Biden 'Trust' Score Far Outpaces Trump

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden dominates President Donald Trump in the "trust" factor, at least by one recent metric.

That is according to the latest Brand Keys "media trust" tracking survey--of viewers who watch those outlets at least three times a week. (Brand Keys surveyed 5,066 respondents, balanced by gender and political affiliation, about the TV news brands they watch regularly).

Related: Harris Tapped As Biden Running Mate

When brand keys asked respondents to gauge their trust of President Trump versus their trust of their regular news outlets, only 19% trusted him more than the outlets he regularly calls fake news. Less than half the Republicans (47%) said they trusted him more than their regular news outlets, but only 2% of Democrats.

By contrast, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was trusted more than their regular news outlets mainstream media by about half of respondents (49%), or two-and-a-half times the Trump score, including a whopping 84% of Democrats and even 19% of Republicans.

The survey also found that Major TV news brands continue to get high trust scores from regular viewers, so it is not as though the candidate vs. media trust scores is a low bar.

The survey gauges the value that "trust" plays in brand engagement.

Fox News, BBC, MSNBC, ABC, and CNN were all trusted by 90% of their regular watchers, with "trust" defined primarily as "a fair presentation of content important to viewers."

The largest trust increases since a similar 2018 survey were recorded by CNN and ABC, up 21% each.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.