Neither party has a distinct advantage when it comes to Americans looking for honesty in U.S. politics.
A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey asked Americans to rate the honesty of politicians from the two major parties on a sliding scale — whether they are “always honest, sometimes honest, about equally honest and dishonest, sometimes dishonest, or always dishonest?”
The largest shares say politicians of both parties are sometimes or always dishonest. Among adults, 48% say that describes politicians from the Republican Party, and a slightly smaller 44% say that describes Democratic politicians.
Close to one-third of adults say politicians from each party are “about equally honest and dishonest,” while around 20% say politicians from each party are sometimes or always honest.
The new data underscores the lack of trust in institutions that has bolstered political outsiders and fueled electoral backlash against incumbent parties and political leaders, not just in the U.S., but across the globe.
And the cynicism extends to both political parties — as President Donald Trump, known for often spreading falsehoods, has returned to the White House, and as former President Joe Biden, who launched his successful 2020 campaign against Trump by calling for “truth over lies,” has faced serious and growing criticism that he and his closest allies were not honest about his fitness for office. Biden has said claims he was experiencing cognitive decline while in office are “wrong.”
Americans are also critical of their own political parties, with majorities of Republicans and Democrats saying their own parties have at least some dishonest tendencies. A higher share of Republicans (22%) than Democrats (14%) say politicians from their own parties are sometimes or always dishonest.
On the Republican side, 20% of those who align with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement say GOP politicians are sometimes or always dishonest, and 25% of Republicans who align more with the party say the same.
Democrats who say they are aligned more with progressive causes than the party itself are more likely to say their own party has dishonest politicians, with 18% saying they are sometimes or always dishonest, compared to 11% who say they align more with the Democratic Party.
The distrust of politicians, even those aligned with their views, underscores how Americans are down on both parties.
When asked which party fights for people like them, the largest share of Americans (37%) say neither party does, while 24% say the Democratic Party fights for them, 22% say the GOP does so, and 18% say both parties fight for them.
Both parties’ images are also underwater, with majorities viewing them unfavorably. Among adults, 57% view the Democratic Party unfavorably, while 43% view it favorably. And 56% view the GOP unfavorably while 44% view it favorably.
The NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey surveyed 19,410 adults online from May 30-June 10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
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