Everybody likes nobody

Polling over many years has shown that the American people are not happy with politicians, the media and other institutions. But … the pervasive disdain across the board is … as President Trump would say … like nothing anybody has ever seen before. It is not only the breadth of disdain, but the depth. The numbers are lower than ever.

According to a recent Gallup survey only 24 percent of Americans give congressional Democrats an approval rating. Republicans fare slightly better with 29 percent approval rating. For Congress as whole, only 14 percent give it their approval. Almost 70 percent of Republicans approve of their party’s work in Congress – but only 49 percent of Democrats approve of the Democrats in Congress.

The American people have a low regard for the current crop of political leaders. According to Gallup, here are the favorable ratings of the major political leaders in ascending order: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (44 percent), Secretary of State Marco Rubio (41), Vice President JD Vance (39), Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (39), Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (38), Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (37), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (37), President Trump (36), Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (36), Attorney General Pam Bondi (36), Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (35), Senate Republican Leader John Thune (34) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (28).

Those reporting these numbers have no reason to gloat. According to a different Gallup poll. The approval rating for the news media is 28 percent – tied for last place with Schumer.

Perhaps there is some upcoming political figure who gains the public’s approval. Nope. Presidential wannabe California Governor Gavin Newsom has a 45 percent favorable rating and former Vice President Kamala Harris is even lower at 41 percent. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has an abysmal national approval rating of 14 percent – largely influenced by low name recognition, I suspect.

The loss of confidence goes well beyond the political sphere. In the private sector, business gets generally positive (above 50 percent) approval ratings from the public, with the strongest approval of small business. Likewise, unions are viewed in a positive light by the people. Same with religious institutions. However, in all cases the favorable ratings are considerably lower than they were a generation ago.

The standout among the private sector institutions with higher ratings is academia. Only 36 percent of Americans believe that schools are doing a good job educating our children. At the university level, the issue tends to be indoctrination. At K through 12 it is a mix of indoctrination and general quality of the education.

These numbers are likely the result of years of division among the American people. We have become a society in which virtually every subject is viewed differently by half the public. Our entire socio-political culture is a Rorschach Test. Consensus is almost impossible.

Unless public opinion changes or some white knight leaders appear on the scene, it seems the next couple of elections will continue to be determined by which candidates the voters dislike and distrust the least.

So, there ‘tis.