Voters who heard first-hand President Donald Trump’s explanation of why the U.S. is at war with Iran are far more likely to understand and support the military mission than those who counted on the media to tell them what to think, results of a new national survey of voters reveal. The McLaughlin Poll survey of likely midterm voters, conducted April 8-15, measured differences in voter knowledge and opinions between those who watched President Donald Trump’s televised address to the nation on April 1 and those who relied on media reports. “Voters who watched President Trump’s address directly support military action by a decisive 67% to 29%, while those relying on media coverage are essentially split,” Pollsters John and Jim McLaughlin wrote Friday, reporting the survey’s results. Likewise, fully 59% of all voters who watched Trump’s speech also correctly identified the purpose of the U.S. military mission as an effort to stop Iran’s nuclear weaponry program. In contrast, only 38% of voters who didn’t watch Trump’s address - but merely consumed information filtered by the media - cited Iran’s nuclear threat. Instead, they mistakenly attributed the mission to motives like “taking oil” and “regime change.” Overall, 44% of likely voters correctly identified stopping Iran’s nuclear program as the goal. In contrast, just 25% of voters who regularly watch left of center news networks correctly identified the purpose of the military action. The differences are “a direct reflection of how information is delivered—and distorted” by dishonest, agenda-driven legacy media, the pollsters explain. As a result of this media malfeasance, voters’ understanding and approval of the mission is distorted. The harmful influence of the media’s filtering and misrepresentation of the issue is significant, given that only about a third (32%) of voters polled said they actually watched the president’s speech. The bias of cable news networks is particularly harmful, as 68% of voters reported that they regularly watch these networks. Those who watch left of center cable news were less likely to view Iran as a threat, even if the hostile regime were to develop and build a nuclear weapon. Of all voters, three times as many said Iran would use its nuclear weaponry to attack the U.S. and its allies as said it wouldn’t (61% vs. 00%, with 19% undecided/no answer). In contrast, less than half (48%) of those who regularly watch left of center cable news said Iran would launch a nuclear attack, while nearly a third (30%) said it wouldn’t. Notably, Independent voters are much less likely to be influenced by cable news. While roughly a quarter of both Democrats (25%) and Republicans (23%) do not regularly watch cable news networks, fully 40% of Independents shun cable news. The more voters are accurately and fully informed about Iran, the more likely they are to support the U.S. military mission there, the McLaughlin pollsters note: “When voters are reminded of Iran’s long record as a rogue state—killing Americans, taking hostages, and attacking U.S. forces — support for military action climbs to 59%, while only 32% disagree.” …. “Six in ten voters say the United States must ‘finish the job once and for all’ to prevent future conflict. Only 30% disagree.” Watch Pres. Donald Trump's full (April 1, 2026) address to the nation below.

Associated Press media reporter David Bauder found a fascinating nugget in an otherwise predictable lecture on media ethics from former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron. He gave the keynote address of the Peter F. Collier Awards for Ethics in Journalism at New York University. (This is not the Peter Collier who wrote books with David Horowitz.)  Alongside the usual lectures about the awfulness of Trump, there was a single note about how the press failed in reporting on Biden's cognitive decline:  Each of us probably can point to other instances where we went astray. Here’s one to think about: Did we live up to our truth-seeking mission early this decade as we saw Joe Biden struggling cognitively and physically while holding the most powerful position on earth? I don’t believe we did. Did some among us shy from aggressively exploring his intellectual acuity and physical health for fear of aiding Donald Trump’s campaign and alienating loyal readers, viewers and listeners? My guess is yes. If so, would that be an ethical breakdown in our profession? Again, I’d say yes. One thing is for sure: Our credibility was damaged. I didn't see Baron saying this back in the 2023 or 2024. He was doing the usual War on Trump material. In this speech, he immediately followed up: "Now we are living with an administration that actively obstructs our search for truth. President Trump and his allies seek to extinguish all independent arbiters of fact. The press is among them." Leftists are always "independent arbiters" when they go after Trump.  This was the more typical Baron bellowing:  If one challenge to that ethic of vigilance is the president’s malicious war on the media, another comes from those who enjoy press freedoms but abdicate the corresponding duties. I’m talking, for instance, about cable networks that function as mouthpieces and bullhorns for the administration, who routinely funnel on-air personalities into its top positions and who supply them with lucrative landing spots when they exit. These outlets render themselves largely indistinguishable from the government they are supposed to cover.... If the founders of this country had wanted lapdogs in lieu of watchdogs, they would have at least hinted at that in the formative documents that are their legacy. Those documents had deep flaws, but that was not among them. Stenography and propaganda are clearly not the ethic of the First Amendment. Notice how this conflicts with Baron's notes on failing to hold Biden and his team accountable. Under Democrats, the liberal outlets can be accused of being "mouthpieces and bullhorns" and stenographers and propagandists.  Baron and his pals in the media establishment imagine they aren't pitching their "news" at a partisan audience -- while the Post sells "Democracy Dies In Darkness" T-shirts and baby onesies. Baron slammed the Ellisons and their hire Bari Weiss for aiming for an audience in the political center at CBS News. That's political!  The new owner of CBS and the current editor-in-chief of the news division, for instance, set an explicit objective of appealing to the center right and the center left. That is a political goal. It is not a journalistic one. And it is a far cry from how Jack Knight instructed his newsroom: “Get the truth and publish it.” That is a journalistic goal. Media owners who substitute political goal posts for news values find refuge in sophistry. They lay claim to ethics; instead, they subvert them. Again, who is pretending that The Washington Post hasn't had political goals? The staffers were all furious at owner Jeff Bezos when the Post wasn't allowed to explicitly endorse Kamala Harris for president. 

ABC News moderator Whoopi Goldberg was having a real case of the Mondays, and possibly a mental break, during Monday’s The View. While wearing a sweater that read “weirdo,” the 70-year-old conspiracy theorist insisted that the Trump administration was planning to institute a draft to go fight Iran. She also proclaimed that America, under President Trump, had run out of gasoline and was running out of food. As co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin was talking about the danger posed by the Iranian regime, Goldberg interrupted to falsely complain the administration was “planning on a draft” while kicking women out of the military: FARAH GRIFFIN: Keep in mind the Iranian regime is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, they may try to strike the homeland, they may try to strike troops in the region. This doesn't go away just because you sign a piece of paper. GOLDBERG: No, nothing goes away. And that's why they're planning on a draft! They're planning on a draft! And you're bitching and moaning that there are women who are part of the - the Army, Navy, all the - and you're getting rid of people and talking about who shouldn't be -- what the hell are you people doing?! Farah Griffin tried to explain that there was no draft and what was actually happening was that Selective Service information would be automatically collected and didn’t need to be filled out manually. “What it is is they're changing that you no longer -  you used to have to opt into the draft, now it makes it automatic,” she struggled to say since she didn’t have to fill the Selective Service card out.   ABC News moderator Whoopi Goldberg falsely claims "they're planning on a draft" to go fight Iran. One cast member thinks she'd be drafted, another says he just beat the a revised cut off. Fact check: misinformation. There is no draft and none of them filled out Selective Service… pic.twitter.com/pNg3DV9lQJ — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 20, 2026   But Goldberg refused to listen to the fact. She started to repeatedly shout “it’s a draft, it’s a draft,” and was joined by co-host Sara Haines who also lied and claimed the draft after was raised to 42 and was excited she was just passed the age: GOLDBERG: It's a draft! I can sorry, it's a draft! Because if you are 18 to 25, they're looking at you! SARA HAINES: Well, they're increasing that age, too - GOLDBERG: How old is it now? HAINES: I think it's 42. FARAH GRIFFIN: Oh I'm - (as if she'd be drafted). HAINES: I just made it! I'm just kidding. This was just pure misinformation. There was no draft. The draft age wasn’t raised, the enlistment age was. And even if they fell within the age range, they couldn’t be drafted because only men fill out the Selective Service paperwork. “But, you left a lot of crap and you left a mess for somebody to clean up and you don't seem to be the person doing it,” Goldberg bloviate to Trump through the camera.   After falsely claiming a draft was about to happen, Whoopi claims that under Trump America has run out of gas and is running out of food: GOLDBERG: I mean - just - you know - Yes, you got rid of a lot of stuff. Okay. [Mocking clapping] But, you left a lot of crap and you left… pic.twitter.com/eBCJAQMaKi — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) April 20, 2026   Goldberg ended the segment by telling Trump, “you're freaking out Americans because they don't know which direction we're going in.” She then claimed that, in America, “We got no gas, can't get a whole lot of food.” This was reminiscent of October 28, 2024 when she tried to scare voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris by claiming Trump was going to outlaw interracial marriages and redistribute the white spouse. More disturbing that the brazenness of Goldberg’s lies was the fact the show was considered a “news” program by ABC and parent company Disney. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View April 20, 2026 11:20:19 a.m. Eastern (…) ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: Keep in mind the Iranian regime is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, they may try to strike the homeland, they may try to strike troops in the region. This doesn't go away just because you sign a piece of paper. WHOOPI GOLDBERG: No, nothing goes away. And that's why they're planning on a draft! They're planning on a draft! And you're bitching and moaning that there are women who are part of the - the Army, Navy, all the - and you're getting rid of people and talking about who shouldn't be -- what the hell are you people doing?! FARAH GRIFFIN: What it is is they're changing that you no longer -  you used to have to opt into the draft, now it makes it automatic. GOLDBERG: It's a draft! I can sorry, it's a draft! Because if you are 18 to 25, they're looking at you! SARA HAINES: Well, they're increasing that age, too - GOLDBERG: How old is it now? HAINES: I think it's 42. FARAH GRIFFIN: Oh I'm - (as if she'd be drafted). ANA NAVARRO: Why don't we make it 80? HAINES: I just made it! I'm just kidding. NAVARRO: Make it 80 and see how he feels about it. [Applause] GOLDBERG Well, he has sores. Right? NAVARRO: Bone spurs. GOLDBERG: He has bone spurs. He has bone spurs. I mean - just - you know - Yes, you got rid of a lot of stuff. Okay. [Mocking clapping] But, you left a lot of crap and you left a mess for somebody to clean up and you don't seem to be the person doing it. You keep saying, 'we're coming to do this, we're coming to do this,' meanwhile you're freaking out Americans because they don't know which direction we're going in. We got no gas, can't get a whole lot of food. You know, just could you just pull it back a little bit, man? Pull it back just a hair. We will be right back.

On Sunday’s The Weekend: Primetime, MS NOW welcomed former Canadian Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland—an MSNBC regular in her days as a journalist for the Financial Times and Reuters —to lament what she portrayed as a breakdown in U.S.-NATO trust under President Trump. Before getting there, Freeland set the tone with a gush of flattery—thanking host Catherine Rampell for the “great show” and praising her writing. Not subtle. But the most revealing moment came when Freeland tried to reassure viewers that Canadians still admire Americans. And of all places, she chose Minneapolis: “The people of Minneapolis are so admired in Canada. And if you're from Minneapolis and you're watching this show, I guarantee you, you will never have to pay for a beer if you come on holiday in Canada. Just say where you're from.” Free beer—for Minneapolis. Not a random pick. Minneapolis has become a showcase for leftist policies on policing, immigration, and welfare—policies that have produced exactly the kind of dire results many Americans warned about. It has also been ground zero for massive fraud. Start with the Feeding Our Future scandal—a roughly $250 million scheme in which dozens of defendants were charged with looting federal child nutrition funds through fake meal counts, bogus rosters, and shell operations. WATCH: Freeland to Minneapolis: ‘Free Beer’ in Canada pic.twitter.com/UcdKSmgcrG — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) April 20, 2026 And it didn’t stop there. Minnesota has seen major abuse allegations across multiple programs—housing services, autism treatment, childcare assistance—running up tens or even hundreds of millions more. Many of the most prominent cases have involved immigrant networks within the Somali community—an outrage compounded by officials who, rather than cracking down, too often looked the other way. So if Canada is now advertising “free beer” to Minneapolis visitors, it might want to be careful what it’s inviting in. To Americans outraged over illegal immigration and massive fraud by immigrant networks in Minnesota and beyond, Freeland's free beer isn't a compliment—it’s a provocation. Freeland’s sweeping claim that Canadians will line up to buy beers for Minneapolis visitors is a huge stretch. Maybe that flies in Toronto faculty lounges—though the drink on offer there is more likely a spot of sherry than a beer. Out on ranches in Saskatchewan or Alberta, Minneapolis visitors expecting a free Molson might get a very different reception. Here's the transcript. MS NOW The Weekend: Primetime 4/19/26 6:18 pm EDT CATHERINE RAMPELL: Trump calls NATO useless and a paper tiger. says he told them to stay away. And yet, we are barreling into week eight of a war with no end in sight and continuous flip-flops over the opening of the important Strait of Hormuz.  So what impact could all of this have on the U.S.? Not only is Trump pushing away from NATO, the U.K. and France are refusing to join the blockade on Iranian ports, a move that likely further strains that alliance.  Joining us now to discuss, Honorable Chrystia Freeland, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and former finance minister.  Chrystia, thank you so much for joining us. It looks like Trump's fighting against NATO is exposing a significant rift in this alliance.  Can you help our audience understand the real-world consequences if, in fact, Trump walks away from NATO or even just leaves the U.S.  commitment in doubt?  CHRYSTIA FREELAND: Well, thanks for the question, Catherine, and thanks for the great show. Also, I love your writing.  . . .  AYMAN MOHYELDIN: So if I can ask you about the issue of trust here, because it seems that there was always a of trust between American allies and the United States that was the cornerstone of this kind of security posture, this north Atlantic security posture.  With Donald Trump, it seems that that trust has been somewhat eroded. A, do you agree with that? And B, is there a way to restore trust in the wake of a Trump presidency.  FREELAND: Ayman, that is the core question. Um, there was a poll done in Canada in february and Canadians were asked what country poses the greatest threats to Canada.  55% said the United States.  MOHYELDIN: Wow.  FREELAND: 15% said China, 15% said Russia. That is heartbreaking to me! We are friends. We are allies. We're neighbors. We have been for all of our history. I would say the Canada-U.S. relationship is probably most successful relationship in history between two countries.  And the trust has been extremely great. There's actually a library on the Canada-U.S. border where half is in Canada and half is in the United States.  That's how close we are. But that trust is being broken. I mean, what Canadians are seeing right now is that president is treating America's traditional allies with more disrespect, with more contempt, than he is treating America's adversaries.  I would say right now, China is being treated with more respect than NATO allies are being treated.  People see that. What gives me hope, is Canadians certainly recognize that America is bigger than any one administration.  And there is still so much we see in America that we admire. The people of Minneapolis are so admired in Canada. And if you're from Minneapolis and you're watching this show, I guarantee you, you will never have to pay for a beer if you come on holiday to Canada [Mohyeldin and Antonia Hylton chuckle.]  Just say where you're from. 

It’s time to find out who had the Worst Media Quote of the Week. This interactive series is where you — our loyal NewsBusters visitors and MRC supporters — get to vote on which leftist journalist or celebrity had the worst media quote of the week.   Much appreciation to all who voted last week via NewsBusters and the MRC’s various social media sites (Facebook, Instagram and X.com).   The results of the Worst Media Quote of the Week are in and the winner is… Joy Behar! The co-host of ABC’s The View scored a big win with 63 percent of the vote. Behar won for asserting that Jesus didn’t call himself the Messiah. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman came in second place with 30 percent. Finishing last was former reality show star and current podcaster Jennifer Welch at 7 percent.  Check out the following clip (via the MRC Video team) to see the nominees in action:   Watch the takes presented by @Schineman