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Diversity in Congress is growing steadily, but lags behind the U.S. population
The number of non-white senators and House members in the 535-seat Congress has been growing steadily in the past several decades — but representation largely lags behind the overall U.S. population.
Why it matters: Non-whites find it harder to break into the power system because of structural barriers such as the need to quit a job to campaign full time for office, as Axios reported in its latest Hard Truths Deep Dive.
- A sign of progress: In the House of Representatives, the share of Black lawmakers is now nearly equal to the percentage of the U.S. population who are Black.
- Yes, but: The share of Congress members who are Hispanic has only grown from 3.6% to 9% during the past two decades — still less than half of their 18.5% representation in the overall population.
The raging trust crisis and its consequences
Americans are losing trust in leaders across every area of their lives — and the information coming from every source of their news, according to the 21st annual Edelman Trust Barometer, out Wednesday, which measures trust in institutions globally.
Why it matters: The sobering report shows that people crave facts more than ever, but most have bad habits and a growing distrust of everything from journalists to vaccines and contact tracing.
Details: Across every type of institution — media, government, business and NGOs — trust has fallen to historic lows, according to the report.
- Business is the only institution that is now perceived as being both ethical and competent enough to solve the world's problems.
- CEOs are the only societal leaders trusted to tell the truth and fix problems.
The trust deficit has gotten so bad that people don't know who or what to believe anymore, and they don't even trust themselves to get facts right.
- A majority of people around the world believe that journalists, government leaders and business leaders are all purposely trying to mislead people by spreading misinformation.
- Most people have terrible information hygiene, and admit that they don't actively verify information, avoid echo chambers or share things without first vetting information.
The big picture: The 2021 Trust Barometer, titled "Declaring Information Bankruptcy," offers one of the bleakest pictures of societal trust globally in the past two decades, thanks in large part to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The data shows that even the most powerful countries — like the U.S., China, Germany and the U.K. — are experiencing a record trust deficit, especially in government.
- Trust in government in the U.S. has crashed following the 2020 election, especially among Republicans.
That trust gap has real-world consequences. Only 59% of people in the U.S. say they are willing to take the vaccine if it becomes available to them within a year. Those who are unwilling to take the vaccine tend to have poor information hygiene.
What to watch: The data suggests that two of the biggest global economies — the U.S. and China — have fallen below India as now the most trusting country in the world.
- "Neither the U.S. or China have the trust capital they need to be global leaders in this time of multiple crises," per the report.
Trump praises QAnon supporters: "I understand they like me very much"
President Trump claimed at a press conference Wednesday that he doesn't know much about the fringe conspiracy theory QAnon, but that he understands its supporters "like me very much" and that they "love America."
Why it matters:: QAnon is a sprawling internet conspiracy theory that baselessly alleges that a powerful cabal of sex traffickers within the "deep state" is engaged in a global fight to take down Trump. The FBI identified fringe conspiracy theories, like QAnon, as domestic terrorist threats in 2019.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal supporter of QAnon, won the Republican nomination in Georgia's deep-red 14th congressional district runoff last week. Trump tweeted his congratulations and called her a "rising star."
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is one of the sole Republicans who have demanded that GOP leaders condemn QAnon now that it has entered the mainstream, with Greene poised to be elected to Congress in November.
What he's saying: "I don't know much about the movement. I understand they like me very much. Which I appreciate. But I don't know much about the movement," Trump said.
- "I have heard that it is gaining in popularity and from what I hear ... These are people that don't like seeing what's going on in places like Portland, Chicago and New York and other cities and states."
- "I've heard these are people that love our country and they just don't like seeing it. So I don't know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me and they also would like to see problems in these areas, like especially in the areas we're talking about, go away."
When informed that the crux of the theory is a belief that he is "secretly saving the world from this Satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals," Trump responded: "Well I haven't heard that, but is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing?"
- "If I can help save the world from problems, I'm willing to do it. I'm willing to put myself out there."
- "And we are actually. We're saving the world from a radical left philosophy that will destroy this country and when this country is gone, the rest of the world would follow."
The big picture: QAnon rose out of the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory and has grown into a decentralized network that analyzes cryptic prophecies dropped in remote online forums by "Q," who claims, without ever offering evidence, to be a Trump administration official with high-level clearance.
- Q maintains President Trump is secretly fighting a child-selling cabal in the U.S., though the conspiracy has spiraled to cover a vast array of claims, from JFK Jr. having faked his death to help Trump behind the scenes to the coronavirus being a hoax or a biological weapon engineered in either case by sinister elites.



