Poll: Nearly half of Republicans think Trump should have authority to shutter media outlets

Forty-three percent of Republicans think President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump campaign files for new recount in Georgia GOP senator congratulates Biden, says Trump should accept results FDA grants emergency approval to coronavirus antibody treatment given to Trump MORE “should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior,” while only 36 percent disagreed with the statement, according to an Ipsos poll released Tuesday. 

A large number of Republicans polled also took issue with the media in general, with 48 percent agreeing that the news media is “the enemy of the American people.” Seventy-nine percent said mainstream media outlets treat Trump “unfairly.”

The Daily Beast first reported the poll results.

While Republicans criticized the media in higher numbers than Democrats and independents, 12 percent of Democrats and 21 percent of independents said the president should have the power to close down news operations “engaged in bad behavior.”

Twelve percent of Democrats and 26 percent of independents agreed the media is “the enemy of the American people."

Trump has repeatedly criticized members of the media on Twitter and at campaign rallies. During a rally last Friday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the president lambasted the media as the “fake, fake disgusting news.”

The stance has split Republicans in the executive and legislative branches. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to denounce the “fake news” moniker, while Ivanka TrumpIvana (Ivanka) Marie TrumpNew York expands Trump tax fraud investigations to include write-offs: report Lara Trump mulling 2022 Senate run in North Carolina: report Republicans need a good woman for 2024 MORE and Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamHackers love a bad transition The Hill's Campaign Report: Trump campaign files for Wis. recount l Secretaries of state fume at Trump allegations l Biden angered over transition delay Georgia elections chief: 'Emotional abuse' to mislead voters about fraud MORE (R-S.C.) have said the press is not the enemy of the people.

A majority of all those polled seemed to agree with Trump and Graham, with 57 percent saying the media was “necessary to keep the Trump administration honest.”

However, respondents also seemed overwhelmingly willing to open journalists up to lawsuits, with 72 percent agreeing it should be easier to sue reporters who knowingly publish false information.

Ipsos surveyed 1,003 American adults online from Aug. 3 to 6. The poll did not have a margin of error, but had a credibility interval of 3.5 percentage points.