Marc Singer, a veteran journalist for The New Yorker and author of Trump Solo, one of the most scathing profiles of Donald Trump, recounts that the New York tycoon often complained about the way the press treated him. During one of the interviews for the article, one morning in 1997, the tycoon confessed to him: “I think the thing I’m worst at is managing the press. The thing I’m best at is business and conceiving. The press portrays me as a wild flamethrower. In actuality, I think I’m much different from that. I think I’m totally inaccurately portrayed.”
Nearly three decades later, the current U.S. president still hasn’t reconciled with the media. During the first year of his second term, he has escalated his attacks on reporters and media outlets that have asked him uncomfortable questions or contradicted him. The verbal escalation has intensified in recent days as the Iran conflict becomes entrenched over the difficulties in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which threatens to trigger an energy crisis.
“The Radical Left wing Press […] continues to go forward with false stories and LIES. That’s why their Approval Rating is so low, and I can win a Presidential Election, IN A LANDSLIDE, getting only 5% positive Press— They have no credibility” he wrote Sunday night on Truth Social. The New York tycoon created the social media platform after being banned from several networks in 2021 for encouraging the mob that stormed the Capitol to prevent Joe Biden’s victory. Now he uses it as a loudspeaker without anyone questioning him.
Trump’s remarks on Sunday were the latest in a long campaign to discredit the media, which he routinely labels “fake news,” “criminal,” or “unpatriotic.” The attacks from the White House have intensified in what appears to be a coordinated effort, while Washington seems unable to end the war in Iran.
“Criminals” and “unpatriotic”
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally, announced this weekend on X that he is reviewing the licenses of some media outlets. “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” he wrote in a social media post. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” Carr is a controversial figure because this is not the first time he has threatened media outlets that are critical of Trump. A few months ago, he warned CBS, ABC and NBC about the biting jokes and scathing criticism of the U.S. president by their late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. They are not the only ones under scrutiny from the Trump administration. Carr has launched formal investigations against all the major broadcasting networks in the country, including the public broadcaster NPR.
As the war enters its third week, the United States is failing to convince its traditional allies to support it in a war that began without offering a clear and convincing explanation for it, which has generated uncomfortable questions from the media.
Hegseth, against CNN
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fueled the battle against the mainstream media. Last week, he harshly criticized journalists for highlighting the deaths of six U.S. service members in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait amid Washington’s offensive against Tehran.
The Pentagon chief, who has renamed his department the “Department of War,” asserted that the media was trying to discredit the president. “We’ve taken control of Iran’s air space and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate, but when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news. I understand, the press just wants to discredit the president, but try, for once, to report the facts,” he said, referring to the prominent coverage given by television networks and major newspapers to the deaths of six American soldiers.
Days later, last Friday, he again attacked media coverage of the war. The former host of Fox News, the only channel not under investigation by the FCC, lashed out at CNN, noting that “the sooner David Ellison takes the reins of that network, the better.” Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men, founder of the technology company Oracle, and a close friend of Trump’s. He is a regular donor to Trump’s election campaigns, and provided financial support to his son David last summer to acquire Paramount Pictures, which owns CBS News, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central. Shortly afterward, CBS announced that it would not renew Stephen Colbert’s contract at the end of the season. A few weeks ago, David Ellison also reached an agreement to buy Warner Bros., which, in addition to the century-old studios, owns HBO, Discovery Channel, and the prestigious CNN news channel.
The concentration of two of the country’s largest news channels, CBS and CNN, under one owner has drawn criticism from Democrats, who are calling on state antitrust authorities to take action to prevent the sale of Warner to Ellison.
Hegseth has also restricted media access to the Pentagon. He forced accredited reporters to sign a document with significant restrictions, warning them that they could be considered a “security risk” if they disseminated any unauthorized information. Major outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Associated Press, and The Atlantic, among others, refused to sign it. Hegseth’s latest measure is to prohibit photographers from taking pictures of him during press conferences in which he does not appear flattering.
Frequent attacks on journalists
It’s common to hear Trump insult journalists. He called a Bloomberg reporter a “piggy.” He has belittled Kaitlin Collins, one of CNN’s star anchors, and he insults those who ask him questions he considers inappropriate.
This past Sunday, during the usual press briefing aboard Air Force One on the return trip to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump once again humiliated a journalist, calling her “very obnoxious.” The ABC reporter had asked him about a photo of him at the memorial service for soldiers killed in Iran that had been used to raise funds for his political action committee.
But criticism of the media has intensifies in times of war, in an effort led by the White House but with the entire government and the MAGA military behind it. The president justifies his criticism by claiming that fake videos, generated by artificial intelligence, showing purported Iranian military victories have been circulating, despite major U.S. media outlets having debunked these false videos. Trump also falsely claimed that Iran had been “working in close coordination with the Fake News Media” to produce the videos, including a particularly blatant one showing the USS Abraham Lincoln in flames.
One of the news stories that most bothered him was the alleged attack by Iranian forces on five U.S. tankers refueling at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Last Saturday, he denied that they had been attacked.
On Sunday, the Committee for the First Amendment, a free speech advocacy group that was relaunched last year by Jane Fonda, drew connections between Carr, Hegseth, and other attacks on the media. “Make no mistake about it: These are direct attacks on the First Amendment and part of a deliberate march toward authoritarianism,” it stated. “In that world, journalists are punished for telling the truth, media companies are expected to fall in line, and dissent is treated as a threat.”
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