Majority Of Americans Don’t Trust Information Coming Out Of Trump Administration: Poll

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — Do Americans trust the information that is coming out of the White House in the Trump administration?

According to a just-released McClatchy-Marist Poll, nearly six in 10 Americans — 59 percent — said they have little, if any, trust in President Donald Trump and his administration to deliver accurate and factual information to the public.

That majority breaks down to 39 percent who have no trust at all in the administration to do so and 21 percent who have little faith in the White House to provide accurate information.

In the president’s corner are 17 percent who have a great deal of trust in information provided by the administration and 22 percent who have a good amount of confidence in Trump and his staff to be factual in communications.

As would be expected, the McClatchy-Marist Poll found that partisan politics are a factor.

Most Democrats, 89 percent, distrust the information coming out of the Trump White House, while most Republicans, 88 percent, trust the info.

“The majority of Americans, fueled by Democrats and independents, think President Trump is overplaying his hand when conflicts occur between the White House and the press,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

“Perhaps even more telling, though, is that people are more likely to believe their news source of choice than the president,” he said.

The poll found that Americans are more likely to believe their favorite news source than Trump — by a two-to-one margin.

More Americans cite television as their favorite source of news — 44 percent — followed by online news/mobile app, 25 percent; social media, 12 percent; radio, 11 percent; and newspapers/magazines, 7 percent. One percent cited another source.

Trump’s use of Twitter is frowned upon by 66 percent of Americans. They consider his use of the social media tool to be reckless and distracting.

Twenty-five percent consider it to be effective and informative.

Regarding Trump’s treatment of the media, a plurality of Americans, 44 percent, think the president has been too tough on the media, while 27 percent said he has not been tough enough.

Those who thought his dealings with the press are “about right” were 23 percent of respondents.

Turning the tables, Americans are split on how the media has treated Trump: 37 percent say the media’s been too tough, 32 percent believe they have not been tough enough and 24 percent think the news media has been appropriate in reporting on the president.

With Alec Baldwin portraying Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” the McClatchy-Marist Poll asked if the television show’s political satire had crossed the line.

A majority of Americans — 54 percent —think the program’s jokes and skits are funny, while 33 percent think it’s gone too far and 14 percent are unsure.

The survey was conducted from Feb. 15 through Feb. 19. Adults 18 and over living in the United States were contacted. There were 1,073 adults in the survey.

Complete methodology and nature of the sample can be found here.

Image: Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images.