Brace yourselves for a controversial observation: many US politicians are decent people. There — I’ve said it. Few Americans seem to agree. The public’s trust in their leaders is hitting an all-time low. Other than Brazil and Greece, no other democracy has such contempt for its system. The US is at the other end of the spectrum to China, where the public’s faith in government leads the world, according to Edelman’s global trust barometer.
“Nobody trusts anybody round here,” says Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator. “And most Americans don’t trust any of us.”
Can we blame them? At least partly, yes. The US government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Mistrust comes from the people too. Washington’s breakdown mirrors growing divisions in society — between white and non-white, graduates and non-graduates, city and hinterland, young and old. American politics has become a winner-takes-all game. Yet the constitution is built to work only when there is compromise. President Donald Trump can go to Davos this week because Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, agreed to reopen the US government. He could close it again when funding runs out in less than three weeks. Yet Mr Trump now taunts him as “Cryin’ Chuck”.