America’s Most Trusted News Stars in the Trump Era Are …
“I have a question for the group, actually. How many of you watch late-night on any network today? Raise your hand.” Few hands went up. That was how Paramount’s new COO, Andy Gordon, parried a question about Stephen Colbert’s cancellation during a meet-and-greet with journalists upon closing of the $8 billion merger with Skydance on…
“I have a question for the group, actually. How many of you watch late-night on any network today? Raise your hand.” Few hands went up. That was how Paramount’s new COO, Andy Gordon, parried a question about Stephen Colbert’s cancellation during a meet-and-greet with journalists upon closing of the $8 billion merger with Skydance on Aug. 7.
The moment was telling, and not just for late-night. The same question could be asked about the Big 3 evening news broadcasts, or primetime lineups on cable news. It gives the impression of irrelevance, especially in the all-podcasts-are-video-are-TV-content moment that media executives appear to be experimenting with during a downsizing era. And yet, that narrative sells the TV news ecosystem short.
Viewers may not watch The Late Show live anymore, but if Colbert has something interesting to say, it’ll rack up millions of views instantly on social platforms and YouTube and be recirculated by creators and journalists repurposing those comments for their own audiences. Ditto for, say, Anderson Cooper or Gayle Kingor Sean Hannity or Rachel Maddow. That’s influence. Right now, even though it may sound counterintuitive, more Americans overall may recognize David Muir than Joe Rogan. (Whether or not the same Americans who recognize the ABC World News Tonight anchor intersect at all with those who listen to the Spotify shock jock, or vice versa, is another question altogether.)
Broadcast’s enduring megaphone of awareness and (to some extent) credibility, is undeniable, a newTHR/Morning Consult poll shows. The survey, conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,202 U.S. adults in August, asked respondents about 80-plus TV news stars and TV-like news influencers, revealing America’s media diet in the latest Trump era and, importantly, who people say they actually listen to and trust to deliver the news.
In 2025, there’s a clear “Trump won” impact: Nearly all Fox News anchors saw increases in respondents who placed “a lot” or “some” trust in them since this poll last went out in the field in 2024 during a contentious presidential election. On the flip side, centrist names like Muir, who hosts the highest-rated evening news show, saw trust levels decline. Ditto for CNN’s Cooper, MSNBC’s Maddow, CBS’ King and left-leaning late night hosts like Jon Stewart and Colbert.
Also perhaps surprising, given the narrative around AI Slop polluting social media: More Americans now trust what they see on social media — up four points from 2024 and nine points from when this poll was first conducted in 2018, while broadcast suffered a decline. Chalk it up to social news becoming the new norm for consumption, rather than as a second screen.
Here’s a closer look at the THR/Morning Consult poll findings:
How Much Do You Trust…
…Cable News’ Big 3
Call it the “Trump won” effect on perception. The faces of CNN and MSNBC saw an uptick in distrust while the Fox News star, a confidante of the President, sees his trustworthy credibility rise notably since the last survey (but he still has more people distrusting him than the other two).
…Nightly News Anchors
NBC’s Lester Holt, who stepped away from Nightly News duties after at the end of May, had been 2024’s most trusted anchor in THR/Morning Consult’s survey last year and the top name when this poll was first conducted in 2018. With the changing of the guard to Llamas, who is less well-known to the public, ABC News’ David Muir has claimed the most trusted distinction in the category in the 2025 poll and among 80-plus names surveyed, with the exception of NBC’s Today show star Al Roker.
…Morning Show Stars
Maybe it’s a sign of the times that host Al Roker, who mostly stays out of the political fray, is Americans’ most-trusted name in news in this survey. Does that explain why fellow Today or Good Morning America or CBS hosts saw declines in trust year-over-year? No. But, look at the increase in trust for Fox & Friends Ainsley Earhardt on the President’s preferred channel. We’re in a Trump-dominated landscape in America, with his Truth Social as a bully pulpit.
…Late Night Hosts
Fallon, the host who most often gets labeled as the least political of the broadcast late-nighters, has the highest trust, while Jon Stewart got slightly dinged over the past year and Fox News quipper Greg Gutfeld saw his cred rise with Americans since the last time this survey was undertaken in 2024. Colbert, whose show was canceled (as of next May) amid Paramount’s ownership transition to David Ellison and Skydance Media, saw his trust numbers fall by 7 points year-over-year. (Trump celebrated The Late Show‘s cancellation when the press release abruptly hit inboxes in July.)
And, in light of Jimmy Kimmel’s indefinite suspension over his Charlie Kirk comments, one relevant detail: 48 percent of respondents in the THR/Morning Consult poll described Kimmel as having a “very liberal” or “somewhat liberal” lean, which was higher than all of his other late-night contemporaries. So Americans may see Kimmel as an avatar of a left-leaning voice on TV.
…Secret Weapons
They may not be the face of their network, but this trio has the highest share of respondents saying they have “a lot” or “some” trust in them at their outlet. In MacCallum’s case, the anchor had a bigger footprint on Fox during the presidential election and may be viewed as one of the least partisan voices on the channel. Pelley, meanwhile, is a stalwart of 60 Minutes, which had been viewed as a rigorously unbiased newsmagazine (until Trump’s fight, resulting in a now-settled lawsuit). As for Melber, he often tackles the news through a pop culture lens, while still being opinionated.
…Fox News Hosts
Nearly all of its anchors saw a major year-over-year surge in respondents who said they trust the anchors “a lot” or “some.”
…The Influencers
Whether you call it a video podcast or a TV segment, podsnow drive a lot of news. And, now, it may not be surprising to see that Joe Rogan, who often tops podcast charts, to be leading in the space with the highest number of respondents who trust what he’s saying. Also take note: In Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon’s cases, more people distrust them than trust them in this year’s survey. And that’s even with Carlson gaining trust from last year.
…These Media Sources
It’s unsurprising that network news still leads in credibility overall, the broadcast news divisions work hard at burnishing an unbiased sheen, but there’s now some movement with the public admitting that, yeah, they trust what they see in their feeds more since that’s how they consume news.
…The Low Scorers
These media power players were the only ones among the 80 TV names in the survey to score in the 30s range of respondents saying they have “a lot” or “some” trust in them. What you think of that may have to do with which partisan lens you view the score. And it’s easy to debate the numbers. For example, did Trump’s relentless attacks on PBS anchor/The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg over “Signalgate” dent his trust cred? Or does Goldberg not have high enough name recognition with the public? Did Joe Scarborough’s trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump impact perception of the MSNBC stalwart? Maybe. But, in Scarborough’s case, he placed near the end of the THR/Morning Consult survey in 2024 and 2018, too. Meanwhile, Cuomowas fired from CNN in 2021 after the cable network said he ran afoul of journalism ethics (he sued over it in reply). And does the wild card that his older brother Andrew is in the middle of a polarizing New York mayoral race factor in? There’s arguments to make there.
All 80-Plus Names: How Much Do You Trust…
Those were the topline notes above. But there’s some interesting details in the weeds. For instance, here’s a network-by-network, personality-by-personality look at the 80-plus names in the THR/Morning Consult survey. Each section is ranked by the highest combined “a lot / some” upside trust responses and, if there’s a tie, factoring in the “not much / not at all” trust downside responses. The result is an at-a-glance view of who Americans trust the most at each outlet — from broadcasters like ABC News, NBC News and CBS News as well as cable outlets like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and NewsNation as well as public broadcaster PBS. And then, for comparison, late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert and influencers like Joe Rogan.
ABC NEWS
CBS News
News Influencers
This story first appeared in the Sept. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
