Nearly five months into his second term, President Donald Trump is already running circles around the legacy media. Trump's average approval rating is now higher than Barack Obama's was at the same point in his second term. This is despite the fact that Trump has received relentless negative media coverage. The Media Research Center reports 92% of network news coverage of Trump has been negative. Conversely, Obama received widely positive coverage from the legacy media during his time in office, nearly the complete opposite of Trump.
And yet, Trump is outperforming Obama in public opinion. Trump's average approval rating is now at 47.5%, and a new Morning Consult poll has him at 48%. "I think Trump might even be doing better than some of those polls...he might be north of 50%," says Chris Begala, political consultant and analyst.
Begala believes this is another demonstration of how much influence the corporate media has lost with the American public. "People are now getting their information from social media, from blogs, from other sources rather than the mainstream media," he tells KTRH. "The media is not even being watched, and their constant non-stop negative reporting on Trump...everybody tunes it out."
"They do not make a difference, and we're seeing it over and over again."
While the media's influence has undoubtedly declined, Trump also deserves credit for using his frequent public appearances to bypass the media filter and speak directly to the people. That reminds Begala of another president, who was known as "The Great Communicator." "It was a different time and different president, but this is similar to what Reagan did," says Begala. "Reagan cut through the media and spoke to the American people, who liked him and trusted him and believed in him. Donald Trump is doing that right now in a different age."
Photo: Getty Images North America