Americans Feel Less Free and Don’t Trust Public Officials in Post-COVID Poll

A new poll conducted by YouGov and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and released exclusively to the New York Post reveals that a substantial percentage of Americans believe their basic freedoms are less secure than before the pandemic, and trust in our elected officials has declined substantially.

While the legal basis for our rights is unquestioned thanks to the Constitution, how those rights are protected is causing people to question whether they mean anything anymore. The poll showed that 42% feel less secure about voicing their opinions, 43% feel less secure about their freedom to protest, and 36% feel less secure about their freedom to exercise religious beliefs.

While a healthy skepticism of government power is wise in a democracy, in a true crisis public officials must make snap decisions to protect the public. Whether people follow those decisions depends, in part, on their confidence in the leaders making them. Unfortunately, when asked about every single institution or office in the YouGov/AFP poll, the majority of respondents said their trust in those institutions had dropped.

Nearly three in five Americans said the government did a “somewhat” or “very poor” job clearly communicating to the public about data or reasoning regarding any pandemic restriction or requirement. And 54% thought government officials did a “somewhat” or “very poor” job applying any restrictions or requirements to all people (including themselves) equally.– READ MORE