As the government shutdown grinds into its third week, the American public has reached a rare consensus: everyone is to blame. A new AP-NORC poll finds that most Americans view the shutdown as a major problem, and nearly three-quarters assign at least moderate responsibility to all sides — President Trump, Republicans in Congress, and Democrats alike. The result is a picture of collective failure that transcends party lines, revealing a deeper truth about a nation weary of leadership gridlock and skeptical that either side can govern effectively.
The poll’s findings are stark. Six in ten Americans say Trump and congressional Republicans bear significant responsibility for the shutdown, while just over half say the same of Democrats. Frustration is spreading evenly across the political spectrum, reflecting a broader collapse of confidence in institutions that once mediated compromise. Only 4 percent of Americans say they have a “great deal” of confidence in Congress — a figure that underscores how political dysfunction has hardened into expectation. The shutdown, now threatening to become the longest in U.S. history, has become less about policy disputes and more about a test of endurance between two parties that appear willing to let the country absorb the cost.
That cost is mounting. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed or working without pay, flights are delayed, and economic ripple effects are beginning to reach households already struggling with inflation and debt. For many Americans, the shutdown has become less an abstraction of Washington politics and more a daily disruption — a reminder of how fragile the system can feel when its most basic functions halt. The standoff over Affordable Care Act tax credits has morphed into a proxy war for 2026 political positioning, yet most voters remain detached from the core issue, with 42 percent admitting they have no opinion on the policy at the heart of the conflict.
Globally, the paralysis stands in sharp contrast to how other advanced democracies navigate political stalemates. In parliamentary systems across Europe and Asia, governments that fail to fund themselves typically collapse, forcing elections that restore accountability. The U.S. model, by contrast, allows prolonged dysfunction without consequence for those in power — a feature that increasingly looks like a flaw. The spectacle of the world’s largest economy grinding to a halt over internal political warfare undermines America’s reputation for stability at a time when global confidence in its leadership is already waning.
The deeper question emerging from this shutdown is not which party wins the blame game, but whether either can still claim to govern effectively. As both sides trade accusations and public patience wears thin, the poll suggests Americans no longer see their leaders as problem solvers but as participants in a cycle of self-inflicted crisis. In that sense, the shutdown is not just a political standoff. It is a mirror reflecting a nation trapped between competing narratives of responsibility and a growing recognition that neither side has found a way out. Go beyond the headlines…
Who’s winning the blame game over the shutdown? Here’s what a new AP-NORC poll shows
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