A plurality of American adults believes most reporters identify more with protesters in violent protest situations, according to the results of a new Rasmussen survey released Friday.
This comes just days after Rasmussen revealed that 47 percent of likely U.S. voters think that when reporters “write or talk about President Trump, they are trying to block the president from passing his agenda.”
It’s the latest chapter in what the public obviously recognizes as a war between the White House and the dominant media. Earlier this week in Phoenix, the president once again singled out the press, accusing reporters of misleading the public and spreading “fake news.”
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According to Friday’s Rasmussen revelation, 49 percent of the people think reporters identify with protesters, while 34 percent think the press is “on the side” of both protesters and police. That suggests they appear neutral to those voters.
Another revelation is that 33 percent of Americans think police are not aggressive enough when dealing with violent protesters. Nineteen percent think the police are too aggressive, while 41 percent think police response is “about right” in most cases.
Earlier this week, Rasmussen reported that a telephone survey found that slightly more people think the press is trying to block Trump’s agenda while 41 percent “think members of the media are simply interested in reporting the news in an unbiased manner,” while five percent think the press is trying to help the president.
Rasmussen noted at the time that “by comparison, 48% of voters said in June 2010 that they thought most reporters when they write or talk about President Obama were trying to help him pass his agenda. Eighteen percent (18%) thought most reporters were trying to block Obama from passing his agenda. Twenty-seven percent (27%) said the press was simply interested in reporting the news in an unbiased manner.”
Even before Trump took office, the political left launched the “resistance” effort. Since the inauguration, this talk has crept into remarks made by leading Democrats.
Back in June, what turns out to have been a remarkably prescient Rasmussen survey said 76 percent of likely voters believe there is “a greater danger of political violence these days compared to past years.” This was before the alt-left extremists began pulling down Confederate statutes and confronting demonstrators on the right. That survey was taken in the days after a far left Bernie Sanders supporter drove from Ohio to Virginia and opened fire on Republicans who were practicing for the annual Congressional baseball game.
The June survey noted that 81 percent of Democrats said there was a greater danger of political violence while 74 percent of Republicans agreed with that assessment.
