• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDonald Trump

Multiple Polls Find Most Americans Still Trust the Media More Than Trump

By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mathew Ingram
Mathew Ingram
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 9, 2017, 10:58 AM ET
Donald Trump Holds Campaign Rally In Virginia Beach
Photograph by Alex Wong — Getty Images

Since the election, President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration have talked repeatedly about the “lying media,” a group the president says are the “enemy of the American people.” While this view plays well with Trump supporters, however, most voters seem to disagree—at least for now.

According to a weekly poll of voter attitudes done by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, close to 60% of those surveyed disagreed with Trump’s view that certain media organizations are the enemy of the American people, a comment he made during a contentious speech earlier this year.

Among those who identified themselves as Republicans, about 80% agreed with Trump’s statement, while more than 85% of those who identified themselves as Democrats disagreed.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

For voters as a whole, 53% of those surveyed said that they trust the media more than the president to “tell you the truth about important issues.” And almost 90% said they believe it is either very important or somewhat important that the media hold public officials accountable.

A separate poll done by Morning Consult and Politico found that about half of those surveyed said they believe the media’s coverage of Washington and the Trump administration has been generally accurate.

However, there was widespread mistrust of the use of anonymous sources—something that has become a much greater part of the reporting on the Trump government, particularly in regards to its alleged ties with Russia, but also reporting about the president’s personal life and internal White House politics.

Only about 30% of those surveyed said that they think it is appropriate for the media to rely on anonymous sources—about half of those who were asked said that doing so is inappropriate. And almost 45% of those surveyed said they believe journalists fabricate sources.

As with the Quinnipiac poll, there are clear divisions along party lines: More than 60% of Republicans said they believe that the media invents sources, while only 24% of Democrats agreed.

A majority of those surveyed said that they don’t believe the administration should refuse to speak with specific media organizations just because they don’t like their coverage—something the Trump administration has been accused of doing. More than a third of Trump voters agreed this was wrong.

About the Author
By Mathew Ingram
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Big TechMarkets
Anthropic accidentally leaked details of a new AI model that poses unprecedented cybersecurity risks
By Jim EdwardsMarch 27, 2026
59 seconds ago
krueger
CommentarySafety
Rogue AI is already here
By David KruegerMarch 27, 2026
6 minutes ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Anthropic data leak reveals powerful, secret Mythos AI model
By Alexei OreskovicMarch 27, 2026
57 minutes ago
AIBrainstorm AI
Cursor CEO warns vibe coding builds ‘shaky foundations’ and eventually ‘things start to crumble’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 27, 2026
2 hours ago
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic acknowledges testing new AI model representing ‘step change’ in capabilities, after accidental data leak reveals its existence
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
9 hours ago
Anthropic's logo on a wall.
AIAnthropic
Exclusive: Anthropic left details of an unreleased model, invite-only CEO retreat, sitting in an unsecured data trove in a significant security lapse
By Beatrice NolanMarch 26, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

C-Suite
'I didn’t want anybody shooting me': Five Guys CEO gave away $1.5 million bonus to employees over botched BOGO burger birthday celebration
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago
Environment
Vail Resorts CEO says it’s time to think beyond the $1,000 ski pass that helped build the empire
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Success
Palantir’s billionaire CEO says only two kinds of people will succeed in the AI era: trade workers — ‘or you’re neurodivergent’
By Fortune EditorsMarch 24, 2026
3 days ago
Commentary
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
By Fortune EditorsMarch 23, 2026
4 days ago
Economy
Social Security insolvency: How a six-figure cap to flatten benefits for the ultrawealthy could buy the program 7 critical years
By Fortune EditorsMarch 26, 2026
1 day ago
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of March 25, 2026
By Fortune EditorsMarch 25, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.