Reps. Donalds and Cammack tear into press over liberal dogma: ‘Nobody trusts the media’
Donalds and Cammack told Fox News Digital that Americans are now turning to alternative media
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Republican Reps. Byron Donalds and Kat Cammack tore into the liberal media over biased coverage after new research showed a severe lack of trust in the media by the American public.
Recent polling by Gallup showed only 16% of Americans said they have a "great deal or quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers with only 11% of Americans having confidence in television. It represented a 5% decrease since 2021 and was also the lowest rating given towards newspapers since Gallup’s original poll back in 1973.
Donalds, speaking with Fox News Digital at TPUSAs 2022 Student Action Summit, said journalists must be more responsible in their positions, and cited the overwhelming "liberal worldview" prevalent in major universities as a prime factor in their biases. He also said most major publications are centered in major U.S. cities, such as New York and Washington D.C., which both overwhelmingly vote Democrat.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You’ve got to cover both sides," Donalds said. "If you only cover one side what you get is dogma. And actually what you get is more separation between the parties and amongst the electorate—because everyone’s either going to be thirsting for the narrative you throw or they’re going to reject the narrative because out of hand they know it’s illogical, and they’re going to seek an alternative."
Rep. Byron Donalds speaks to Fox News at CPAC 2022. (Fox News Digital)
Donalds added that "nobody trusts the media."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Florida congressman also referenced a recent survey from Pew that found a majority of journalists reject the idea that both sides deserve equal coverage.
Fifty-five percent said every side "does not always deserve equal coverage," while 44% said journalists should strive to report on both sides of an issue.
Seemingly conflicting with this previous response, an overwhelming majority of journalists, 82%, said the press should keep their personal views out of their reporting, but only 55% told Pew that they think that journalists are succeeding at this goal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"That’s nuts. That’s why people don’t trust them, because when they watch news reporters, and especially when they watch the opinion reporters, they know they’re not telling the full story. They know they’re being political. And I think Americans have had enough," Donalds said.
POLITICO URGES READERS 'DON'T BELIEVE' POLLS SHOWING SINKING LEVELS OF TRUST IN THE MEDIA
Republican Reps. Brian Stiel, of Wisconsin, Jodey Arrington, of Texas, and Cat Kammack and Byron Donalds, of Florida, speak to reporters after touring the Rio Grande with the Texas Department of Public Safety. (Tyler Olson/Fox News)
Cammack also chided the media, relaying an experience in which she said that the journalists accused her of lying about a story involving supplies being hoarded at the U.S. southern border, including baby formula.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rolling Stone, The Washington Post and the White House claimed that the pictures she provided were not real, or at least that it wasn’t a "real issue," according to Cammack. The next day she live-streamed from three separate warehouses filled with goods for illegal immigrants.
"When it came out that, nope, this is actually not a doctored photo, here are all the palates of baby formula, they just went quiet," Cammack told Fox News Digital. "They didn’t apologize, they didn’t retract their statements, they just moved on. And to me that really speaks volumes about their lack of credibility."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida Reps. Byron Donalds and Kat Cammack discuss media bias with Fox News Digital at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa on July 24, 2022. (Fox News)
She added that she believes that 98% of the media is "grossly skewed" and slammed arts and entertainment magazines such as Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Cosmopolitan for "playing outside their lane." She also accused Rolling Stone of writing a recent "hit piece" on her after she and many other Republicans voted against a bill codifying the individual right to access and use contraception into law.
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"It’s gotten really messy," Cammack said. "And when you look at it, people are not dumb. People see right through the endgame, and you have to ask yourself, who are the advertisers? Where are these publications getting their money from, because it really stems a lot from that as well. So, it’s no wonder that people are looking for alternative journalism sources because they are really starting to see the bias. A lot of these outlets aren’t hiding it anymore."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.