Trust by branch & level — live engine values
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Federal gov
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Congress
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Judiciary
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State gov
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Local gov
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Constitutional belief
Partisan splinter (2025 anchors)
~12
Democrats trust federal
~38
Republicans trust federal
~22
Independents trust federal
Constitutional-foundations crisis risk
Low federal-trust + still-high constitutional-belief produces a litigation-and-protest crisis profile rather than an authoritarian-slide profile. The engine ranks the "Constitutional-foundations crisis" scenario when:
trust_fed < 25ANDconstit_found > 55ANDpolitics > 60
People who venerate the rules but distrust the players are more likely to appeal to courts and protest in the streets than to accept naked-power grabs.