The Politics of Pandemic Emotions: How Trust in the Trump Administration and Distrust of the Media Affected the Psychological Toll of COVID-19.

This article examines how political party affiliation, trust in former President Donald Trump, news media consumption, and distrust in mainstream media influenced Americans' self-reported increases in negative emotions—specifically worry, sadness, and loneliness—during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using nationally representative survey data collected in early 2021, the study found that Democrats and viewers of CNN were more likely to report heightened negative emotions compared to Republicans and Fox News viewers. However, these partisan and media effects were largely mediated by individuals' trust in the Trump administration's pandemic response and their belief that mainstream media exaggerated the pandemic's dangers; greater trust in Trump and higher media distrust were associated with lower reported emotional distress. The findings suggest that political and media-related perceptions shaped emotional experiences of the pandemic independently of direct health, social, and economic stressors.