New poll shows military most trusted US institution

A new national poll shows a huge majority of Americans have confidence in the U.S. military, with that institution topping the list of several government agencies and businesses that have made headlines recently.

The new Fox News poll conducted in mid-February showed 96 percent of those surveyed had "a great deal" or "some" confidence in the U.S. military, with the Supreme Court following close behind at 83 percent and the FBI earning an 80 percent confidence rating.

Surprisingly, a majority of Americans have confidence in the IRS, with 41 percent saying they have some confidence in the taxman and 14 percent having great confidence. Potentially unsurprisingly, the news media came in last, with 44 percent saying that had any confidence in the Fourth Estate.

The Fox poll was conducted Feb. 11-13 among 1,013 registered voters — 42 percent Democrat, 39 percent Republican and 19 percent Independent.

More than 15 years of war and deployments hasn't contributed to much of a shift in America's trust of the military, with confidence ratings hovering around 95 percent since about 2002, the Fox poll shows. But according to the poll more Americans feel the military is less strong than it once was, with 41 percent saying the services have gotten weaker during the eight years of the Obama administration.

A similar question in 2014 found 32 percent of Americans believed the military was "less effective" than it had been in 2008.

While the military has largely pulled out of Iraq and has a fraction of the troops it once had in Afghanistan, most Americans feel the services are stretched too thin, with 58 percent saying they're overcommitted. And 45 percent of those surveyed agree that the military needs a budget boost, buttressing President Donald Trump's reported call for a $54 billion defense spending increase.