Viewers of Univision ́s weekly evening news edition, Noticiero Univisión, were treated to an unusual sight: Anchor Ilia Calderón actually reporting on a recent Washington Post/ABC poll that found that President Trump's approval rating rose by five points to an all-time high of 44 percent, albeit it took her a scant 29 seconds to cover all the good news for Trump (Telemundo News skipped it altogether).
Yet, closer observation and analysis reveals just how selective the anchor was in reporting the poll numbers, leaving out other key positive findings and using selective wording such as “voting-age Americans” versus “registered voters” and pinpointing just how many Americans were “not satisfied with his Administration” or thought that his behavior was “unpresidential”. Below is the report in its entirety, as aired on Noticiero Univision on Monday, July 8, 2019:
ILIA CALDERÓN, ANCHOR, UNIVISIÓN: President Trump reached his highest approval rating since entering the White House, according to a recent poll by the Washington Post and ABC. Support for the President increased 5 points with regard to his approval rating from three months ago. The poll also reveals that little more than half of the interviewed voters are not satisfied with his Administration, and that 6 out of 10 believe that his behavior is unpresidential.
The most remarkable finding appears to be absent from the report: that approval between registered voters was found to be at 47%, also 5 points up from 42% in April. Another win skipped by Calderón: 51% approved of his handling of the economy. Regarding the question “how important is it to you personally that Trump wins a second term as president” – 77% of the participants replied “extremely/very.”
One question that seems to have been inserted by the Post's Miss Manners went: “Since taking office, do you think Trump has acted in a way that's (fitting and proper for a president of the United States), or has he acted in a way that's (unpresidential)?”
It begs the question in light of recent events: what would poll respondents have to say about Bill Clinton?
