Only 28 Percent Believe Media Adequately Covers Important Topics, According to Rasmussen Poll

Only 28% of voters rate the national news media as doing a good or excellent job covering the most important issues, inflation and illegal immigration, while 46% give the media a poor rating.

According to voters polled by Rasmussen Reports, 32% of likely U.S. voters say inflation will be the most important issue in this year’s presidential election, 23% say illegal immigration will be, and 18% say abortion rights.

Of lesser importance to voters are violent crime (7%), climate change (6%), the war in Ukraine (5%), the Israel war on Hamas(4%), and student loan debt (2%).

Forty-two percent of Democrats give the national news media good or excellent ratings for their coverage of the most important issues, but just 16% of Republicans, and 23% of unaffiliated voters share that opinion. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans and 48% of unaffiliated voters rate the media as doing a poor job of covering the most important issues, as do 24% of Democrats.

Republicans rank inflation and illegal immigration as most important, while Democrats are concerned about inflation and abortion rights.

Thirty-six percent of Republicans, 26% of Democrats, and 33% of unaffiliated voters say inflation is the most important issue in the elections, while 37% of Republicans and 24% of unaffiliated voters view illegal immigration as the top issue.

Only 7% of Democrats say illegal immigration is the most crucial issue, with 33% of Democrats and 17% of unaffiliated voters saying abortion rights is the most important issue. A mere 4% of Republicans share that opinion.

Among voters who consider illegal immigration the most important issue in this year’s presidential election, 83% give the media a poor rating for its coverage. Among those who view abortion rights as the top issue, however, just 14% rate the media’s coverage as poor, while 44% give the media a good or excellent rating.

Inflation is ranked as a top issue by nearly equal percentages across all age categories. Voters under 40 are significantly more likely than their elders to rank climate change as the top issue, while voters over 40 are more likely to say illegal immigration is the most important issue.

Women voters are twice as likely as men to rate abortion rights as the most important issue in this year’s presidential election. However, for both men and women voters, more consider inflation to be the top issue.

Fifty-three percent of whites, 21% of Black voters, 36% of Hispanics, and 42% of other minorities rate the national news media as doing a poor job in terms of covering the most important issues. Black voters are significantly less likely to rank illegal immigration as the top issue in this year’s election.

President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are most pleased with the national news media’s coverage of the most important issues. Among voters who strongly approve of Biden’s job performance as president, 57% consider the media to be doing a good or excellent job. By contrast, among those who strongly disapprove of Biden’s performance, 78% rate the media as doing a poor job.

Former President Donald Trump has long called the press are “truly the enemy of the people.”

In the Rasmussen survey, 53% of voters say they agree with that famous quote by Trump, including 27% who strongly agree. However, 39% disagree with Trump’s quip, including 23% who strongly disagree. In March, 60% agreed with the “enemy of the people” quote.

Most Republicans (76%) agree with Trump’s remark, but 56% of Democrats disagree with Trump’s “enemy of the people” quote about the media, as do 52% of unaffiliated voters.

The Hill wrote in 2019: “Trump has had an acrimonious relationship with the news media since the campaign trail, regularly deriding coverage he dislikes as ‘fake news’ and singling out particular outlets and reporters.”

The Pulse Opinion Research survey of 1,108 U.S. likely voters was conducted May 2 and 5-6 for Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.