According to data compiled by the Media Research Center, 92% of the major network media coverage — throughout the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term — has been negative.
The MRC looked at coverage across the three major broadcast companies — ABC, CBS, and NBC — and set aside comments made by expressly partisan guests, whether they were in support of or opposition to the Trump administration. Instead, they only recorded “evaluative comments” made by those whose role with the networks suggests they are to behave in a non-partisan fashion: anchors, reporters, and experts.
This is the same rubric by which MRC graded the bias of networks covering former President Joe Biden in 2021 and of networks covering Trump during his first term in 2017 — and based on the data, Trump’s coverage has been even more negative during his second term than it was during his first.
🚨 BREAKING STUDY: The Trump-hating media gives President Trump 92% negative coverage in his first 100 days in office. https://t.co/fr3XUB8eWS
— MRC NewsBusters (@newsbusters) April 28, 2025
“MRC analysts tallied 1,841 explicitly evaluative statements about President Trump and his Trump administration, of which 1,698 (92.2%) were negative vs. a mere 143 (7.8%) which were positive,” the report stated, noting that the data were pulled from some 899 stories about President Trump or his administration that aired during evening news broadcasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC between January 20 and April 9.
The biggest takeaway, according to the report, was the dramatic shift from the 59% positive coverage the same three networks offered former President Biden.
Another change of note was the focus on policies rather than Trump’s personality, which drove the 89% negative coverage Trump received in 2017. Major story topics included tariffs (361 minutes of coverage), the Department Of Government Efficiency (310 minutes) and illegal immigration (233 minutes) — and all showcased networks that stood in opposition to Trump’s positions and policies on those issues.
The data also pointed to a disparity between the way the public views President Trump and his policies — particularly with regard to illegal immigration, where recent polling indicates the majority of Americans largely favor Trump’s deportation plan. Despite that, the legacy networks’ messaging on the issue of illegal immigration has been 93% negative.
Trump fared better than a few associated with his administration, however. Elon Musk and DOGE saw 96% negative coverage, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s coverage was 100% negative.
