Rasmussen Poll: COVID Erodes Trust in Experts, Leaders

January 31, 2024

A poll by Pew Research Center shows that Americans’ trust in experts has eroded due to the official response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Times cited that survey as showing decreasing confidence ratings for public health officials. Those ratings fell in a range from 43%-54% and included officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and President Biden.

The Pew Research Center poll found a distinct partisan gap in attitudes, with 79% of Democratic respondents saying that health official had done a good job versus just 29% of Republican respondents agreeing.

A new survey from Rasmussen Reports appears to confirm this partisan split with 73% of Democrats saying that most experts were right about the pandemic while only 24% of Republicans agreed.

The survey also shed light on how a majority of Americans think it’s better to research health issues rather than simply trusting experts. Seventy-three percent of Republican respondents said it’s important to do your own research about health care decisions. That compares to just 43% of Democrats and 60% of the unaffiliated.

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