It is a very persistent phenomenon: the media is biased and hostile toward President Trump. Multiple complex studies from the Media Research Center have confirmed that 90 percent of broadcast news coverage of Mr. Trump and his administration has been negative since the president took office almost two years ago. Now comes confirmation of blatant bias across the entire news media from another source.

“Respondents decisively side against the media when it comes to fair and unbiased coverage of the President and Republicans,” says a new survey from McLaughlin & Associates which reveals that only 9 percent of Americans now say that news coverage in general is “fair or not biased” regarding Mr. Trump and the GOP.

Meanwhile, the survey found that a “forceful plurality” of Americans — 48 percent — say the media is unfair and biased against the president and his party. The presence of bias is in the eye of the beholder: 80 percent of Republicans and 16 percent of the Democrats agree.

One-third of Americans overall feel the news media is without any bias at all; 8 percent of the GOPers and 63 percent of the Dems agree.

The McLaughlin poll revealed one more aspect of the situation. There’s some public sympathy out there for Mr. Trump as the negative coverage continues. The survey also reveals that 44 percent of Americans overall said media coverage of Mr. Trump’s recent visit to Pittsburgh following a mass shooting in a synagogue was “disrespectful of the president.” And the perception was from both sides: 66 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of Democrats agreed.

THE ACOSTA PRESS

Yes, yes — the White House has restored CNN reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass, and he was photographed arriving in the briefing room with a smile on his face. This follows an epic drama over First Amendment rights, decorum, the role of journalists and a bunch of other things.

Now that this matter has been resolved at least for a few minutes, how did the press cover one of their own? From a huge flock of headlines, here’s a representative selection from the past 24 hours.

“Trump and Acosta: When showboats collide” (The New York Times); “Press shouldn’t celebrate too soon on Jim Acosta lawsuit” (The Washington Examiner); “White House tells Acosta he could be banned again in two weeks” (The Daily Beast); “White House backs down, fully restores Jim Acosta’s press pass” (CNN); “Jim Acosta and the hubris of celebrity journalist” (RealClear Politics); “Trump’s solution to ‘rude’ journalists: Don’t show them no camera” (The New York Post); and “Trump has made White House journalists ‘household names,’ says Dem columnist” (The Hill).

JITTERY ON THE BORDER

It is not a happy time of the southwestern border, particularly in Tijuana, Mexico — a preliminary destination for members of the expansive Honduran caravan.

“On Sunday, displeased Tijuana residents waved Mexican flags, sang the Mexican national anthem and chanted ‘Out! Out!’ in front of a statue of the Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc, one mile from the U.S. border. They accused the migrants of being messy, ungrateful and a danger to Tijuana. They also complained about how the caravan forced its way into Mexico, calling it an ‘invasion.’ And they voiced worries that their taxes might be spent to care for the group,” notes am Associated Press report Monday.

Americans on U.S. soil are beginning to get jittery. A new poll from Monmouth University has found that 53 percent of the public agree that the caravan poses a “threat” to the U.S.; 82 percent of Republicans, 49 percent of independents and even 36 percent of Democrats agree. A notable 4-out-of 10 believe there are “terrorists” within the caravan itself.

More numbers in the Poll du Jour at column’s end.

THANKSGIVING DINNER WAS $5.68 in 1947

The American Farm Bureau Federation has tracked the cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for six decades, calculating the cost of a 16-pound turkey with all the trimmings, plus side dishes and dessert.

“Like everything else, the costs of these items are subject to the laws of supply and demand and do not remain constant,” writes Samuel Stebbins, an analyst for WallStreet24/7.com.

This year, the average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal for 10 is $48.90, according to the bureau.

Mr. Stebbins, however, has consulted the organization’s records back to 1947, when the calculations made their debut. Here is a decade-by-decade reflection of what he found:

In 1947, the meal went for $5.68. By 1957 it had risen to a whopping $6.46, followed by $7.39 in 1967, $14.27 in 1977, $24.51 in 1987, $31.75 in 1997 and $42.26 in 2007. Last year the cost was $49.12.

“To determine the cost of a Thanksgiving meal every year from 1947 to 2018, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed price data from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Thanksgiving price survey. For years prior to 1986, 24/7 Wall St. adjusted the cost of a Thanksgiving meal and its individual components using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index for food at home in November from 1947 to 1985,” the meticulous Mr. Stebbins explains.

POLL DU JOUR

• 86 percent of Americans have heard of the “migrant caravan” traveling to the U.S. border; 90 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of independents and 84 percent of Democrats agree.

• 70 percent overall say caravan participants should be given “an opportunity” to enter the U.S. if they can show they have been persecuted; 43 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of independents and 89 percent of Democrats agree.

• 53 percent overall say the caravan poses a threat to the U.S.; 82 percent of Republicans, 49 percent of independents and 36 percent of Democrats agree.

• 39 percent overall say the caravan poses “no real threat” to the U.S.; 12 percent of Republicans, 42 percent of independents and 58 percent of Democrats agree.

• 38 percent overall believe the caravan could include terrorists; 63 percent of Republicans, 39 percent of independents and 18 percent of Democrats agree.

• 26 percent overall say caravan participants should be “stopped and sent back”; 51 percent of Republicans, 23 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Monmouth University poll of 802 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 9-12 and released Monday.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin

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