The percentage of voters with significant levels of confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped to its lowest point since NBC News began polling on the question in 2000, according to themost recent survey.
The latest NBC News poll shows that 22% of registered voters nationally said they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in the high court. Another 40% said they had "some" confidence, while 38% said they had "very little" or "no" confidence.
The previous low point for voters' impressions of the Supreme Court came in the wake of the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, when 27% said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence. That number hit a high of 52% in December 2000, just before the court’s Bush v. Gore ruling that paved the way for George W. Bush to take office, a polarizing decision that buffeted the court’s popularity.
Although Republicans generally have higher confidence in the court than Democrats do, there has been a drop among both constituencies 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 great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the court, compared with 35% of Republicans who do.
"It’s one thing to make controversial rulings that one party may or may not like but maintain respect and confidence. What we are seeing is quite the opposite, where the court is making controversial rulings but not being respected and in fact confidence is being eroded," saidDemocratic 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 that was conducted after the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 thatPresident Donald Trump had broad criminal immunityin a case arising from his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, 55% of Republicans said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence in the court, while 4% of Democrats had a similar sentiment.
Democratic confidence in the court took another big hit in 2022 when the conservative majority overturned federal abortion rights. At that point, 11% had a significant amount of confidence in the court.
The new NBC News poll, which was in the field Feb. 27-March 3, follows the Supreme Court's most recent high-profile ruling, in which itstruck downTrump's sweeping tariffs, bucking a recent trend of significant decisions in favor of the president and other conservative causes. Trump responded withharsh criticismof the justices in the majority.
Republicans had previously chided liberals for stridently criticizing the court when they disagreed with its rulings, including the abortion decision.
Source: Drudge Report
