Monday, April 13, 2020
Washington is marshalling its resources to combat the coronavirus and its economic fallout. But the public’s confidence in the federal government to handle the crisis is slipping.
Fewer than half surveyed last month felt Washington was doing enough to meet the challenge.
The man at the helm of the federal response, President Trump, once declared “I alone” can do the job, but he’s now steering the type of big government response the Republican Party once saw as taboo.
University of North Carolina political scientist Marc Hetherington says the crisis has the potential of further eroding trust in government.
“People already don’t trust it to redistribute money and provide certain services, which is bad,” he told The New York Times. “If they think it is not competent to keep us safe, it will be even worse, much worse.”
GUEST
Marc Hetherington, University of North Carolina, Raymond Dawson Distinguished Bicentennial Professor of Political Science; co-author of “Why Washington Won’t Work: Polarization, Political Trust and the Governing Crisis”
