While Ronald Reagan was president, confidence went back up — until about the time of the Iran-contra affair. Under George H.W. Bush it slipped lower again, spiking upward briefly during the Gulf War. The strength of the economy under President Bill Clinton renewed that trust, peaking in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. But as President George W. Bush’s two terms wound on, along with the war in Iraq, the number slipped again. Over the course of President Barack Obama’s two terms, the figure barely budged, sticking in range of 20 percent — about as low as it has been on record.

It remains in about the same place now, according to new data from Pew. But this trend doesn’t tell the whole story.

It is always the case that trust in government experiences a partisan split. When Democrats control the White House, trust in government is higher among Democrats and lower among Republicans. When there’s a Republican in the White House, the reverse is the case. So, in the first survey of trust in the Trump era, the numbers have flipped. In October 2015, 26 percent of Democrats had trust in government, compared with 11 percent of Republicans. Now, 15 percent of Democrats do, compared with 28 percent of Republicans.

Averaging trust in government across administrations, that relationship is apparent. (There were no polls on the issue during the administration of President John F. Kennedy.)

As overall trust has declined, the partisanship of views of the president has been consistent. This helps explain why Americans are suddenly much more approving of government doing more than it has. Republicans are generally more skeptical of government intervention than Democrats, but when there’s a Republican in the White House they’re at least more confident that they can trust what government does.