PHOENIX (August 21, 2017) On the eve of his Tuesday rally and the heels of Charlottesville, Arizona voters are split on their view of President Donald J. Trump. In a statewide survey conducted August 17–18, 50% of Arizonans have a favorable opinion of the President, with 47% viewing him unfavorably.

In a collaborative survey conducted by Intrepid Public Affairs and Data Orbital, Arizonans were asked about the trustworthiness of national and local media outlets as it relates to the consumption of political news. A sample of 700 voters found that Fox News is the most preferred source of news, followed by local news in a distant second, CNN, other sources, and finally MSNBC.

Surprisingly, only 14% of respondents found social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, to be reliable sources of news, with an overwhelming majority citing social media outlets as untrustworthy.

“The trend of the 2016 campaign cycles continues as it relates to the opinion of President Donald Trump. Regardless of what happens in the White House or the activities surrounding the President, the cake is baked when it comes to the opinions of the electorate,” according to Ryan O’Daniel. “Changing hearts and minds is becoming increasingly difficult given the depth of the partisan divide, especially when it comes to the President. Emotion is going to be the key to driving political messages, regardless of the delivery medium”.

“As we inch closer to the 2018 general election, it is clear that as candidates prepare to campaign across our state, the majority of voters still look to television as their primary news source. While having a strong presence on social media is key, voters across the ideological, education and age spectrum agree that news found on social media is untrustworthy,” stated George Khalaf.

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Photo Credit: Patrick Breen/Arizona Republic

Full survey results are included below for reference.

Intrepid Public Affairs was founded by Ryan O’Daniel, who served as Senator John McCain’s campaign manager during the 2016 re-election campaign: www.IntrepidAZ.com

George Khalaf serves as President of Data Orbital. With a strong grassroots and data background, George worked on local, state and national efforts before starting Data Orbital: www.DataOrbital.com

This automated poll of 700 statewide likely general election voters has a margin of error at plus or minus 3.7% and was conducted on August 17 and 18. Respondents were weighted based on a number of various demographic data and phone numbers were pulled from the voter registration file.


Arizona Statewide Poll Results

Conducted: August 17–18, 2017

Number of Respondents: 700

Margin of Error: 3.7%

Q1. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable view of President Donald Trump?

Strongly Favorable: 35%

Somewhat favorable: 15%

Somewhat Unfavorable: 6%

Strongly Unfavorable: 41%

Have No Opinion: 1%

Never Heard Of: 2%


Q2. Do you consider CNN to be a trustworthy source of news?

Very Trustworthy: 28%

Somewhat Trustworthy: 17%

Not Very Trustworthy: 12%

Not Trustworthy At All: 28%

Neutral/No Opinion: 13%

Never Heard of: 1%


Q3. Do you consider FoxNews to be a trustworthy source of news?

Very Trustworthy: 20%

Somewhat Trustworthy: 27%

Not Very Trustworthy: 19%

Not Trustworthy At All: 18%

Neutral/No Opinion: 16%

Never Heard Of: 0%


Q4. Do you consider MSNBC to be a trustworthy source of news?

Very Trustworthy: 24%

Somewhat Trustworthy: 21%

Not Very Trustworthy: 11%

Not Trustworthy At All: 25%

Neutral/No Opinion: 17%

Never Heard Of: 1%


Q5. When considering where you get your news on a daily basis, which of the following is your preferred news source?

Local TV Stations: 23%

National TV Stations: 34%

Online Blog: 5%

Print Magazines/Newspapers: 11%

Social Media: 4%

Other: 22%


Q6. Now, which of the following is your most preferred television news source?

CNN: 18%

FoxNews: 33%

Local News Station: 20%

MSNBC: 13%

Other: 17%


Q7. Do you consider news that you find on social media sites like Twitter or Facebook to be trustworthy?

Very Trustworthy: 2%

Somewhat Trustworthy: 12%

Not Very Trustworthy: 30%

Not Trustworthy At All: 24%

Neutral/Not Sure: 28%

Never Heard Of: 4%


Demographics

Age

18 to 34: 11%

35 to 44: 12%

45 to 54: 16%

55 to 64: 22%

65 Plus: 40%

Total: 100%


Gender

Female: 53%

Male: 47%

Total: 100%


Race

White: 75%

African American: 3%

Asian American/Pacific Islander: 2%

Hispanic: 15%

Native American: 2%

Something Else: 4%

Total: 100%


Party

Republican: 42%

Democrat: 33%

Independent: 25%

Total: 100%


Segmented Party

Strong Republican: 27%

Somewhat Republican: 15%

Somewhat Democrat: 11%

Strong Democrat: 22%

Independent: 22%

Other: 3%

Total: 100%


Education

Some High School No Diploma: 4%

High School Diploma: 17%

Associated Degree: 21%

Bachelors Degree: 29%

Masters Degree: 22%

Doctorate Degree: 8%

Total: 100%

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