2/5/2019

BORDER/POLLS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “Poll after poll shows that most Americans don’t believe illegal border crossings are the country’s most pressing problem. Far from it. But ‘the wall’ is the subject of constant coverage and advocacy by right-wing media outlets. That’s what President Trump is hearing and seeing all the time. And that’s what’s informing his focus on this issue. It works both ways: The fear-stoking stories and segments give Trump support for his hardline position while giving viewers confidence that Trump is right. Witness ‘Fox & Friends,’ one of his favorite shows. The prospect of thousands of immigrants pouring into the U.S. from Mexico from so-called ‘caravans’ is a daily theme on the morning show. The result is a population with two very different impressions about what’s actually going on at the border. Real challenges are obscured by cheap rhetoric. Trump’s frightening talk about immigration rings true to the viewers of Fox’s talk shows, while it strikes many other Americans as extreme — or even a joke.”

Brian Stelter, “‘Fox & Friends’ hypes new ‘caravan’ ahead of State of the Union,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, February 5, 2019 6:49 pm