Photo by John Moore/Getty ImagesPhoto by John Moore/Getty Images
Most Americans may be embarrassed of a president they describe as "prejudiced" and "selfish," but almost half of the country still thinks the media is making up a bunch of stories about him.According to a new poll from POLITICO/Morning Consult, a whopping 46 percent of polled American voters thinks that "the news media fabricate[s] news stories" about Trump and his administration. Only 37 percent believes the media does not, with the other 17 percent still on the fence about it. Along party lines, an overwhelming majority of Republicans believe that the media is fabricating stories—76 percent to 11 percent—while 65 percent of Democrats do not.Trump—a man who is no stranger to beefs—has waged a long crusade against the so-called dishonest media during his time in public office. Last week, he said it was "frankly disgusting" that the media writes "whatever they want to write," and recently called journalists a bunch of "fiction writers" in a Tuesday evening tweet. According to these polling numbers, it looks like a large chunk of the American population shares Trump's stance, but doesn't back him on what to do about it.Trump recently suggested that he could pull NBC's broadcast licenses over its report about Rex Tillerson calling him a "fucking moron"—something Tillerson has yet to actually deny. But a majority of American voters—and the FCC commissioner himself—aren't onboard. Fifty-one percent said that the government should not have the power to revoke media licenses. Only 28 percent think it should."Voters, particularly Trump supporters, have become disenchanted with the national media," Morning Consult's Kyle Dropp said of the poll. "Even 20 percent of Democrats think that the national media fabricate stories on President Trump and his administration. That being said, many are still not willing to let the federal government censor the media."Related: People Outside a Trump Rally Told Us Why They Hate the Media
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