On the one hand, the media’s relentlessly Negative coverage of President Donald Trump has started to take its toll. On the other hand, the toll that is being taken is on the media. That conclusion was reached by the results of an IBD/TIPP Poll. 55 percent of respondents declared that they have grown weary of the media’s negative portrayal of the Trump. 54 percent responded in the affirmative that the media had assumed the role of the opposition party and not a fair and balanced purveyor of the news.
While the media is taking a hit, Trump himself is not coming off much better, Only 41 percent approve of the job the president is doing, and 53 percent disapprove,
Oddly, Americans support Trump’s policies more than they do of the man.
Approval of his immigration policies ranges from the mid to high 50s. However, Americans have become split on Obamacare with just as many wanting the law expanded as those who would have it repealed. Most enrollees in Obamacare express dissatisfaction with their customer experience, however.
The upshot of the poll results is that the media is increasingly becoming tarnished by its hostile narrative of the Trump presidency. At the same time, that coverage has hurt Trump to some extent, though the past election proves that he tends to outperform the polls. The results mean that the strategy of portraying the media as “enemies of the people” is the correct one from a raw political standpoint, if not from an ethical perspective.
The media has lost its standing as a disinterested institution calling the powerful to account.
Part of the problem was that coverage of President Obama was relatively glowing even as the economy continued to be mired in malaise and the world, especially the Middle East, continued to burn. Conservatives have been complaining about liberal media bias for decades.
Now a majority of the American people have started to agree with that sentiment.
Ironically, the turn against the media has occurred as it has become more ideologically diverse, with Fox News and other venues offering an alternate view of the news.
