US

Poll: Divided Voters Trust Trump Slightly More Than Media

Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

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President Donald Trump has a slim edge over the media when it comes to who voters trust more, according to a new survey.

A Fox News poll released Friday reveals that while voters are largely divided along party lines, 45 percent say they trust the Trump administration to “tell the public the truth” more than the media. Another 42 percent say they trust the reporters who cover the administration more and 10 percent said neither.

The Fox poll of registered voters was conducted Saturday through Monday, days before Trump’s Thursday press conference. In that press conference he attacked the liberal media for what he said is “dishonest” coverage of him and his administration.

Significantly more Republicans (81 percent) than Democrats (8 percent) said they trust the Trump administration more than the media. However, by a margin of 52-26 percent, Independents were more likely to say they trusted the Trump administration more than the reporters who cover it.

Additionally, 68 percent of voters said the press has been “tougher” on Trump than on former President Barack Obama. Just 18 percent said that the press has gone easier on Trump and 12 percent said coverage has been about the same.

Voters were also more likely to favor aggressive news coverage of the president. Fifty-five percent of voters said they think the press should cover the president “aggressively” compared to 38 percent who favored giving “the president the benefit of the doubt.” Another 7 percent did not know.

Seventy-one percent of voters, however, believe Trump should be “more careful about what he says” compared to 28 percent who like “that he speaks his mind.”

The poll of 1,013 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.