Simply 100 days into President Donald Trump’s second time period, the published night information panorama is much more lopsided than it was eight years in the past, when Trump was besieged with relentlessly hostile protection. To date this 12 months, the brand new Trump administration has confronted a withering 92% adverse protection from ABC, CBS and NBC, whose flagship information applications averaged greater than 19.3 million viewers through the first quarter of 2025, making them probably the most widely-watched information applications within the nation.
For this report, Media Analysis Middle analysts checked out all 899 tales on the Massive Three night newscasts that mentioned President Trump or the Trump administration from January 20 by April 9, together with weekends. Key findings:
■ The networks’ extremely adverse protection of President Trump stands in stark distinction to the largely (59%) optimistic protection they offered Joe Biden 4 years in the past.
■ Whereas TV protection of Trump’s final time period was closely targeted on an array of non-public controversies, this 12 months’s protection has largely been about critical coverage points, led by tariffs (361 minutes), DOGE (310 minutes) and immigration (233 minutes).
■ The networks’ spin on Trump’s tariffs confronted 93% adverse protection, whereas the DOGE cutbacks to authorities have been greeted by 97% adverse spin.
■ Even on immigration, the difficulty the place the general public provides the President his highest rankings, the networks’ spin was 93% adverse. Out of practically 4 hours (233 minutes) of night information airtime dedicated to immigration, these newscasts spent simply 3.5 minutes letting viewers know simply how a lot Trump has decreased border crossings.
■ Apart from Trump himself, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confronted 89% adverse press, DOGE’s Elon Musk was hit with 96% adverse protection, and Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth acquired a unanimous 100% unhealthy press from the networks.
Particulars:
■ A Story of Two Presidents: MRC analysts tallied 1,841 explicitly evaluative statements about President Trump and his Trump administration, of which 1,698 (92.2%) have been adverse vs. a mere 143 (7.8%) which have been optimistic. (Our methodology excludes partisan sources, specializing in statements from reporters, anchors and nonpartisan sources. Extra beneath.)
Eight years in the past, utilizing the an identical methodology, we discovered Trump was blasted with 89% adverse protection by the hands of those networks through the first weeks of his first time period.
But 4 years in the past when Democrat Joe Biden assumed the workplace, the networks’ spin was radically totally different: 59% optimistic protection for the brand new liberal President, vs. simply 41% unhealthy press — a brazen partisan hole in how the elite media deal with Presidents of two totally different events.
But regardless of the overwhelming negativity of their protection, the networks discovered Trump irresistible as a information topic, no less than in contrast with Biden. From January 20 by April 9, 2017, the networks saturated their newscasts with 1,900 minutes of Trump information; throughout the identical time interval this 12 months, we tallied a large 1,716 minutes of protection. However in 2021, night information viewers noticed solely 726 minutes of Biden protection throughout these similar weeks, lower than half of the airtime dedicated to both of the brand new Trump administrations.
■ This Time, It’s In regards to the Insurance policies: Not like 4 years in the past, when the networks spent a lot of their airtime delving into myriad controversies involving President Trump — such because the investigation into his marketing campaign’s connections to Russia — this 12 months’s protection has targeted way more on the President’s dealing with of main insurance policies points.
Total, our analysts discovered seven instances extra TV information protection of key coverage areas such because the economic system, tariffs, immigration, the Ukraine warfare and the downsizing of the U.S. authorities (1,198 minutes) vs. the entire Trump “controversies” mixed (162 minutes).
Night information viewers noticed slightly below half-hour of protection relating to the President’s discuss concerning the U.S. taking possession of the war-torn Gaza Strip, for instance. That was roughly the identical quantity of airtime as was spent on the pardon of these prosecuted for January 6, 2021 (29 minutes, 42 seconds). The concept of seizing Greenland from the Danes was restricted to simply 21 minutes of night information airtime.
All of those Trump controversies acquired nearly-universally adverse response from the networks, however they have been eclipsed by heavy protection of the aggressive (and, arguably, way more vital) coverage agenda pushed by the President in his first 100 days. Right here’s how the networks dealt with the highest three most-covered coverage matters of those second Trump administration: tariffs, immigration and the DOGE challenge to downsize authorities:
■ Tariffs: Trump’s tariffs — first declared on Canada, Mexico and China early in February, then on scores of different nations April 2 earlier than being suspended for negotiations — drew probably the most airtime of any administration coverage, 361 minutes. The networks’ protection was nearly uniformly hostile (93% adverse), as journalists touted the draw back dangers of such a coverage.
“Tonight, the US on the point of a commerce warfare that threatens to harm American shoppers and upend the worldwide economic system,” ABC’s Selina Wang warned again on February 2.
“They are going to generate a mountain of forms, elevate costs and — so puzzling to the remainder of the world — they’ll harm American shoppers,” CBS’s Elizabeth Palmer opined on April 6.
A current CBS Information/YouGov ballot discovered 42% of American adults help Trump’s newly-announced tariffs (vs. 58% who opposed them), however community information protection was way more one-sided, with simply seven p.c help for the tariffs.
One of many uncommon favorable soundbites got here from a steelworker and native union chief on the March 11 NBC Nightly Information. “It’s not solely going to save lots of jobs, it’s going to create jobs over time,” Mark Glyptis declared. “In the event that they weren’t imposed, I feel steelworkers would lose their jobs.”
Community correspondents pounded the concept tariffs would result in greater costs. “Analysts say these new tariffs might value a mean American household of 4 as much as $7,200 further a 12 months,” ABC’s Matt Gutman declared on April 3, after the extra wide-ranging tariffs have been introduced.
But 4 years in the past, when the Biden administration pushed by a large spending invoice broadly blamed for triggering the worst inflation because the Seventies, community protection carried no such warnings. As an alternative, our examine on the time discovered journalists awarded 86% optimistic protection to Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID spending invoice, the most effective of any of the brand new Democratic President’s insurance policies.
■ The “Division of Authorities Effectivity”: The night newscasts spent a whopping 310 minutes on “DOGE,” Elon Musk’s tech-savvy strategy to decreasing authorities staffing and spending, nearly all of it (97%) adverse.
Viewers heard probably the most concerning the downsizing of the federal workforce, through each buyouts and layoffs (129 minutes), adopted by the approaching closures of the US Company for Worldwide Improvement (40 minutes), the Division of Schooling (21 minutes), and allegations that DOGE staff have been accessing confidential info of residents held by varied authorities businesses (14 minutes).
The airwaves have been crowded with federal staff who provided precisely the criticism that the networks presumably anticipated once they sought their views. In simply 80 days, the night newscasts conveyed 137 soundbites from authorities staff, 96 of whom rejected the DOGE cuts vs. only a single particular person who was supportive after receiving a beneficiant buyout. (The remaining 40 quotes have been factual/impartial, not evaluative).
“We’re grieving for the 1000’s of individuals around the globe who’re dying on account of these callous actions,” one furloughed USAID worker complained on the February 7 Nightly Information.
“We’re underneath assault by billionaires, however I’m not a billionaire. So, you realize, for me the following steps are scary,” one other fired federal employee vented on ABC’s World Information Tonight on February 15.
“I assumed, properly, they’re going to take a scalpel to fraud, waste and abuse, not simply hack off your complete limb,” a laid-off FEMA employee advised NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez a month later (March 10).
Clearly, those that have abruptly misplaced their jobs are going to have a adverse opinion of those that have fired them. The networks’ heavy use of such sources throughout these weeks was a straightforward technique to convey harsh editorial criticism of the DOGE cuts, relatively than search a real debate over the scale and scope of the federal authorities.
■ Immigration: 4 years in the past, the unrestrained surge of migrants throughout the southern border through the early weeks of the Biden administration was probably the most negatively-covered matter at the moment — 115 minutes of protection, 82% of which was adverse utilizing the identical methodology.
Beneath Trump, that circulate has nearly stopped, however the networks have handled his extremely efficient crackdown extra harshly than Biden’s failures. Since January 20, ABC, CBS and NBC have poured out 233 minutes of airtime to the immigration situation — twice as a lot as they gave to Biden 4 years in the past — and the spin was 93% adverse in direction of the Trump administration.
There was little cheering for Trump’s apparent success. Out of practically 4 hours of protection dedicated to the subject, these newscasts spent solely a meager 3 minutes, 29 seconds — 110 seconds on NBC, 90 seconds on CBS, and simply 9 seconds on ABC— letting viewers know simply how a lot Trump had decreased border crossings in comparison with his predecessor.
“What was as soon as a file inflow, now a trickle,” NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez introduced on the February 7 Nightly Information.
“Unlawful border crossings are down 94 p.c throughout your complete border from the identical interval final 12 months, from practically 5,000 a day to lower than 300,” CBS’s Lilia Luciano defined on the March 5 Night Information. Later in the identical report, Luciano associated how one immigration lawyer defined the sharp drop: “Simply Trump being in workplace is deterrence sufficient.”
For probably the most half, the tone of this 12 months’s protection has echoed that of the networks’ strategy through the first Trump administration, magnifying the criticisms of pro-immigration advocates or these right here illegally themselves. “Immigration rights teams throughout the nation say individuals are scared, however they’re offering assets like hotlines and neighborhood conferences to assist those that could worry deportation,” ABC’s Melissa Adan sometimes relayed on the January 26 World Information Tonight.
■ All of the President’s Males: Whereas greater than four-fifths (82%) of the evaluative feedback we tallied targeted on President Trump and his insurance policies, the networks additionally focused a number of of the President’s prime lieutenants. Topping the listing: Elon Musk, whose high-profile function combating authorities waste was rewarded with practically completely adverse protection — 125 hostile feedback, vs. simply 5 supportive ones (or 96% adverse spin).
Whereas the general “DOGE” effort acquired largely unhealthy press on the networks (see above), Musk personally confronted equally harsh assaults. Concerning Musk’s request that federal staff clarify their accomplishments, one IRS employee vented to CBS on February 24: “That is simply one other step within the demonization and harassment of staff who’ve solely labored to serve the American individuals.”
Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was bombarded with 56 adverse feedback, vs. simply seven optimistic ones (89% adverse press). That’s higher than the “honeymoon” Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth acquired from the networks: 40 adverse feedback with out a single optimistic assertion, for a 100% adverse spin rating.
Collectively, the President’s “Nationwide Safety Staff” confronted equally terrible protection following the revelations that delicate details about the U.S. assault on Houthi terrorists in Yemen was posted to a non-government Sign chat group. Out of the 50 nonpartisan evaluations of the “Nationwide Safety Staff” associated to the incident, all 50 — 100% — have been adverse.
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Earlier this 12 months, Gallup reported that almost all People have basically misplaced belief of the media: “When Gallup started monitoring People’ views of the information media within the early Seventies, attitudes have been overwhelmingly optimistic, however public confidence within the Fourth Property has collapsed over the previous three a long time.”
One purpose for that lack of belief could also be that three of probably the most widely-watched information applications within the nation current viewers with a preposterously lopsided view of politics that leaves no room for truthful debate and dialogue.
Methodology: To find out the spin of night information protection, our analysts tallied all explicitly evaluative statements about President Trump from both reporters, anchors or non-partisan sources similar to consultants or voters. In an effort to isolate the networks’ personal slant, not the back-and-forth of partisan politics, evaluations from partisan sources (Republicans supporting Trump, Democrats criticizing him) in addition to impartial statements, weren’t included. This matches the methodology we utilized in 2017 to calculate the tone of protection of the Trump administration, and in 2021 to calculate the tone of Biden administration protection.
Utilizing these standards, MRC analysts tallied 1,841 evaluative statements concerning the Trump administration, of which 1,698 (92.2%) have been adverse vs. a mere 143 (7.8%) which have been optimistic.
