What does 92% negative coverage of President Donald Trump’s second term get you if you’re the legacy media? After the first 100 days, a basis from which to elicit doompolls that peddle narratives of disarray and chaos, while instilling fear in viewers.
Of these, CBS Evening News was demonstrably and by far the worst. Watch as their poll coverage begins with inflammatory language, to wit: John Dickerson alleging that trade war is a Trump economic policy, and with correspondent Janer Shamlian’s report shamelessly evoking the specter of the Great Recession of 2008:
MAURICE DuBOIS: Tomorrow is day 100 of President Trump's second term, and more than half the Americans CBS News polled told us that is enough time to judge his administration.
JOHN DICKERSON: So here is how they judge it. 45% approve of the job he’s doing. 55% disapprove.
DuBOIS: And on the number one issue in the past election, the economy, 58% disapprove of the way he is handling it.
DICKERSON: For one thing, 63% told us they believe Trump policies, which include tariffs and a trade war, are driving food prices higher.
DuBOIS: Those are some of the perceptions of the economy and of the president on the eve of his 100th day.
DICKERSON: For a ground-level view of the economy, we sent Janet Shamlian to the heart of America: Elkhart, Indiana. Janet.
JANET SHAMLIAN: So Elkhart knows tough times. The unemployment rate was close to 20 percent in 2008, and many of the people that I talked to were in Elkhart at the time.
It appears that CBS News is continuing their collective crashout over a potential Paramount settlement with Trump ahead of a potential merger with Skydance Media, and over the related resignation of executive producer Bill Owens- who also oversaw 60 Minutes. There is no other explanation for this hackneyed tie-in to 2008, replete with a throwback to correspondent Dean Reynolds touring an empty RV plant in Elkhart, Indiana.
Let the record reflect that CBS appears to have selected Elkhart as its token red state victim of Trump policy, having previously featured the city in its item on tariffs forcing brides to “say yes to the dress.” Our nonscientific review of recent transcripts shows that, other than as CBS’s “Trump is even hurting red states” locale, the media don’t care about Elkhart unless a tornado rolls through.
ABC and NBC showed slightly more restraint but that’s a very low bar. Rachel Scott’s coverage for ABC did a rundown of the polls but centered on advancing the Deported Citizen Babies Hoax. NBC did likewise, minus the hoax promotion, in keeping with their hard-earned reputation as the least awful of the legacy evening newscasts.
Each of the networks relied on terrible public polling with divergent results. The common ground: the polls were of “adults”, not registered or likely voters. In NBC’s case, 40% of respondents didn’t even vote in the 2024 presidential election. Of those polled who did, only 30% voted for Trump, as opposed to the 49.8% of actual voters who did so in the election.
Let these garbage polls and their horrendous coverage thereof remind us of the words of the great Rush Limbaugh, gone but never forgotten:
The polls are just being used as another tool of voter suppression. The polls are an attempt to not reflect public opinion, but to shape it. Yours. They want to depress the heck out of you.
Click “expand” to view the transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Monday, April 28th, 2025:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
4/28/25
6:36 PM
DAVID MUIR: We turn now to President Trump, who marks 100 days in office tomorrow. Tonight here, the new ABC news poll: what Americans are saying about the economy, inflation, immigration, and President Trump's promise to end the war in Ukraine on Day One. Here's Rachel Scott.
RACHEL SCOTT, SHOUTING IN FRONT OF MARINE ONE: Mr. President?
SCOTT: Tonight, on the eve of marking his first 100 days in office, President Trump facing the reality that while he was elected in large part because of the economy and inflation --
DONALD Trump: Starting on day one, we will end inflation. (VIDEO SWIPE) We will end inflation and we will make America affordable again.
SCOTT: He has now presided over the worst first 100 days in the stock market since Richard Nixon. Today, the new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll on the first 100 days shows the president's approval rating is 39%, the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in 80 years. 72% say his economic policies will likely cause a recession in short-term. 73% say the economy is in bad shape. And 53% say it's gotten worse since he took office. President Trump's tariffs leading to global uncertainty. And his 145% tariffs on China remain in place. The president says he has a good relationship with president Xi of China, but that he hasn't reached out to him. Telling Time Xi has personally reached out to him, something China denies. I asked the president, when did you talk?
(SHOUTING IN FRONT OF MARINE ONE): You said you spoke to president Xi? When did that happen? China said that hasn't happened.
Trump: I spoke to him numerous times.
SCOTT: Other reporters pressing, too.
REPORTER: Have you spoken to him since the tariffs? When did you last speak with him?
Trump: I don't want to- I don’t want to comment on that. But I’ve spoken to him many times.
SCOTT: But China today once again insisting that hasn't happened. Today a spokesperson saying, “as far as I know, there have not been any calls between the two presidents recently.” Adding, “Let me make it clear one more time that China and the U.S. are not engaged in any consultation or negotiations on tariffs”, after warning, “the United States should not confuse the public.” On immigration, the other major issue in the November election, President Trump getting his highest marks. But they come with new questions tonight. 46% of Americans approve of his immigration policies. But 48% say his actions deporting undocumented migrants have gone too far. Tonight, The White House defending how they've handled mass deportations after three children who are U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4 and 7, were deported to Honduras, along with their mothers, after routine checks by ICE. The president's border czar, Tom Homan, claiming the presidents were given a choice.
TOM HOMAN: What we did is remove children with their mothers, who requested their children depart with them. This is a parental decision. Parenting 101. Having a U.S. citizen child, does that make you immune from our law?
SCOTT: The ACLU says the 4-year-old suffers from a rare form of cancer. On the 2-year-old sent to Honduras, a federal judge appointed by Trump saying he has a strong suspicion the administration deported the 2-year-old, whose mother is currently pregnant, with no meaningful process. And the ACLU claiming the parents were nevert given a choice. That the parents did not have the opportunity to coordinate with caretakers or legal representatives. In a new interview with The Atlantic, the president was asked, what would happen if the administration accidentally deported the wrong person or an American citizen? The president saying, quote, “let me tell you that nothing will ever be perfect in this world.” And on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the promise from candidate Trump --
Trump: Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, I will have the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine settled. Settled. It will take me no longer than one day.
SCOTT: Tonight, the war still raging. 46% of Americans said Trump's approach to Russia is too friendly. The president requesting this meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy at The Vatican, ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral this weekend. Though it's still unclear how and when this war will end, and what concessions, if any, will come from Vladimir Putin. With so much focus on the president’s interactions with our allies, tonight Canadians will be heading to the polls, an election that will decide how Canada responds to the president's ongoing tariff threat and his push to make Canada the 51st state. All of that all could end up helping the Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took over after Justin Trudeau stepped down and has vowed to confront President Trump head-on. David.
MUIR: Now a lot of eyes on that Canadian election tonight. Rachel Scott, thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS
4/28/25
6:30 PM
MAURICE DuBOIS: Tomorrow is day 100 of President Trump's second term, and more than half the Americans CBS News polled told us that is enough time to judge his administration.
JOHN DICKERSON: So here is how they judge it. 45% approve of the job he’s doing. 55% disapprove.
DuBOIS: And on the number one issue in the past election, the economy, 58% disapprove of the way he is handling it.
DICKERSON: For one thing, 63% told us they believe Trump policies, which include tariffs and a trade war, are driving food prices higher.
DuBOIS: Those are some of the perceptions of the economy and of the president on the eve of his 100th day.
DICKERSON: For a ground-level view of the economy, we sent Janet Shamlian to the heart of America: Elkhart, Indiana. Janet.
JANET SHAMLIAN: So Elkhart knows tough times. The unemployment rate was close to 20 percent in 2008, and many of the people that I talked to were in Elkhart at the time. Take a listen.
Elkhart, Indiana, is often considered a crystal ball on the economy, because it produces 80% of the nation's RV, a big-ticket discretionary item. People don't buy them when times are tough. And right now on Elkhart's main street, concern is blooming.
JENNIFER RUPNOW: We are facing tariffs, everybody is.
SHAMLIAN: And people are cutting back when they are unsure.
RUPNOW: That’s right.
SHAMLIAN: Jennifer Rupnow owns Matzke Florist. This is usually one of her biggest times of the year.
Are you seeing a slow down?
RUPNOW: Oh, yeah. Very much so. And with- even with us trying to gear up for Mother's Day, you’re- you are not seeing the orders come in.
SHAMLIAN: It's not only Elkhart feeling less rosy. The latest CBS News poll indicates a majority of Americans, 53% believe the economy is getting worse. The poll, a snapshot of the Trump administration's first 100 days, finds 48% say his policies are making them worse off financially. Elkhart's concern dates back to the 2008 financial crisis when unemployment skyrocketed. CBS News' Dean Reynolds was there.
DEAN REYNOLDS: At this plant up until August, 900 people once worked. Today, there is nobody here.
SHAMLIAN: In 2025, RVs are still rolling off the production line, but residents have shifted to neutral.
JEANNE KERR: Enjoy your meals.
SHAMLIAN: That wait-and-see approach is also being felt further down Main Street.
How are bookings right now?
KERR: Things are not as busy as usual.
SHAMLIAN: Jeanne Kerr owns The Vine.
KERR: People are a little concerned about the uncertainty. I definitely think that people are not spending as much right now.
SHAMLIAN: And how does that impact you?
KERR: We’re pretty flat. Business is adequate, but not great.
DuBOIS: And Janet, how are you seeing this uncertainty playing out in everyday life there in Elkhart?
SHAMLIAN: You know, Elkhart- people have seen this happen before, right? In 2008. For example the woman, Jeanne who runs the restaurant, told me she was laid off from her job at that time, and she’s made it a point to be debt-free since then in her personal life and in her business. And Jennifer, the woman who owns the florist shop, she right now needs a pair of shoes. She says she’s on her feet all day, but at this point, that's $150 that she is unwilling to spend. So that is how uncertainty is playing out in Elkhart.
DuBOIS: That it is. Janet Shamlian in Elkhart, Indiana tonight. Thank you.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
4/28/25
6:31 PM
LESTER HOLT: Good evening and welcome. It is something every modern-day president faces, the measuring stick of those first 100 days in office. Tonight as the Trump presidency nears that mark, some harsh takeaways for the president and his administration, starting with a 45% approval rating among voters, according to a new NBC News-Staytuned poll. His approval rating is higher than his first term, but it is barely masking erosion and warning signs on some of the other issues that helped propel him into office, like the economy or his approval on trade and tariffs stands at 39%. And on border security and immigration, a signature issue for President Trump, our poll shows him with a 49% approval. And tonight, the removal of an undocumented migrant mother and her two children, both American citizens, is the latest flash point in an ongoing fight over the president's mass deportation policies. Garrett Haake has the latest.
GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, President Trump approaching his 100th day in office, focused on his top day one priority, border security. The president signing three executive orders on immigration, including one ordering the attorney general to compile a list of so-called sanctuary cities, and states that don't fully cooperate with the federal immigration authorities, after a weekend raid in Colorado Springs where the DEA says over 100 migrants in the U.S. illegally were arrested at an underground nightclub frequented by MS-13 and TdA gang members.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: The American public don't want illegal alien criminals in their communities, they made that quite clear on November 5th, and this administration is determined to enforce our immigration laws.
HAAKE: The White House touting a 95% drop in illegal border crossings in March compared to the same month last year under President Biden. But tonight, the administration is facing criticism from migrant advocates over the removal of two American citizen children of an undocumented woman from Honduras, including her 4 year-old son. A migrant rights group says he was sent to Honduras without his medication for Stage Four cancer. The Trump administration says his mother chose to take her children when she was deported.
TOM HOMAN: A mother wanted her children to go with her. What better due process would anybody want? That's a parent's choice, not a government choice, not a judge's choice.
HAAKE: We pressed President Trump's border czar.
How is going after families with young kids targeting the worst of the worst?
HOMAN: First of all, we said we're going to prioritize the worst of the worst.
HAAKE: You feel like that's what you're doing?
HOMAN: Absolutely. But when you prioritize something, it doesn’t mean you forget about everything else. I have said from day one: if you're in the country illegally, you're not off the table.
HAAKE: But nearly 100 days into his second term, it is the economy where President Trump is facing his biggest challenge. Just 39% of Americans approve of his handling of trade and tariffs in a new NBC News-Staytuned poll. Overall, the president's approval rating stands at 45%. Two points down from our poll a month ago.
HOLT: And Garrett, our poll also shows President Trump has just a 40% approval rating on handling of inflation, and The White House is about to focus on that tomorrow.
HAAKE: Yeah, that's right, Lester. The president marks 100 days, the Treasury Secretary will be here tomorrow to defend the administration’s economic approach, and the president will hold his first major rally since the campaign in Michigan. A state he won, but where the economy and his tariffs are front and center. Lester.
HOLT: All right. Garrett, thanks.
