62 Percent Agree With Reagan's 'Terrifying Words' About Govt

December 6, 2023: Sixty-two (62%) of voters agree with President Ronald Reagan's statement that "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.'" A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 26% of voters strongly agree with this statement, and 36% of voters somewhat agree with it.

The survey also found that 33% of voters either somewhat disagree (20%) or strongly disagree (13%) with President Reagan's statement.

Methodology

The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on November 28-29, 2023. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.

Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.

Survey Questions

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help."

● 26%-Strongly agree

● 36%-Somewhat agree

● 20%-Somewhat disagree

● 13%-Strongly disagree

● 6%-Not sure

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and columnist for Creators Syndicate. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.