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Trusting Washington or the federal government to do what is right; general trust in government.
| Question | Source | Years | Waves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust in the federal government, moving average How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right: just about always, most of the time, or only some of the time? (Wording varies slightly across pollsters; Pew reports the combined share answering just about always or most of the time.) | Pew trust compilation | 1958–2025 | 163 |
| Trust in the federal government to do what is right How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right: just about always, most of the time, or only some of the time? (Wording varies slightly across pollsters; Pew reports the combined share answering just about always or most of the time.) | Pew trust compilation | 1958–2025 | 163 |
| Trust in government index Trust in government index, 100 pt scale | ANES | 1958–2020 | 26 |
| Trust in federal government to do what is right How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right – just about always, most of the time (not 1966: or) only some of the time (1996: or almost never)? | ANES | 1958–2012 | 24 |
| Feeling thermometer: Federal government The federal government in Washington – thermometer | ANES | 1980–2012 | 9 |
| Whether government officials know what they are doing Do you feel that almost all of the people running the government are smart people (1958-1972: who usually know what they are doing), or do you think that quite a few (1970: quite a lot) of them don’t seem to know what they are doing? | ANES | 1958–1980 | 9 |
| Government administrators can be trusted to do what is best G. Most government administrators can be trusted to do what is best for the country | GSS | 1996–2016 | 4 |
| Trust people in government to do what is right A. Most of the time we can trust people in government to do what is right | GSS | 2004–2014 | 3 |
| Trust in the federal government to handle problems How much trust do you have in the federal government in Washington when it comes to handling the nation's problems? | CES | 2024 | 1 |
| Trust in federal government to handle national problems How much trust do you have in the federal government in Washington when it comes to handling the nation’s problems? | CES | 2022 | 1 |
| Trust in government administrators to do what is best How many government administrators can be trusted to do what is best for the country: None, a few, some, most, or all? | GSS | 2012 | 1 |
| Trust in the federal government to do what is right How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right -- just about always, most of the time only some of the time, or almost never? | GSS | 1987 | 1 |