
2. Control Inflation – Voters don’t like inflation, and they have seen it often over the past 60 years. Almost always, they have blamed the government. Getting inflation low and keeping it there should be a top priority.
3. Tell the Truth – Finally, the public wants government officials to tell the truth. Whether it’s trying to convince voters that the economy is great when their experience says otherwise, or making promises that are quickly abandoned, public trust begins with public truth.
Source: Newsmax | June 2026