A Christopher Newport University Wason poll released this morning says “Enemy of the People” attacks on the press are working and a hyper-polarized electorate sees the other party as a “threat to the U.S.”
The survey’s director, Rachel Bitecofer says the results are shocking. “Eighty-six percent of Republicans: that means almost nine out of ten of our Republican voters in this survey agree that our nation’s major news outlets are publishing fake news for political purposes."
Thirty-one percent of Democrats agreed. Bitecofer says it was there before, but Trump's constant attacks have made it worse.
"Those are numbers that should be troubling because we are talking about one of our major democratic, small 'd,' democratic institutions,” says Bitecofer
As for the 2020 elections, Bitecofer says “Polarization is going to be a major factor in the 2020 election, and in fact, it’s a major component of why Donald Trump is President.”
And she says it means 10 percent of the voters, what she calls “the true independents,” will determine the outcome.
