Donald Trump’s unending war against the media—a continuation of a war started by right-wing activists and Fox News pundits long before Trump showed up—continues with an email “survey” sent today to Trump supporters by the Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee of Trump’s presidential campaign committee and the Republican National Committee. The survey is reminiscent of “push polls” which are designed to tarnish a political opponent by asking loaded questions.
Only, in this case the opponent is the free press, and his goal is diluting the effectiveness of critical reporting about him and his administration. Trump’s repeated media-bashing has had an impact. On Sunday he tweeted gleefully about a recent poll showing that 46 percent of Americans believe that media organizations invent stories about him. Not surprisingly, the responses split down partisan lines, with 76 percent of Republicans believing the media makes up stories about Trump.
Today’s email from Trump complains that “the Mainstream Media is out to bring down my Administration.”
It’s a 24/7 barrage of hit jobs, fake stories, and absolute hatred for everything we stand for as a movement.
It’s time to once again release our Mainstream Media Accountability Survey to show them that the American people are fed up with the Fake News machine. …
They don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about what’s right. They only care about propping up the liberal Democrats they worship and destroying anyone who wants to put America First.
There is nothing they won’t do to stop us.
This is a fight we can’t afford to lose. The future of America hangs in the balance. Our country is at stake.
Trump asks recipients to take his “Media Accountability Survey” which appears below:
Mainstream Media Accountability Survey
- Do you trust the mainstream media to put the interests of Americans first?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you trust the mainstream media to report fairly on our presidency?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you trust NBC to fairly report on our presidency?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you trust CNN to report fairly on our presidency?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you trust MSNBC to fairly report on our presidency?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you trust Fox News to fairly report on our presidency?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- What television source do you primarily get your news from?
o NBC
o CNN
o MSNBC
o Fox News
o Local News
- Do you use a source not listed above?
- On which issues does the mainstream media do the worst job of representing President Trump? (Select as many that apply.)
o Immigration
o Economics
o Radical Islamic Terrorism
o Pro-life values/social issues
o Religion
o Health care
o Second Amendment rights
- Do you feel that the media is too eager to slur conservatives with baseless accusations of racism and sexism?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the mainstream media does their due-diligence fact-checking before publishing stories on the Trump Administration?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe the media fails to report on Democrats’ scandals?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the media sensationalizes and exaggerates stories in order to paint President Trump and conservatives in a bad light?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the media purposely tries to divide Republicans in order to help elect Democrats?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Based on your answers above, do you believe that the Republican Party should spend more time and resources holding the mainstream media accountable?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you agree with President Trump’s strategy of communicating directly with his supporters through Twitter, email, and Facebook videos?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe the media is biased when it covers President Trump’s stances on illegal immigration (ex: the Wall, ending Sanctuary cities)?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe the media is biased when it covers President Trump’s restriction on immigration from countries compromised by radical Islamic terrorism?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe the media is biased when it covers people of faith and supporters of religious liberties?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the media unfairly reported on President Trump’s executive order granting Americans the freedom to buy health care across state lines?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the media has been too quick to spread false stories about our movement?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you believe that the media holds Democrats to a different standard than Republicans?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- Do you agree with the President’s decision to break with tradition by giving lesser known reporters and bloggers the chance to ask the press secretary questions?
o Yes
o No
o No opinion
o Other, please specify:
- What percentage do you believe is an accurate representation of President Trump’s positive news coverage by the mainstream media?
o 0%-10%
o 10%-25%
o 25%-50%
o 50%-75%
o 75%-100%
- Are there any other thoughts you’d like to share with the President when it comes to mainstream media accountability?
