Trump’s attacks on media are working

As we stumbled toward the 100-day mark, President Trump insisted that the press was misrepresenting his record, while also vastly inflating it himself — thus preparing his voters to dismiss everything they are being told about his historic lack of accomplishments.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll suggests that this may be working for Trump. Just look at these findings:

▪  Only 17 percent of Trump voters think the Trump administration regularly makes false claims, while 76 percent of Trump voters think it doesn’t. (Among Republicans overall, this is 31-65.)

▪  By contrast, 78 percent of Trump voters think that news organizations regularly produce false stories, while only 19 percent of them think otherwise. (Among Republicans overall, this is 70-27.)

▪  Meanwhile, 84 percent of Trump voters think he’s keeping most of his major campaign promises, while only 4 percent think he isn’t, and 89 percent of them think he’s honest and trustworthy.

The lies that tumble from Trump are unprecedented in scope, audacity and frequency. The Post fact-checking team documented more than 400 false or misleading statements as of Day 91 of his presidency.

Yet to Trump voters, not only does this reality not exist at all, such critical media scrutiny of him and his administration is a sign that he’s doing something right – that he’s on their side, and the news media is the enemy.

It’s unclear how far Trump’s media strategy will ultimately get him: Even if his voters nod along with it, the broader mainstream sees Trump as dishonest and disapproves of his performance at historic levels.

Still, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Trump is accomplishing one of his key goals.

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 5:02 AM with the headline "Trump’s attacks on media are working."