Poll reveals stark divide on how 'tough' media is on Trump

Americans are divided on how they feel about the media's coverage of President Donald Trump's early days in the White House.

According to a new poll from Gallup, 36 percent say the media has been too tough on Trump during his first days as president, while 28 percent say they haven't been tough enough. Meanwhile, 31 percent said the toughness of coverage has been "about right."

SEE MORE: How is President Trump doing on all those promises he made?

The numbers are less divided when you look at party demographics. For Republicans, 74 percent say the coverage of Trump has been too tough, while 49 percent of Democrats think the media should be tougher on the new administration.

The breakdown for Independents reflects the average of all Americans polled, with 37 percent on the too tough side and 26 percent saying the press isn't tough enough.

It's no secret Trump and the media have had a rocky relationship dating back to the billionaire businessman's announcement of his candidacy for president in 2015. Trump was openly mocked and underestimated by members of the press well into his campaign. Now in office, the president and his team have made it clear they have no plans to dampen the rhetoric aimed at the media.

"I think the media's the opposition party in many ways," said President Trump in a recent interview with The Brody File.

Trump's chief strategist and senior counselor Steve Bannon echoed his boss' adversarial view of the fourth estate saying, "the media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while."

"The media here is the opposition party. They don't understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States," said Bannon.

Many Americans agree with Bannon and Trump's view of the press. The news media has a 19 percent approval rating and 59 percent disapproval, according to a NBC/WSJ poll from 2016.