Almost half of self-identified Trump supporters say the legal system should make it easier for public figures to sue the news media, according to a new survey. 

The Glover Park poll conducted by Morning Consult found that 49 percent of Trump voters believe the courts should make it easier for people to sue the media for unfavorable or false coverage. 

Twenty-nine percent of Trump voters say they are against the idea, while 22 percent weren’t sure. 

Donald Trump has railed against the media, calling them “dishonest,” “corrupt” and “unfair,” among other things. 

 

{mosads}During his presidential campaign, he discussed changing libel laws to make it easier to file suits against the media.

“One of the things I’m going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we’re certainly leading. I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money,” Trump said in February at a campaign stop. 

“So when The New York Times writes a hit piece — which is a total disgrace — or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected,” Trump added. 

The survey also asked about federal spending on public media like PBS and NPR. 

Thirty-eight percent of respondents believe the current amount should be cut, while 30 percent of those responding say federal spending for public media should remain the same. 

Twenty-three percent said spending should increase under a Trump administration, while 8 percent said they weren’t sure. 

The survey was conducted from December 11-13 among 2,000 self-identified Trump voters and has a 2.2 percent “credibility interval” according to Morning Consult.