Why did Americans stop trusting experts and government institutions?
The decline in trust has deep historical roots dating back to Vietnam and Watergate, but was significantly accelerated during Donald Trump's presidency. Trump and his allies consistently messaged that the government couldn't be trusted, promoting unfounded claims about government inefficiency and fraud. They pumped falsehoods into the 'informational bloodstream,' making assertions about deep state conspiracies and government malfeasance. The pandemic further eroded public trust in expertise. This systematic undermining created fertile ground for figures like Elon Musk to continue spreading distrust through unverified assertions that many Americans accept without evidence.
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Tom Nichols Discusses the Groundwork for Distrust in Government
MSNBC·8 months ago
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What kind of personal information is stored at the Social Security Administration that is also relevant to the discussions surrounding DOGE?
Why is there so little transparency regarding DOGE's access to sensitive information and the government's efforts to root out fraud?
Why might there be distrust regarding Elon Musk's involvement with the Social Security Administration?
What does the Government Accountability Office study say about payments made by the government?
How is what Elon Musk is doing with DOGE different from Al Gore's efforts to make the government more efficient during the Clinton administration?
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