GoKawiilGallup: 89% of Americans Now Call Government Corruption Widespread, a 20-Year High
A new Gallup survey finds 89% of U.S. adults believe government corruption is widespread, a jump of 10 points from last year and the highest share recorded in two decades. The rise is driven largely by Democrats, whose corruption perceptions climbed from 57% in Biden's final year to 91% now, while independents rose to 90%. Republicans have stayed relatively steady at around 80% over the same period.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The sharp partisan swing among Democrats suggests perceptions of corruption are heavily tied to which party controls the White House, while Republicans' steadier views point to a more fixed distrust of government institutions regardless of who's in charge. This growing consensus across party lines, even as reasons diverge, also pushes the U.S. further outside the norm among OECD nations, where corruption perceptions have generally declined since 2009.
- 89% of Americans now see government corruption as widespread, a record high in Gallup's 20-year trend.
- Democrats' perception jumped from 57% to 91% since Biden left office, far more than Republicans' shift.
- The U.S. increasingly diverges from other OECD countries, where median corruption perception has fallen below 60%.
Source: news.gallup.com — Gallup, 2026-09-04
Published there as: “Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread”
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