In his article “The More They Said ‘Trust Us,’ The less America Did,” Dr. Brian Joondeph addresses the debacle of federal and state COVID policies and their effects on today’s mistrust of government. Deliberate misinformation, propaganda, and “Science says” were the order of the day.
Data backs up Joondeph’s accusations. On July 13, 2026, Gallup reported that confidence in U.S institutions is at historic lows. “Currently, 27% of Americans express ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in these core institutions, one percentage point above the record-low average in 2023.” Among these institutions are the presidency and the Congress.
Here’s one reason for this distrust. When questioned about COVID policies, Federal bureaucrats, and most politicians were incapable of uttering three one-syllable words: “I don’t know.”
To give those words breath requires humility and may result in humiliation, but they are a powerful tool in building trust. Dr. Joondeph mentions this in his article, and I learned that lesson as a teacher decades ago. As any teacher worthy of the name realizes, students can instantly detect bluster and baloney. It was simpler and more honest for me to state the truth, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” When class met again, I had the answer.
Admitting my ignorance built trust with my students. Politicians who deliver that answer are at a disadvantage because they rightly recognize that some in the press will pronounce them guilty of unforgiveable ignorance, but for the rest of us, saying “I don’t know” makes us more trustworthy, not less.
Reliability is another trust-builder, one where the government again often fails that test. During COVID, for instance, we discovered that a massive percentage of our pharmaceuticals and medical equipment came from China and India. In 2020, Congress launched committees and hearings addressing this imbalance, deeming it a threat to national security and recommending that drug manufacturing be brought back to America. Yet last year the bipartisan Coalition for a Prosperous America reported that “in 2024, the U.S. imported 828,000 metric tons of pharmaceuticals—seven times the 2000 level.”
Had I told my students, “I’ll find the answer” but never followed up my words with action, I’d have marked myself as unreliable. I’d have ladled indifference onto my ignorance. Trust means being able to count on people, that their word is their bond. Following through on a promise is a trust-builder.
And so is truth-telling.
During COVID, many politicians and officials told the American public that masks and distancing would prevent transmission and that the vaccine itself was safe and effective. We know now what some of them knew then, that the masks were not only worthless but were bad for respiratory health and were traps for germs and bacteria, and that the vaccines were neither safe nor effective.
With the exception of social lies—“This stew is delicious” we might remark to the friend who served it up when in fact it’s mediocre—truth-telling is vital to any relationship of trust. Deception poisons relationships between spouses, families, friends, and fellow workers. Most parents know, for example, the gut-wrenching sadness when their teenager lies to them.
In his book “No Excuses,” entrepreneur, consultant, and writer Brian Tracy relates a dinner table incident in which his son told him of a friend who frequently lied to his parents.
“My son said, ‘I told him I never lie to my parents.’
“His friend said, ‘Everyone lies to their parents.’
“My son repeated, ‘I never lie to my parents because I don’t have to. I can always tell them the truth and everything will be okay.’
“Our three children listened to this, and they all agreed. They told us this was a great family because they never had to lie to their parents.”
Unfortunately, many Americans today believe, and with good cause, that the government lies to them more often than not.
Can that government regain the trust of the American people? Right now that possibility looks bleak, at least without a major turnaround. What so many politicians and bureaucrats fail to understand is that their attempts at deception rarely remain hidden, but in fact become more and more obvious.
So here’s a final lesson from the government. Lost in an instant to a lie, the bonds of trust can take decades, even a lifetime, to repair. With the government as proof of that lopsided equation, we should confess our ignorance when necessary, fulfill any promises we make, and make telling the truth a habit. Do these things, and we win the trust of our families, friends, and neighbors.
