Politics

Poll Shows Trumpy Justices Are Killing Confidence in SCOTUS

TRUST IN TATTERS

American confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped to an all-time low.

supreme court
Pool/Getty Images

Confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped to an all-time low, according to a new poll.

The latest NBC News poll, conducted between February 27-March 3 among 1,000 registered voters, shows that just 22 percent of voters say they have a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, 40 percent said they have “some” confidence in the high court, and 38 percent said they have “very little” or “no” confidence.

That is the lowest score for the Supreme Court since NBC News began polling on the question in 2000.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 9, 2026.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

The previous low came after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, when 27 percent said they had a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the Supreme Court.

It comes as the Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority. Three of those were appointed by President Donald Trump.

Recent Supreme Court rulings have often favored the president’s position.

One of the most consequential rulings came in 2024, when the Supreme Court decided Trump v. United States, a historic case on presidential immunity.

Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett greet President Donald Trump after his address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were both confirmed to the SCOTUS bench during Donald Trump’s first term in office. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that former presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within their core constitutional powers, and presumptive immunity for other official acts taken while in office.

At the time, Trump was facing federal criminal charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and block Congress from certifying the vote.

The ruling forced lower courts to reconsider whether key parts of the indictment involved official presidential conduct, narrowing the scope of the case and delaying proceedings against Trump.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that federal appeals courts should defer to immigration judges when reviewing asylum decisions, strengthening the executive branch’s role in immigration enforcement and handing the Trump administration a win as it pursues a sweeping deportation strategy.

As a result, voters are sharply divided along party lines on whether they trust the Supreme Court.

According to the NBC poll, just 9 percent of Democrats expressed a great deal or considerable confidence in the Supreme Court, while 35 percent of Republicans said the same.

supreme court
Members of the Supreme Court (L-R) Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Elena Kagan, and Brett M. Kavanaugh pose in the Justices Conference Room prior to the formal investiture ceremony of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson September 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Handout/Supreme Court of the United Stat

While Republicans continue to show more trust in the Supreme Court than Democrats, confidence has declined across both parties in recent years.

In 2022, when the court overturned Roe V. Wade, which protected the right to an abortion, 11 percent of Democrats said they had a great deal or considerable confidence in the Supreme Court, while 44 percent of Republicans said the same.

In 2000, 49 percent of Republicans said they had confidence in the Supreme Court, while 57 percent of Republicans agreed.

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