Rasmussen: Only 30% of Americans Trust the Government over Surveillance

Rasmussen: Only 30% of Americans Trust the Government over Surveillance

on Mon, 10 Jun 2013

The Internet and phone surveillance scandals hitting the news have catalyzed a growingschism between the American public and the U.S. government. According to a new Rasmussen poll, only 30% of Americans trust the government to use the Constitution as a guide for surveillance issues, while 52% of respondents do not.

When asked whether they believed Barack Obama when he said the government was not listening to their phone calls, 68% of those polled said that it was at least somewhat likely that Obama was not telling the truth. Even a majority of Democrats, 58%, believe that the Obama Administration is listening to private conversations, and only 49% of them trust the government’s efforts to stay within legal boundaries.

In another poll by Rasmussen, only 26% of voters approve of the government’s secret surveillance; 59% are against it. Almost half of voters, 46%, believe that they have been spied on by the government.