Poll: More Americans now trust politicians than at any time since 2008

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill Friday after the Senate held a cloture vote for Supreme Court Justice nominee...

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill Friday after the Senate held a cloture vote for Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

By Danielle Haynes, UPI

Americans' trust in politicians has reached a 10-year high -- with 55 percent saying they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of confidence in them, Gallup research indicates.

The survey Thursday found the number of people with trust and confidence in politicians is up 7 percent from last year, and 13 percent from a record low of 42 percent in 2016. The last time Gallup saw the majority of Americans trusting politicians was a decade ago, at 66 percent.

"For the first time since 2008, more than half of the American public has said they trust politicians, but any impact of the political wars now being fought over Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination has yet to be measured," Gallup said.

The poll was conducted Sept. 4-12 during initial hearings for Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, before accusations of sexual assault emerged.

Of those asked, 6 percent had a "great deal" of trust, 49 percent a "fair amount," 37 percent had "not very much," 7 percent had "none at all" and 1 percent had no opinion.

The highest percentage of trust or confidence in politicians since Gallup began asking the question was 68 percent in April 1974, four months before President Richard Nixon resigned over the Watergate scandal.

Among Democrats, 58 percent expressed trust in politicians, up from 55 percent in 2017. Fifty-three percent of Republicans said they had trust, up from 43 percent.

The survey also asked Americans how much trust they had in the American people's judgment on issues. Fifty-eight percent answered a "great deal" or "fair amount," down from 62 percent in 2017. The record high on that question was 86 percent in 1976.

Gallup surveyed 1,035 adults with a margin of error of 4 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

The same survey found that Americans' trust in the legislative branch was at its highest level -- 40 percent -- in nine years.