Americans’ trust in scientists is declining, but the overwhelming majority still have confidence that scientists act in the best interests of the public. About three-quarters of Americans (73%) now say that they have at least “a fair amount” of confidence in scientists to act in the best interests of the public, which represents a 14-point decline since April 2020 (87%). Democrats (86%) are 25 points more likely than Republicans (61%) to say that they have at least “a fair amount” of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest, as the share of Republicans expressing at least “a fair amount” of confidence in scientists has dropped by 24 points since April 2020 while the share of Democrats expressing at least “a fair amount” of confidence in scientists has declined by five points in that timespan. Additionally, only around one-quarter of Americans (23%) now say that they have “a great deal” of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests – representing a 16-point decline since April 2020 (39%).