According to a study by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday, public trust in the federal US government is hitting a near-record low following a small rise in 2020 and 2021, as less than 2 in 10 Americans claim to trust it to do what is right "just about always" (1%) or "most of the time" (15%).

In almost seven decades of polling, these numbers hit the lowest, as per the center, as opposed to the 20% last year who said they trusted the government just about always or most of the time.

Back in 1958, when the National Election Study did a survey regarding trust in the government, around three-quarters of Americans trusted it to do the right thing almost always or most of the time. That trust began deteriorating in the 1960s, during the escalation of the Vietnam War, and continued to decline in the 1970s amid the Watergate scandal and economic struggles.

However, public confidence in the government jumped in the mid-1980s before dropping in the mid-1990s, then picked up in the late 1990s when the economy was recovering.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, public trust reached a high record after three decades but declined quickly after. Since the year 2007, data show that not more than 30% say they can trust the government always or most of the time.

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Whoever controls the White House

As of now, 25% of Democrats and Democratic-identifying independents claim trust in the federal government just about always or most of the time, while 8% of Republicans and Republican leaners say the same.

Compared to last year, Democrats report slightly less trust today, but that of the Republicans has remained relatively unchanged.

As analyzed by the Pew Research Center, trust in the government since the 1970s has constantly been shown to be stemming higher among members of the ruling party in the White House than among the opposition party.

Republicans have been more reactive than Democrats to changes in political leadership, with Republicans showing much lower trust levels during Democratic terms.

On the other hand, Democratic reactions have remained somewhat more consistent, notwithstanding which party controls the White House. 

Attitudes, however, from the end of Donald Trump’s presidency to the start of Joe Biden’s in both the GOP and Democratic were at roughly the same levels.

23% of Asian, 23% of Hispanic, and 21% of Black adults claim they trust the federal government "most of the time" or "just about always" while white adults stand at 13%.

During the latest Republican administrations, white Americans were significantly more likely than Black Americans to express trust in the government to do the right thing.