Public Mistrust in US Federal Information Grows Across Key Issues

A new survey indicates that a majority of Americans now express little or no trust in information provided by the US federal government on several key issues, including elections, foreign affairs, and the environment. The findings show that this skepticism has grown since 2024 and is more pronounced than at the end of President Donald Trump's first term.

The poll reveals that only 34% of US adults have a high degree of trust in government certifications of election results, a decline from 40% in 2024. This comes as the process of certifying votes has become more politicized. Concerns are widespread ahead of the 2026 midterms, with nearly half of adults worried the federal government might discredit results or pressure state officials.

Mistrust has also become more partisan. Democrats' confidence in government information has fallen sharply since President Trump regained office, while Republicans' trust has increased. For instance, 61% of Democrats have low trust in federal budget information, compared to 42% of Republicans. A similar divide exists on crime data.

The survey found that trust in government information on vaccination recommendations is uniformly low across party lines, with about 6 in 10 adults expressing little or no confidence. Furthermore, only about one in ten Americans believe political campaign messages are often factual.

The poll was conducted by the Varta Wire-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USA Facts from July 29 to Aug. 10, involving 1,036 adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points for the overall sample.