Republican Trust in the Supreme Court
According to a new Ipsos poll released this week, trust in the court has fallen a whopping 14% in just one year among Republican voters.
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This has resulted in only 52% of conservatives saying that they trust the court “a great deal” or “a fair amount”. By comparison, about 66% of Republicans stated this opinion in July of 2023.
Democratic Approval
Meanwhile, Democratic support for the court remains low. Over the past few years, the now conservative-led Supreme Court has made many moves that have upset many liberal Americans.
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That has led to only 29% of Democrats stating that they trust the court’s justices “a great deal” or “a fair amount.” Surprisingly, this support has gone up 1% from last year.
Overall American Support
While the support levels for the court are incredibly split between conservatives and liberals, the poll’s findings of how all Americans feel about the Supreme Court shed some light on the country as a whole.
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As seen in this recent poll, only 39% of Americans stated that they trust the court. This is yet another fall from last year, which saw 43% of Americans approve and trust the Supreme Court.
A Conservative Supreme Court
Many liberal Americans have increasingly lost trust in the Supreme Court over the past few years, ever since the court became a conservative majority in 2020.
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Since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s addition to the court — which resulted in a 6-3 conservative majority — many liberals have criticized the various rulings and decisions the court has made.
Overturning Roe v. Wade
Perhaps the most controversial decision of all occurred when the court overturned Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to decide whether they would allow abortion to stay legal in their states.
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This decision immediately caused much criticism from many parts of America, especially those in liberal circles.
Other Controversial Rulings
However, the court has had many other controversial rulings since overturning Roe v. Wade that have only made many Americans — seemingly both liberals and conservatives — lose trust in the justices.
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Since 2020, the court has blocked President Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness program, which was intended to help Americans with student loans. They’ve also allowed gun rights to expand around the country, as well as ended race-conscious admissions in colleges through affirmative action.
Why Republicans Have Stopped Trusting the Supreme Court
Though Republicans still trust the court to some extent, the large 14% drop seen in just one year may seem surprising to many. After all, many of these so-called controversial rulings of the Supreme Court have often been applauded by conservatives throughout the country.
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Therefore, to see that the court is losing favor even with Republicans has come as a shock to some analysts.
Donald Trump’s Influence
Some experts have claimed that former President Donald Trump’s massive influence over the party and its voters as a whole may be why the Supreme Court has lost some support from conservative Americans.
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After all, ever since Trump has faced legal issues and has been found guilty in criminal cases, he’s attacked the judicial system.
Blaming the Entire System
Some analysts believe this may be why Republicans are losing trust in the Supreme Court. As Trump has attacked the entire judicial system, Republicans have included the Supreme Court in this attack.
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This may be why fewer conservatives are choosing to trust the court, even though the Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided on a Trump case.
Attacking the Legal System
Chris Jackson, the senior vice president of Ipsos’ public affairs, further detailed why this loss in trust among conservatives may have occurred.
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“We see a broad-based decline of trust in all facets of the judiciary among Republicans,” Jackson stated. “My guess, supported by the data, is that this is the fruits of the efforts to undermine the credibility of the legal system by Donald Trump and his allies. Most people, and it appears many Republicans, don’t differentiate from the Supreme Court vs. the New York criminal courts. For Trump supporters, it’s all ‘the system’ and it’s all ‘corrupt.'”
Trust in State Court Judges
This lack of trust in the legal system as a whole can also be seen in the poll’s results revolving around state court judges and federal judges.
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While the majority of Democrats and independents remain trustful of these two judges, Republicans don’t. Only 39% of conservative Americans trust state court judges, while 41% trust federal judges.