America isn't confident Trump can handle the presidency

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Only 44 percent of the country believes that Donald Trump is capable of preventing major scandals, a new Gallup poll has discovered. By comparison, 74 percent of people said President Barack Obama would be able to prevent major scandals when he was coming into office in 2009, and 77 percent said the same of George W. Bush in 2001.

"In addition to their personal feelings about Trump, Americans' lower confidence in him may also stem from the public's generally low level of trust in government," Gallup writes in its analysis of the data. "Americans' trust in the federal government to handle international and domestic problems is worse now than it was when Bush and Obama took office."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.