American and British voters share deep roots. In 2024, they distrust their own leaders, too

DARTFORD, England (AP) — Distrust has settled over the campaign trails in the United States and United Kingdom ahead of July 4 like a soggy summer haze.

On that day, British voters will choose a new Parliament in an election expected to finish with a Labour government after 14 years under the Conservatives. Americans across the pond, deeply polarized by the rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, will mark Independence Day in something resembling unity with barbecues and fireworks ahead of their vote on Nov. 5.

There’s much to celebrate on the Fourth of July for one of the world’s biggest democracies and the venerable kingdom that gave rise to it, 248 years after they split and set off on slow, troubled journeys toward granting all citizens the right to vote. Both remain rooted in the Magna Carta, the English document signed in 1215. It set in writing the idea that leaders — including kings, presidents and their governments — are not above the law. The nations have become close friends and stalwart allies.

That’s how it started.

As for how it’s going, the run-up to July 4, 2024 — Independence Day for one land, Election Day for the other — offers a snapshot of the stress test facing voters in each country.

“I’m just very disheartened, really, because I don’t think any of the parties know what they’re doing,” Dartford, England, resident Jacqueline Richards, 77, said of her country’s election. “But then looking at yours in America, it’s not that great, is it?”

Every democratic election is, at its core, about who voters trust to run their country so they can go about running their lives.

Debates are candidate aptitude tests in real time, never more so than during Thursday’s showdown between Biden, 81, and Trump, 77. Biden’s halting performance did the opposite of building confidence, even among some of his most loyal supporters. Trump, meanwhile, repeated his lies about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and his record as president.

That’s only the most recent example of why distrust and a sense of resignation dominate the emotional landscape in both countries, according to voters interviewed by The Associated Press in recent weeks. From battleground Wisconsin to bellwether Dartford, England, voters said years of misinformation, scandal and lies have drained them of the sort of optimism or excitement they might once have felt about the right to vote or the future.

In Britain, 45% said they “almost never” trust governments to put the nation’s interest first, up from 34% in 2019, according to a survey published June 12 by the National Centre for Social Research. The pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine War and the country’s cost-of-living crisis affected living standards and the economy, it reported. Two Tory prime ministers were ousted. Also, there was Boris Johnson, who resigned rather than be thrown out of Parliament over boozy parties at 10 Downing Street when the nation was under COVID-19 lockdown.

A vote to turn the Conservative government out of power is not necessarily a vote for Labour, opposition leader Keir Starmer acknowledged during a May 27 debate. Voters, he said, “still have questions about us: Has Labour changed enough? Do I trust them with my money, our borders, our security?”

Starmer’s own answer was yes, of course. But British voters told the AP in the weeks before the election that they’re far from sure.

“They promise and promise and promise and nothing ever changes,” said Shane Bassett, 34, the bar manager at a pub in bellwether Dartford, where the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 is said to have started. “No matter who gets in — if it’s Labour, if it’s Conservative, it’s all the same. They all lie.”

In the United States, trust has been eroded by deepening political polarization, misinformation and Trump’s lies about Biden’s victory in the 2020 election — all amplified by social media.

Roughly 2 in 10 Americans say they trust the U.S. government to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time,” according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. About 6 in 10 say they can trust the government “only some of the time” and about 2 in 10 say they can never trust the government to do what’s right.

Nearly three-quarters of American adults blame the news media for dividing the nation, according to a 2023 poll by AP-NORC. Families and friends have learned to avoid discussing politics around Thanksgiving tables and other gatherings. In many places, even celebrations of the Fourth of July — a national holiday when Americans mark the 1776 ratification of the Declaration of Independence from Britain — fall under this practice of restraint.

In Racine, Wisconsin, Rebecca Eisel, 48, wondered how the vast United States, home of 262 million eligible voters and the world’s biggest economy, faces a rematch that few Americans wanted.

“How did our democratic process result in something that the majority of the population doesn’t like?” Eisel, 48, said over a sandwich at the Maple Table restaurant.

The last time Kathleen Barker, 64, was excited about a candidate, it was Ronald Reagan, who went on to serve two terms in the 1980s and exited office by referring to the country as a “shining city on a hill.”

“He was a very real person, very respectful, family-oriented,” she said while walking her dog near the river in Racine. “You could relate to him. He felt like just that average man.”

Now, she says, the “nasty back-and-forth” between Biden and Trump — who each insist the other is unfit for office — suggest neither can be trusted to dig into the major problems facing the United States.

“People are poor. The country is struggling. And this is their focus?” she said.

Emmanuel McKinstry, a 58-year-old businessperson, voiced similar frustration. The economy, he said while waiting in line to hear Trump speak in Racine, is his top issue. The next morning, McKinstry said he’d still vote for Trump — with reservations.

“I’m tired of politicians working for themselves and not really getting down and asking people what we really want,” McKinstry said. “We’re putting you in office. What are you gonna do for us?”

The last presidential candidate to excite high school teacher Marcus T. West, 49, was Democrat Barack Obama, who went on to serve two terms.

“He got the importance of educators. He had good intentions,” West said over breakfast at Mrs. Betty’s Kitchen. “He’s the last person I felt talked like me, talked to me, passed policies that I liked.”

This year, he said of Biden and Trump, “they aren’t looking out for us.”

In Britain, the distrust is less personal. It’s about scandal — think Johnson and “partygate” — and the cost-of-living crisis.

On May 22, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had good news and a bombshell: Inflation was down to 2.3% for the first time in three years, and he was dissolving Parliament immediately, which started a clock that required an election on July 4.

But the visuals are what’s remembered about that day. Rain soaked his suited shoulders as Sunak spoke where his predecessors had stood for 275 years, before the iconic black door of No. 10 Downing Street. No one sheltered him with an umbrella. Protesters nearly drowned out his words by playing “Things Can Only Get Better,” a rival Labour campaign song used in the Tony Blair era.

“Things can only get wetter,” led the reports on several news sites.

That’s what concerns Bassett, the manager at the Wat Tyler Pub, named for a leader of the Peasants’ Revolt that started on that site. You’re not supposed to talk about politics in British pubs, he says — the counterpart, perhaps, of the American reluctance to stir up trouble on the same topic at parties.

But Bassett looked around at the empty dining room at lunchtime. There were no customers to offend. So he let it fly.

The pub’s energy bill last winter jumped from its usual 800 pounds a month (about $1,000) to 1,200 pounds (about $1,500). It has struggled since the Christmas season to bring in customers for a beer. He thinks the owners are likely to sell the place only four years after buying it.

“I’m not very optimistic.” he said. Thinking of his family members in Canada, Bassett added: “If I could leave the country, I would.”

Fernando reported from Racine, Wisconsin. AP writer Jill Lawless contributed from London.

A general view of downtown Racine Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Emmanuel McKinstry speaks about the upcoming election Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in downtown Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Robin Mitchell sitting outside a business speaks about the upcoming election Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

A general view of downtown Racine Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Marcus T. West speaks about the upcoming election Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

A general view of the marina Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

A man waits for his order inside a restaurant Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in downtown Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Harry Colville, 27, a construction worker, poses for a photograph during an interview in Dartford, London, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Distrust saturates the campaign trails in the United States and Great Britain like the dense summer heat as each country, rooted in the Magna Carta, revolution and a "special relationship," hurtle toward democratic elections. Brits go to the polls July 4 -- as Americans celebrate their independence with barbeques and fireworks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. In both places, voters articulated a striking lack of optimism that the winners will represent their wishes. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Dartford Crossing is seen in Dartford, London, Wednesday, June 12, 2024.Distrust saturates the campaign trails in the United States and Great Britain like the dense summer heat as each country, rooted in the Magna Carta, revolution and a "special relationship," hurtle toward democratic elections. Brits go to the polls July 4 -- as Americans celebrate their independence with barbeques and fireworks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. In both places, voters articulated a striking lack of optimism that the winners will represent their wishes. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jacqueline Richards, 77, poses for a photograph during an interview in Dartford, London, Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Distrust saturates the campaign trails in the United States and Great Britain like the dense summer heat as each country, rooted in the Magna Carta, revolution and a "special relationship," hurtle toward democratic elections. Brits go to the polls July 4 -- as Americans celebrate their independence with barbeques and fireworks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. In both places, voters articulated a striking lack of optimism that the winners will represent their wishes. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

People walk alone the street in Dartford, London, Wednesday, June 12, 2024.Distrust saturates the campaign trails in the United States and Great Britain like the dense summer heat as each country, rooted in the Magna Carta, revolution and a "special relationship," hurtle toward democratic elections. Brits go to the polls July 4 -- as Americans celebrate their independence with barbeques and fireworks ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. In both places, voters articulated a striking lack of optimism that the winners will represent their wishes. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) — Hurricane Beryl ripped off doors, windows and roofs in homes across the southeastern Caribbean on Monday after making landfall on the island of Carriacou as the earliest storm of Category 4 strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

There were no immediate reports of possible deaths or injuries, with communications largely down across the region.

Streets from St. Lucia island south to Grenada were strewn with shoes, trees, downed power lines and scores of other debris scattered by winds up to 150 mph (240 kph), just shy of a Category 5 storm. The storm snapped banana trees in half and killed cows that lay in green pastures as if they were sleeping, with homes made of tin and plywood tilting precariously nearby.

“Right now, I’m real heartbroken,” said Vichelle Clark King as she surveyed her damaged shop in the Barbadian capital of Bridgetown that was filled with sand and water. Beryl was still swiping the southeast Caribbean late Monday afternoon even as it began moving into the Caribbean Sea on a track that would take it just south of Jamaica and toward Mexico's Yucatan peninsula by late Thursday as a Category 1 storm.

Late Monday, Beryl's winds increased to 155 mph (250) kilometers, on the brink of becoming a Category 5 storm.

Beryl was located about 575 miles (925 kilometers) east-southeast of Isla Beata in the Dominican Republic and was moving west-northwest at 21 mph (33 kph), with hurricane conditions possible on Jamaica Wednesday.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, and a tropical storm warning for the entire southern coast of Hispaniola, an island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

“Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as its moves over the eastern Caribbean,” the National Hurricane Center said.

The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

On Monday afternoon, officials received “reports of devastation” from Carriacou and surrounding islands, said Terence Walters, Grenada’s national disaster coordinator. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said he would travel to Carriacou as soon as it’s safe, noting there’s been an “extensive” storm surge.

Grenada officials had to evacuate patients to a lower floor after hospital roof was damaged, he said.

“There is the likelihood of even greater damage,” he told reporters. “We have no choice but to continue to pray.”

In Barbados, Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information, said drones — which are faster than crews fanning across the island — would assess damage once Beryl passes.

Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

Beryl amassed its strength from record warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry.

Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

On Sunday night, Beryl formed a new eye, or center, something that usually weakens a storm slightly as it grows larger in area. Experts say it’s now back to strengthening.

Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who was among the thousands who traveled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, said he and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.

He said by phone that it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane — he and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said.

Even as Beryl bore down on the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms mimicking the hurricane’s path that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press videographer Lucanus Ollivierre in Kingstown, St. Vincent contributed.

A tree slumps after being uprooted by Hurricane Beryl in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Waves batter a pier during the pass of Hurricane Beryl in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Day breaks over a pier as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Waves batter palm trees as Hurricane Beryl passes through Hastings, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Rick Burn takes photos of damages caused by Hurricane Beryl in Hastings, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Youths take photos as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Members of the Barbados Defence Force clean up a street after Hurricane Beryl passed through Oistins, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A Barbados Defence Force member cleans up a street after Hurricane Beryl passed through Oistins, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A bird flies away from a palm tree after Hurricane Beryl passed through Oistins, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl floods a street in Hastings, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Boats lie capsized in a flooded street after Hurricane Beryl passed through St. Lawrence, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

The sea floods the street after Hurricane Beryl passed through St. Lawrence, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A man takes photos after Hurricane Beryl passed through Oistins, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Wind blows past a house whose roof blew away during Hurricane Beryl in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucanus Ollivierre)

Donna Charles, a hotel cook, watches as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A surfer braves the waves in Carlisle Bay as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Waves batter a pier as Hurricane Beryl passes through Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

A resident carries wood to cover his house's windows in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People disassemble a beach bar's awning in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People walk off the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)