Sunrise turns the sky shades of orange behind the (L-R) Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and US Capitol Building on March 18, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - Americans’ confidence in federal government institutions remains near historic lows.

According to a recent Gallup poll, big differences in trust between political parties help explain why overall public trust in government has dropped over time. People who support the president’s party tend to show much higher trust in government, while those from the opposing party show much less.

In recent decades, trust among the opposition — whether Democrats during Republican presidencies or Republicans during Democratic ones — has fallen sharply.

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Independents have also lost confidence in government, with their trust steadily declining over the years.

Since the 1970s, average trust among people from the opposing party has dropped by 35 points, and among independents by 26 points.

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Gallup’s Sept. 2–16 Governance poll shows that overall trust levels remain about the same as last year.

However, this apparent stability hides major partisan shifts.