Study shows media is up to their old tricks with Trump coverage

The Media Research Center (MRC) analyzed the mainstream media coverage of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, and the results are staggering.

According to MRC, a study of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” “NBC Nightly News” and “CBS Evening News” from the dates of Inauguration Day to April 9, reveals an overwhelming 92.2% of stories about Trump were negative. This means only 7.8% of the 899 stories studied were positive.

Compare this to the 59% positive coverage rate during former President Joe Biden’s first 100 days, and it’s not hard to see why distrust in the mainstream media is sky-high.

“Just 100 days into President Donald Trump’s second term, the broadcast evening news landscape is even more lopsided than it was eight years ago, when Trump was besieged with relentlessly hostile coverage,” said researcher Rich Noyes.

“Eight years ago, using the identical methodology, we found Trump was blasted with 89% negative coverage at the hands of these networks during the first weeks of his first term,” he added.

“Yet despite the overwhelming negativity of their coverage, the networks found Trump irresistible as a news subject, at least compared with Biden. From January 20 through April 9, 2017, the networks saturated their newscasts with 1,900 minutes of Trump news; during the same time period this year, we tallied a massive 1,716 minutes of coverage. But in 2021, evening news viewers saw only 726 minutes of Biden coverage during these same weeks, less than half of the airtime devoted to either of the new Trump administrations.”

Explaining their methodology, the MRC evaluated “all explicitly evaluative statements” regarding the president from “either reporters, anchors or non-partisan sources such as experts or voters.” Statements from partisan sources such as politicians and other elected officials were not factored in.

The coverage has largely focused on Trump’s policies and executive orders; 361 minutes were spent on tariffs, 301 minutes were used to discuss DOGE issues, and immigration netted 233 worth of coverage.

“The networks’ spin on Trump’s tariffs faced 93% negative coverage, while the DOGE cutbacks to government were greeted by 97% negative spin,” Noyes explained.

“Even on immigration, the issue where the public gives the President his highest ratings, the networks’ spin was 93% negative. Out of nearly four hours of evening news airtime devoted to immigration, these newscasts spent just 3.5 minutes letting viewers know just how much Trump has reduced border crossings.”

Other targets of negative media coverage included HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (89%), Elon Musk (96%) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth coming in first with a whopping 100% negative coverage.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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