Over the course of his campaign and election, President Trump has repeatedly criticized the media. Just last week the president said in a tweet that "fake news media" such as the New York Times and CNN are enemies of the American people. However, a recent national survey shows American voters trust the media more than they trust the president to tell the truth.
“I feel like I just trust things when I see it happen," said Utah State University junior Madisyn Patton. "Especially because you can say anything, especially when you are a politician and you’re in government. I don’t know. I’m kind of stuck between two places.”
“I try to stick to unbiased sources, which is very difficult. Typically I look at some of what the media says, some of what Trump says, and I try to find what feels best to me, I guess," said Preston Messervy, a freshman at USU.
“I honestly don’t know if I trust either of them," said USU senior Emily Wilson. "I think I trust the media to have put more thought into it and into what they’re reporting. But I trust Trump more to say the real issues.”
I talked with these students at the library on campus about learning truth the president or the press.
Americans gave President Trump low approval ratings this month, according to a new survey from the Quinnipiac University Poll. Assistant Director Tim Malloy at Quinnipiac University Poll said the approval rating is the president’s worst net score since taking office.
“Polls are a snip shot in time. This could be totally different a month from now. But his trend in the last month and a half has been downward and in a spiral," he said.
The survey asked participants if the media or Trump “tell you the truth about important issues.” And truth be told, more than half of voters say they trust the media, while 37 percent trust Trump more.
“It’s pretty revealing that ninety percent of Americans say it’s very important or somewhat important that news media hold public officials accountable. They may not approve of the way Trump has been covered but they disapprove of the way Trump talks about the media by nearly 2 to 1," Malloy said. "The American public, the American voters like the media and trust the media more than they trust Trump, at least at this moment, despite what he said. So in that regard he’s losing that battle.”
The poll surveyed more than 13,00 voters nationwide from Feb. 16 to 21.
