Americans’ confidence in science has not rebounded to pre‑COVID levels and is now sharply polarized by party, with Democrats far more positive than Republicans; this gap persists across race, gender and education subgroups and influences public acceptance of health guidance and technology policy.
— A sustained, partisan split in confidence toward science threatens evidence‑based policy (public health, environmental regulation, AI governance) because support for expert recommendations now depends on political identity rather than neutral credibility.
Reem Nadeem
2026.01.15
100% relevant
Pew Research Center Oct 2025/Jan 2026 survey: 61% say science had a mostly positive effect (down from 73% in 2019); 76% of Democrats vs. 51% of Republicans rate science positively — a persistent 20+ point partisan gap.
Reem Nadeem
2026.01.15
95% relevant
The article documents the partisan split (90% of Democrats vs. 65% of Republicans report at least fair confidence) and the post‑COVID decline in trust among Republicans — exactly the phenomenon framed by the existing idea as a governance and public‑health risk.
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