Poll: 36% say media is too tough on Trump administration, 28% say not tough enough

It is against this backdrop that nearly three in four Republicans (74%) say the media has been too tough on Trump. Democrats, on the other hand, are more divided, with 49% saying the media has not been tough enough and 40% saying its coverage has been about right.

The public’s mood, according to this late January poll, differs from that in January 2009, when only 11% of Americans thought the news media had been too tough on newly elected President Barack Obama. Nearly half (48%) thought the media was about right in its coverage of Obama and his administration, while 38% said it was not tough enough.

As is the case today, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to be unhappy with the media: In 2009, 65% of Republicans thought the media was not tough enough on Obama, while 66% of Democrats thought it was about right.