Few Americans associate their elected leaders with the term ‘courage’: Gallup

When asked to select which category of people they most associated with courage, 4 percent of Americans selected elected officials — tying with social media influencers, according to newly-published Gallup survey results.

In the new poll, released Wednesday, respondents were given a list of 16 different groups of people — such as first responders, scientists, teachers and the average American. Gallup then asked them to pick three they saw as most linked to courage, which it defined as “deciding to do what’s right in the face of personal cost,” and three they associated with the word the least.

Four percent of respondents selected “elected leaders in the U.S. government” as a group they saw as most linked to courage, tying with influencers and passing up both business leaders and athletes — which 2 percent of those polled associated with the trait. The top responses included first responders at 60 percent, military personnel at 41 and nurses at 27.

Fifty-four percent of respondents elected officials as the category they saw as least tied to courage — the most common response to the question.

Gallup’s fresh poll also comes as Americans express a lack of faith in their country’s leadership, with President Trump’s approval rating sitting at 37.5 percent as of Thursday evening. This figure hit a career low for Trump last week, dipping to 32 percent.

Americans also appear frustrated with Republican’s Congressional leadership in Washington, with some Democratic candidates taking unexpected leads on the generic ballot, as well as in races in traditionally red or purple states, ahead of November’s midterms.

The Gallup poll took place from May 12 to 22, featuring 3,199 respondents and a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points.