In a political system that incentivizes division and hyper-partisanship, there isn't much coming out of Washington that can unite voters. But there is one issue that is bringing nearly everyone together:
They think government corruption is everywhere.
A record-high 89% of Americans believe corruption is widespread throughout the US government, according to Gallup. This is a 10-point jump from just one year ago—the largest single-year increase since 2006-2007.
And independent voters are even more pessimistic.
Gallup found 90% of independents believe corruption is present in every corner of government, up 12 points from 2024. That puts independents roughly in line with Democrats, at 91%, while 83% of Republicans say the same.
Think about that for a second.
It is getting harder and harder to identify 80-20 issues, much less 90-10, but clearly US voters look at what is happening at the federal level and nearly everyone agrees: something stinks.
Notably, Gallup is not making any determination of how much illegal or illicit conduct exists in government. It only records perception. However, perception matters when it comes to democratic legitimacy.
A political system cannot simply assume public confidence when overwhelming numbers of its citizens, both party members and independents, believe the system itself is compromised.
Especially, when the system does not incentivize those in power to change this perception. The number of Americans who believe corruption is widespread in government hasn't dipped below 70% at any point in modern history.
And yet, those in power have done nothing to clean up Washington. In the minds of voters, it is only getting dirtier.
Independent Voters Aren't Just Following the Partisan Tide
Independent voters are an important bloc to examine here because their perception is not influenced by who is in the White House or who has the majority in Congress.
Democratic attitudes toward corruption shifted dramatically after control of the White House changed. Just 57% of Democrats said government corruption was widespread during President Biden's final year in office.
That jumped to 76% during President Trump's first year back in office and now stands at 91%.
Republicans have been more consistent. About 8 in 10 currently see widespread corruption, even with Republicans controlling the White House and Congress.
But the skepticism among independents has persisted, regardless of which party is in power.
Their confidence in the legislative and executive branches, along with the government's ability to handle major problems, has fallen more than 20 points since the 1970s.
That type of decline matters when examining the growth of independent voters.
Gallup reported in January that a record 45% of US adults identified politically as independent in 2025, compared with just 27% each identifying as Republicans or Democrats.
In some states, registered independent voters make up the majority (look at Alaska, Colorado, and Massachusetts.)
Gallup polling alone may not prove that perceived corruption and institutional distrust are two factors in the rise of independents. But the trends are difficult to ignore side by side:
Voters are refusing to join a party at the same time confidence in those parties and institutions controlled by them remains extraordinarily low.
This Isn't Just One Poll
Gallup's corruption numbers fit a much larger pattern. Pew Research Center reported in December that just 17% of Americans trusted the federal government to do what is right always or most of the time.
At the same time, an AP-NORC poll found only 11% of Americans were extremely or very confident that the federal government could make progress on the nation's biggest problems.
Among independents, that number was just 5%.
And Gallup reported in July that average confidence across 14 major American institutions stood at only 27%, a figure that has remained below 30% for five consecutive years.
Twelve of the 14 institutions tracked were at or near their historic lows.
There is a bigger issue here than whether voters approve of Donald Trump, congressional Republicans, Democrats, or any individual politician.
Presidents change. Congressional majorities change. The party voters blame changes.
The distrust doesn't.
When 90% of independent voters believe corruption is widespread, the question for America's political establishment isn't simply how to win their votes in November.
It's why they should trust the system asking for their votes in the first place.
Washington Finally United America: 89% Say Government Corruption Is Widespread is republished as part of The Fulcrum’s partnership with IVN and the Latino News Network to expand voter‑first journalism and strengthen public‑centered coverage of democracy.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.