Annual Poll Shows Low Confidence in Military.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew

SEMI VALLEY, California--An annual poll conducted in November by the Reagan Institute continues to show a sharp decline in Americans' confidence in the military.

The annual survey--which asks Americans their level of trust and confidence in a variety of government institutions--showed a 70 percent approval rate for the military in 2017, but that dropped dramatically over the next five years, reaching a low of 45 percent in 2021.

The 2022 poll shows an uptick to 48 percent, but that is still a minority of Americans, noted the survey's summary, released in December at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California.

"No other public institution asked about--including the Supreme Court, Congress, the presidency, the news media or law enforcement--has seen such a sharp decline in public trust over this time," the summary noted.

The 2022 survey attempted to drill down on some of the reasons for the decline of confidence. "Military leadership becoming overly politicized," was the top response with 62 percent saying it decreased their trust.

"The performance and competence of presidents as the commander in chief," was the second most cited reason.

Reason Tor Decreased Confidence in U.S. Military Great Deal Some Military Leadership Becoming 34% 28% Overly Politicized The Performance and Competence of 34% 25% Presidents, As the Commander-in-Chief The Performance and Competence of 27% 28% the Military's Civilian leadership The Performance and Competence of 21% 31% Uniformed...