President Donald Trump has frequently claimed that entrenched political and bureaucratic systems before his presidency were plagued by corruption, abuse of power, and lack of accountability. His supporters say investigations, scandals, and insider dealings exposed serious wrongdoing among political elites, while opponents argue that such claims are exaggerated and undermine trust in institutions. With Trump framing his presidency as a disruption of a broken system, Americans are sharply divided over whether the country was genuinely mismanaged — or criminally run — before he took office.
Yes
It was.
No
It wasn’t.