Americans’ trust in institutions is weak and often divides along partisan lines. The only exception? Strong bipartisan support for small business.
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Small businesses have earned the trust of Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike, making them the only “institution” in the nation to achieve such widespread bipartisan support, as highlighted by a new Gallup poll.
In contrast, all other 17 American institutions surveyed this year received less than 50% total confidence from the public, indicating a growing skepticism among voters. The institutions, ranked from most to least trusted, are: small business, the military, the police, higher education, organized religion, the medical system, banks, the presidency, the U.S. Supreme Court, public schools, organized labor, big tech companies, the criminal justice system, newspapers, big business, television news, and Congress, with a mere 9% of respondents expressing high confidence in the latter.
It is important to distinguish between trust in institutions and trust in individual professions. While only 26% of Americans expressed high confidence in the medical system, another Gallup poll from last December showed that nurses are viewed as the most trustworthy and ethical professionals, with 75% rating them highly for honesty and ethics. Military veterans, medical doctors, and pharmacists also received high or very high ratings from the majority of respondents.
