President Barack in Washington, Dec. 5, 2014.DOUG MILLS/The New York Times
A major survey finds Americans' confidence in all three branches of government is at or near record lows.
The 2014 General Social Survey finds only 23 per cent of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the Supreme Court, 11 per cent in the executive branch and 5 per cent in Congress.
By contrast, half have a great deal of confidence in the military.
The survey has measured public attitudes on these questions for 40 years.
The 11 per cent who they're confident in the presidency approaches a record low measured by the same survey in 1996, when just 10 per cent said they had a great deal of confidence in the executive branch. The 44 per cent who now say they have hardly any confidence at all is at a record high.
The media get poor marks, too
Confidence has decreased since the 1970s, when about a quarter of Americans expressed a great deal of confidence in the press. Now, a record low of 7 per cent have a lot of confidence, while 44 per cent have hardly any confidence at all.
Republicans are the least likely to express a lot of confidence in the press, at only 3 per cent, but Democrats aren't far behind at 10 per cent.
Only one in 10 Americans has a lot of confidence in television, which is also near a record low.