Morning Consult features editor Joanna Piacenza on Monday told Hill.TV that independent voters are split on whether the news media has held President Trump to a higher standard than other presidents.
Piacenza made the comments in reference to a new Hill-HarrisX poll, which found that 36 percent of independents say Trump is held to a lower standard than past presidents, while 32 percent say he is held to a higher standard.
“The question behind this question is how is he being treated … and the question behind that is how is the media treating him,” Piacenza told host Jamal Simmons on “What America’s Thinking.”
“Trump has done a very good job of setting up some sort of war between him and the media,” she continued. “What we’re seeing here is that independents are right in the middle of it.”
Trump regularly targets the news media, often calling stories he doesn’t think shine a favorable light on his presidency “fake news.”
The poll also found that 19 percent of independents said Trump was held to “about the same” standard as past presidents, while 6 percent said they were “unsure.”
— Julia Manchester
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