58% agree media are the ‘enemy of the people,’ 83% hit ‘fake news’
1 min readPresident Joe Biden’s election might have made the media feel good, but it’s done very little for the industry’s reputation with news consumers.
In the latest demonstration of the difficulties the news media face, a sizable 58% of likely voters told Rasmussen Reports that they believe the media are “truly the enemy of the people,” a phrase coined by former President Donald Trump.
Some 46% disagreed, but the highest number (34%) said that they “strongly agree” with Trump.
As with similar surveys during the Trump era, Democrats believe the media far more than Republicans. Now, 56% of Democrats “trust” the news they receive versus 58% of Republicans who don’t.
The partisanship is not surprising.
But there was some agreement on “fake news,” another Trump phrase, being a serious problem. A super majority of Republicans, 92%, said it is a problem, as did 74% of Democrats. Overall, 83% said it is a big problem.
Notably, said Rasmussen, independents generally agree with Republicans on the “enemy of the people” question, at 61%.
Said the pollster, “Voters overwhelmingly believe ‘fake news’ is a problem, and a majority agree with former President Donald Trump that the media have become ‘the enemy of the people.’”