A bit of context for the poll finding 43% of Republicans think Trump should have the power to shut down news outlets, as seen here: thedailybeast.com/new-poll-43-of…
Overall, per that survey, 26% of Americans agree that "the
president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior." That's bad. Is it new?
president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior." That's bad. Is it new?
In 1979, 22% of Americans agreed that "the President has a right to close down a newspaper that prints stories that he feels are biased or inaccurate." So, not really, no.
That being said, there have definitely been major, relatively recent changes in perceptions of the media's trustworthiness and impartiality.
But there's always going to be a minority of the public that is kinda fuzzy on the First Amendment, and that's not solely a product of the Trump Administration.
(Another finding from 1979: 26% favored "a law prohibiting newspapers from printing stories that embarrass the President, the government or the country"!)
