>

The countries low on the list are also mostly small. Turns out that the US is pretty large compared to most other countries.
The OECD publishes data concerning trust of the public in the government in general. Unsurprisingly, trust in government is highest in rich countries with multi-party systems, low corruption and long democratic traditions. It tends to be lower in poorer countries, two-party systems and new(er) democracies or authoritarian states with relatively higher corruption. >

Another thing the higher rated countries have in common are they're small.  The US has so many competing interests that no matter who gets elected and how effectively they govern a good 40% of the country is going to despise the government.