[Genuine Realist]

Trust in government had been declining for a long time before Trump, so it is not entirely his fault, but it has accelerated under his term.

that is a very gentle way of putting it. I was thinking more along the lines of, fallen off a cliff.

Congressional approval rating (per Gallup) hit its nadir at 9% approval during the 11/7-10, 2013 polling period.  And if I'm not mistaken, there has not been one single Gallup interview period during Trump's entire presidency when Congress's approval rating has surpassed that of Trump's.  So there are cliffs, and there are...deep, sunken valleys.

Congress has had lower ratings than POTUS for decades.   For example, Congress' approval rating has not been above 30% in more than a decade.  Even at his lowest levels Trump has never been below 30%.   So Congress in the last 10+ years has never had a rating as "good" as the worst rating for POTUS45.  

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/01/politics/...index.html

People generally accept their congressperson, dislike many of the others and hate the way congress now operates.   That's been true for a very long time now.

We're veering into politics, but the abject failure of Congress is the reason Supreme Court appointments have become so contentious. Only a generation ago, Anthony Scalia and Ruth Ginsberg - both great jurists in their own way, but radically different approaches - could be confirmed by near unanimous majorities.

These days, however, actual law is made by Presidential order, then tested by litigation.

[Genuine Realist]

Trust in government had been declining for a long time before Trump, so it is not entirely his fault, but it has accelerated under his term.

that is a very gentle way of putting it. I was thinking more along the lines of, fallen off a cliff.

Congressional approval rating (per Gallup) hit its nadir at 9% approval during the 11/7-10, 2013 polling period.  And if I'm not mistaken, there has not been one single Gallup interview period during Trump's entire presidency when Congress's approval rating has surpassed that of Trump's.  So there are cliffs, and there are...deep, sunken valleys.

Congress has had lower ratings than POTUS for decades.   For example, Congress' approval rating has not been above 30% in more than a decade.  Even at his lowest levels Trump has never been below 30%.   So Congress in the last 10+ years has never had a rating as "good" as the worst rating for POTUS45.  

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/01/politics/...index.html

People generally accept their congressperson, dislike many of the others and hate the way congress now operates.   That's been true for a very long time now.

We're veering into politics, but the abject failure of Congress is the reason Supreme Court appointments have become so contentious. Only a generation ago, Anthony Scalia and Ruth Ginsberg - both great jurists in their own way, but radically different approaches - could be confirmed by near unanimous majorities.

These days, however, actual law is made by Presidential order, then tested by litigation.