President Donald Trump pointed out, through a tweet Friday morning, that his ratings were almost the same as President Barack Obama's at the end of his first year in office, but the "Fake News" prefers talking about his "so-called low approval rating."
The comment came following a discussion on the Fox News "Fox a& Friend" program, concerning a new Rasmussen poll showing Trump's approval rating is at 46 percent, with Obama's at 47 percent for the same time period.
"When you look at this poll, it kind of reinforces what we have known about what Donald Trump would refer to as the 'fake news,' taking a poll like this and still having the narrative that he is not doing well," Beverly Hallberg, president of the District Media Group and a fellow for the conservative Heritage Foundation, commented on the program in a segment airing shortly before Trump's tweet.
Trump ended December with landmark tax reform legislation being passed, which was "huge for his presidency," Hallberg continued.
"Also, when you look at some of the media coverage, whether it's ABC's Brian Ross who is now suspended for his incorrect story about the connection with the former national security adviser in Finland or even CNN having to retract some stories as well, you see that Donald Trump really has ended on a high note."
There are many in the "mainstream media networks, not Fox," that have said Trump isn't doing well, Hallberg added, but that's "not the case."
Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy, guest-hosting on the program, commented that she could just "imagine what Obama's poll numbers would be if he had endured the abuse" Trump "has endured."
Hallberg said she doesn't think the president helps himself with the tweets he sends out, and sometimes, "he does make it harder for himself."
"Let's not forget he has multiple Russia investigations through 2017," said Hallberg. "He has had an uphill battle with the news media. He has had a lot of staff turnover as well.
"Yet, for him to have numbers that are this high when you hear Democrats saying there is no way he could be re-elected and with midterms arranged the corner, it makes you wonder if some in the news media are looking at these numbers and just not taking them seriously."
Hallberg further said that when comparing media stories about Trump versus Obama, six out of 10 stories about Trump were negative, while Obama's coverage was "far more favorable."
"This has been a controversial presidency when it comes to his relationship with the media," she added. "Even when I saw the numbers, I was like these are really high numbers and I think largely due to a fantastic December and the fact that people wanted results and tax reform being passed was one of those that people carried about most."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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