Americans have little confidence in political system: Poll
- Poll: Positive views on government, political institutions at historic lows
- 65% say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics
- 7 in 10 adults are frustrated by the lack of unbiased political information
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(NewsNation) — Americans’ outlook on politics is “dismal,” as the majority aren’t confident in the nation’s political system, according to a new report.
“Americans have long been critical of politicians and skeptical of the federal government,” the report’s authors write. “But today, Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests, flooded with campaign cash and mired in partisan warfare.”
A new Pew Research Center survey revealed that 65% of Americans often or always feel “exhausted” when thinking about politics. While 55% feel “angry,” 10% feel “hopeful” at the prospect and only 4% feel “excited.”
According to Pew, positive views on many governmental and political institutions are at “historic lows.” Only 16% of the people surveyed trust the federal government always or most of the time.
In terms of political parties, 86% said Republicans and Democrats are more focused on fighting each other than solving problems.
Nearly 28% express favorable views of both parties, which the Pew revealed is the highest share in three decades of polling. Meanwhile, a comparable share, 25%, doesn’t feel well-represented by either party.
The survey found that only 14% of adults believe that most elected officials care about the thoughts of people like them, while 15% believe all or most currently service elected officials ran for office even in part out of a desire to serve the public, compared to 63% who say all or most ran for office to make a lot of money.
The report suggested that many Americans are frustrated with their ability to get unbiased information from the media. Nearly seven in 10 adults expressed frustration with their ability to get unbiased information about politics.
Pew highlights this dissatisfaction as notable as it “comes at a time of historically high levels of voter turnout in national elections.”
It also comes as Americans continue to draw distinctions between parties — 54% see a great deal of difference between the Democratic and Republican parties, which is notably higher than it was a few decades ago.
