I don't get why you're downvoted - you are completely correct in your analysis of public perception!
The key issue underlying all of the chaos is that scientific literacy isn't taught much in schools. Too many people think that "once scientists have declared something, this may be as irrevocable as the stone platters on which Moses wrote the 10 Commandments", whereas the reality rather is that scientific knowledge is always expanding, including retractions or corrections as more data becomes available!
Another part of the problem is that politicians - not just in the US but also in the rest of the Western world - have dropped their role of taking in scientific knowledge and distilling reasonable policy out of it. And to top that, media has been massively cutting down on their "science journalism" departments that could provide context and education to public debate.
The key issue underlying all of the chaos is that scientific literacy isn't taught much in schools. Too many people think that "once scientists have declared something, this may be as irrevocable as the stone platters on which Moses wrote the 10 Commandments", whereas the reality rather is that scientific knowledge is always expanding, including retractions or corrections as more data becomes available!
Another part of the problem is that politicians - not just in the US but also in the rest of the Western world - have dropped their role of taking in scientific knowledge and distilling reasonable policy out of it. And to top that, media has been massively cutting down on their "science journalism" departments that could provide context and education to public debate.