Republicans are more likely to believe President Trump than Fox News for information about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, new polling done by Monmouth University showed Tuesday.
Democrats, meanwhile, are more inclined to trust Fox News or its main competitor CNN than Mr. Trump for matters involving the continuing global health crisis, the polling found.
Conducted between April 30 and May 4, the Monmouth poll asked 808 adults across the U.S. various questions related to the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes.
Among the questions posed to respondents was whether they would be more likely to believe Mr. Trump or Fox News if each gave conflicting information about the coronavirus outbreak.
“We asked this question because conservative media outlets such as Fox News reinforced key White House talking points during the pandemic’s early days, but they have occasionally differed on some key points more recently,” said Patrick Murray, Monmouth’s director.
Taking into consideration every person surveyed, Monmouth found that 34% said they would trust Fox News, 33% said they would trust Mr. Trump and 25% said they would trust neither.
Republicans polled indicated they are more trusting of Mr. Trump than Fox News, however. Of the 223 self-identified Republicans surveyed, 66% said they would believe Mr. Trump and 20% said they would believe the network if each offered conflicting information about the coronavirus.
“These poll results may be a warning sign when it comes to retaining their core audience,” Mr. Murray said of Fox News. “When the facts are in dispute, the president is always right.”
Democrats surveyed by Monmouth seemed largely more likely to trust Fox News or CNN over Mr. Trump, meanwhile. Of the 282 self-identified Democrats surveyed, 48% said they would believe Fox News and 7% said they believe the president if each offered conflicting information about the coronavirus, while another 39% said would not believe either.
Asked to say if they would be more likely to believe CNN or Mr. Trump, 88% of Democrats picked the network and 3% picked the president.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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