Confidence in the Supreme Court drops to a record low
The percentage of voters with a significant level of trust in the Supreme Court has fallen to its lowest level since NBC News began investigating the issue in 2000, according to the most recent survey.
The latest NBC News poll shows that 22 percent of registered voters nationally said they have “a lot” or “somewhat” confidence in the high court. 40% said they had “some” confidence, while 38% said they had “very little” or “no” confidence.
The previous low point in voters’ impressions of the Supreme Court came following the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, when 27% said they had a lot or a fair amount of confidence. This figure reached a peak of 52% in December 2000, just before the Bush v. Gore of the Court that paved the way for George W. Bush to take office, a polarizing decision that shook the Court’s popularity.
Although Republicans generally have more confidence in the Court than Democrats, there has been a decline in both districts over time, according to NBC News polling data. The court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority that often favors Republican causes on issues such as abortion and voting rights.
In the latest survey, 9% of Democrats said they had a lot or some confidence in the court, compared to 35% of Republicans.
“It’s one thing to make controversial decisions that may or may not please one party, but maintain respect and trust. What we see is just the opposite, where the court makes controversial decisions but is not respected and, in fact, trust is eroded,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the survey alongside Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies.
In an NBC News poll taken after the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that President Donald Trump had broad criminal immunity in a case stemming from his actions leading to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, 55% of Republicans said they had a lot or some confidence in the court, while 4% of Democrats had a similar sentiment.
Democrats’ confidence in the court took another hit in 2022 when the conservative majority overturned the federal right to abortion. At this point, 11% had a lot of confidence in the court.
The new NBC News poll, conducted Feb. 27-March 3, follows the Supreme Court’s latest high-profile decision, in which it struck down Trump’s sweeping tariffs, bucking a recent trend of major rulings favoring the president and other conservative causes. Trump responded with harsh criticism of the majority justices.
Republicans had previously chastised liberals for vigorously criticizing the court when they disagreed with its rulings, including the one on abortion.
“At this point … they’re getting criticism from both sides,” Horwitt said of the judges.
Maya Sen, a political scientist at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the poll reflects how high-profile decisions tend to shape public opinion toward the court, although it would take more than just the tariff decision to lead to a significant change in attitudes.
If the court blames Trump for other significant losses, including his plan to end automatic birthright citizenship now before the justices, the sentiments of both Democrats and Republicans could change, she added.
“If there’s a series of decisions that are unfavorable to the administration…I think you would expect to see support among Democrats start to melt away a little bit and you would expect to see some backlash from Republicans,” Sen said.
A majority (54%) of voters surveyed said they approved of the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs, while 27% disapproved. And 55% said Trump’s tariffs are hurting the economy, compared to 33% who said they are helping it.
Supreme Court justices are appointed for life and generally do not have to worry too much about their popularity, but a lasting decline in trust brings its own problems. The Court has no power to enforce its decisions and does so on faith in its legitimacy among political leaders and the people at large.
“When courts become extensions of the political process, when people see them as extensions of the political process, when people see them simply as an attempt to impose personal preferences on society, independent of the law, that’s where there is a problem,” liberal Justice Elena Kagan said in 2022.
That same year, conservative Chief Justice John Roberts said it was common for people to disagree with rulings, but he added, “The mere fact that people disagree with an opinion is not a reason to question the legitimacy of the court.” »
THE NBC News Poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters from Feb. 27 to March 3 via a combination of telephone interviews and an online survey sent via text message. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
