A recent poll conducted by Axios concluded that 43% of the Americans surveyed trusted President Trump over CNN. While the majority still trusted the embattled news outlet, it is striking to see such a large number of people moving away from such a large news source. The Axios poll is one of a few that have tested the waters of media credibility in recent weeks, and another poll conducted by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist had some very interesting results.

Americans are losing trust in their federal government, and the only areas where faith remains is the state security services like the FBI and CIA.

As for the rest of the governing apparatus, there simply isn't much faith left. There is, however, a polarization that cuts down party lines, with media outlets acting as cheerleaders for the competing sides.

Not many gray areas

It would appear that President Trump's repeated attacks against the media are having a pronounced effect, and, according to the NPR/PBS poll, more than 35% of Americans don't trust the media overall.

The government didn't fare much better, as people almost universally reject its trustworthiness. More than 20% of the respondents didn't trust the legislative branch at all, and only 6% responded that they trusted congress. More than half of the Americans polled didn't trust in the legislature, and nearly half of Americans don't put much trust in elections.

Media divide

According to the Axios poll, when political affiliation is taken into account, the overall trust for either President Trump or CNN slides dramatically. Of the Republicans that responded to the poll, 89% believed President Trump over CNN, while 91% of Democrats felt that CNN was more trustworthy.

This is substantial evidence of a growing divide among the US population, and the media that one consumes would appear to demonstrate how people think.

President Trump has been adamant about media bias since he took office, and uses the term “fake news” liberally.

One area of interest in the NPR/PBS poll was the amount of trust Americans put into polls, with more than 60% of respondents saying they have some level of distrust when it comes to opinion surveys. The divide among party lines continued in this area as well, with Republicans being far more suspicions of polling data than Democrats.

It is ironic that so many Americans don't trust polling data, and that the basis of public opinion is now put into question. While the nuances of these polls is intriguing, the political divide in the United States that is growing more pronounced is clearly illustrated.