[September 17, 2025] A recent Gallup poll in the United States found that almost half say that the government is an “immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.” While the polling data only goes back to 2003 when the question was first asked, it’s no new revelation. I’ve also written about the decline in the trust of leadership and government several times (see links here, here, and here).
“If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and to promote their common welfare – all else is lost.” – U.S. President Barack Obama
This drop in trust should be no surprise as we built up to the U.S. presidential election in 2024 with vitriolic rhetoric. But this trend in those saying the government is a threat has been increasing since at least 2003. Today, American citizens believe their government is more corrupt, untrustworthy, and more of a threat than in any time since polling became a scientific enterprise.
When asked by Gallup pollsters why Americans believe their government is an immediate threat, the general answers were that the federal government is too big (and too costly), too powerful (allows some to be above the law), it has too many laws (many being selectively enforced), and violates freedoms and civil liberties (threatens the Second Amendment). Less common complaints were that the government picks winners and losers such as the wealthy or racial minorities and is involved in things it shouldn’t be in. Yet, the results from surveys are consistent … there is a lack of trust in leadership across the Western world, in government and in other institutions.
Except it’s not just the government where trust in leadership is lacking. For example, there have been anti-police protests pushed by some of our more influential politicians and other pro-Palestinian protests that were inspired by peoples’ disgust and anger with the capitalist system that “unjustly rewards the richest one percent at the expense of everyone else.”
Nor is this lack of trust in leadership limited to the United States. Immigration mostly from refugees fleeing the Middle East has overwhelmed many of the eastern-most European nations and pitted one against the other on immigration quotas and who pays for their costs. Accusations of betrayal are flying back and forth among their political leaders. There is also the tragedy of the Greek financial system collapse and its externally imposed austerity measures.
All of this helps drive people to believe that the government is more interested in perpetuating itself as a bureaucracy than protecting its citizens. What is so unfortunate about this trend is that, despite it being recognized as a problem, there appears to be very few senior leaders who are willing to do anything about it.
The more serious problem is that many leaders are actually making the problem worse by divisive and acrimonious talk. The epitome of leadership is the ability to pull people together for a good cause and by that standard we have not done well. In our failure to provide leadership we might just deserve the people’s lack of trust in us.
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Please read my books:
This is how you create trust in government. President Donald Trump has signed off on designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Everybody knows they are with violence as their means to their goal of destroying America. That now means we can arrest them, seek their funding sources like George Soros, and put an end of tolerating domestic terrorist activity.
Yep. Finally.
GREAT
I heard that Gen. Satterfield is in the middle of a week of commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Good for him. Here is some info if you live in South Jersey.
https://atlanticcape.edu/about/foundation/vietnam.php
Ouch …………..
“When asked by Gallup pollsters why Americans believe their government is an immediate threat, the general answers were that the federal government is too big (and too costly), too powerful (allows some to be above the law), it has too many laws (many being selectively enforced), and violates freedoms and civil liberties (threatens the Second Amendment). Less common complaints were that the government picks winners and losers such as the wealthy or racial minorities and is involved in things it shouldn’t be in. Yet, the results from surveys are consistent … there is a lack of trust in leadership across the Western world, in government and in other institutions.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield
Hi Golly Woman, I haven’t seen you on in a while. Welcome back. We missed you.
There is no more TRUST in political leadership or our institutions. COVID proved they are untrustworthy. And this situation is dangerous.
The failure of politicians like Kamala Harris and Tampon Tim Walz because of their moral and competence failures is telling in many ways. They are not there to help their citizens in any way, but only to enrich themselves. Of course, it was President Obama who started the grift enterprise for politicains and Nancy Pelosi made tens of millions doing it since Obama. The Democrat Party is one big enterprise where the top people become wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
Oddly quoting Obama who is personally responsible for the horrific actions of the Democrat Party over these years since he disgracefully left office and DJT won.
Yeah, Obama, still a grifter who takes money from the taxpayer and builds a fortune from rabid Demorat billionaires. The man should get the hell out our lives and spend the rest of his days with his wife Mikkie (old horse mouth). We don’t want him. And I still haven’t liked anything he says which is, of course, a lie.
Yep, he needs to get out of the way and let others get out the message for his party. He is a has been, and never was very bright. BUt he was pretty and could talk. Not much a base for getting elected but whoever said our citizens were smart? Not me.
EXACTLY
I would say that they do not follow Gen. Satterfield’s rules, so see 55 Rules for a Good Life on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
You won’t be disappointed.