Donald Trump’s campaign often, to the delight of his supporters, was a dark message full of hate, divisiveness and threats. Among his chief targets: the media.
Trump loves to reach into his bag of rhetoric and yank out his favorite phrase about the press: “the enemy of the people.” He was saying that as recently as last weekend. Plus there’s an album’s worth of greatest hits about the media, including calling anything he doesn’t like “fake news.”
He has been doing this for eight-plus years and has never let up.
In just the past few weeks, Trump talked about the media being shot. He threatened to go after CBS because he didn’t like Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview. Even when Fox News, a network that genuflects in his presence and carries his water practically all day and every day, dares to have a Democrat on its airways, Trump goes bonkers and criticizes it.
Trump’s messaging often seems to be about revenge and retribution. So, are his threatening remarks about the media just inflammatory talk meant to fire up his base? Or is he sincere about going after his enemies, with the press near the top of his list?
In the wee hours of Wednesday — just moments after he was officially proclaimed the winner by AP and other news outlets — Trump spoke to his supporters and referred to CNN and MSNBC as “the enemy camp.” (Actually, as always, Trump referred to MSNBC as MSDNC.)
In a speech when he could have celebrated his victory with grace, humility and unity, Trump was still airing his grievances, starting with the media. That would appear to be an ominous sign of what he has in store during his second term as president.
The Columbia Journalism Review’s Jon Allsop wrote, “For now, a few important things seem clear for the press — things we’ve known conceptually for some time, but now hit with a shocking new clarity. The most important is that Trump’s impending second term poses a credible and unprecedented threat to press freedom as America has known it.”
Also for CJR, Kyle Paoletta wrote, “Next year, Trump’s assault on the press will become a fusillade of discrete attempts to quash whatever reporting he views as antagonistic. Access to the West Wing will be limited, perhaps by aides only credentialing journalists from conservative outlets — or even closing the White House briefing room outright. More consequential are the plans of Trump and his allies to turn the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission against the media, which will entail a raft of leak investigations, the politicization of broadcast licenses and antitrust litigation, and the potential indictment of journalists for espionage. Reporters covering protests and immigration enforcement will face detention from not just local police, but the Department of Homeland Security. It’s possible that Trump may even seek congressional action to reform libel laws or otherwise criminalize dissent.”
After winning a second term, Trump is now emboldened to continue his assault on the media.
In his CNN “Reliable Sources” newsletter, Brian Stelter wrote, “Trump is never, ever satisfied with news coverage. He always wants a more pliant, propagandistic media. Trump’s reelection portends a new period of hostility with major media outlets that strive for impartiality as well as partisan outlets that oppose him.”
I’ve reached out to various media experts about what the next four years will look like with Trump as president. I’ll publish some of that in Friday’s newsletter.
The media’s role in 2024
After Trump’s victory, many in right-wing media were saying the so-called mainstream media no longer have any relevance.
Matt Walsh, the Daily Wire podcaster, tweeted this after Trump’s victory became official: “Legacy media is officially dead. Their ability to set the narrative has been destroyed. Trump declared war on the media in 2016. Tonight he vanquished them completely. They will never be relevant again.”
In his newsletter, Stelter wrote, “That’s wishful thinking on Walsh’s part — Tuesday’s marathon election coverage was a testament to the media’s relevance — but the point is that many Trump voters share his wish. They believe the national news media is a big part of what ails America. Not only do they distrust what they read, they often don’t read it in the first place. Can anything be done to change that?”
Stelter pointed to a quote in a New Yorker article from Charlotte Klein. An unnamed TV executive told Klein, “If half the country has decided that Trump is qualified to be president, that means they’re not reading any of this media, and we’ve lost this audience completely. A Trump victory means mainstream media is dead in its current form. And the question is what does it look like after.”
Stelter added, “‘Dead’ is gross hyperbole, of course, but the comment reflected real concerns that many members of the media have. A severe trust deficit exists between the Trump base and big institutional media outlets.”
Meanwhile, Semafor’s David Weigel wrote, “… another Democratic conversation over the next two years might be about the remnants of the mainstream media that has held less clout every four years. On Harris-friendly cable news, ex-Republicans broadcast their horror at who Trump was and what he’d done; in the new social media and podcasts favored by Republicans, all of that was whining disconnected from what voters really cared about.”
On the other hand …
Could there be a Trump bump? That is, could we see a jump in newspaper and website subscriptions, and television audiences just like we saw when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016?
Numerous experts told The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin that Trump’s victory could lead to a spike, at least in the short term, for news organizations. Mullin added, “Cable news ratings, subscriptions to digital news organizations and philanthropic giving will probably increase, as audiences sort through a news-intensive post-election period. But that enthusiasm could wear off in the coming weeks and months as viewers become exhausted by the relentless news cycle.”
Frank Sesno, a professor at George Washington University and a former Washington bureau chief of CNN (and Poynter National Advisory Board member), told Mullin, “Trump 2.0 will likely be a very different administration than we saw before. That will carry immense consequences and news value. It will energize right-wing media, and it will panic the left.”
Now Bezos says something
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, shown here in March. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Last month, The Washington Post editorial board was set to endorse Kamala Harris for president. But the endorsement was blocked by Post owner Jeff Bezos. The paper didn’t endorse either candidate, but by blocking the Harris endorsement, it came off as a de facto Trump endorsement. Or, at the very least, Bezos seemed to be worried about getting on Trump’s bad side if the paper endorsed Harris.
Two writers left the editorial board of the Post, two columnists outright quit the paper, and the decision to not make an endorsement was heavily criticized by Marty Baron, the well-respected former executive editor of the Post, and by legendary Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
And, it was reported, more than 250,000 canceled their subscriptions.
Bezos penned an essay explaining his decision, saying, “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election.” He added: “What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”
On Wednesday, Bezos made another public announcement. He congratulated Trump in a tweet on X. Bezos wrote, “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”
The tweet drew thousands upon thousands of responses, most of them slamming Bezos.
Other media news, tidbits and interesting links regarding Trump, Harris and the election …
- The Washington Post’s Ben Brasch with “Front pages show how the world is feeling about the U.S. election.”
- Also in the Post, Jeremy Barr with “On Fox News, cautious optimism turned into outright glee.” Barr noted this ludicrous (my word) remark from Fox News’ Dana Perino as Trump prepared to speak early Wednesday morning: “I kind of want him to take a victory lap tonight. I don’t think this is necessarily the moment for unity, especially when she won’t even concede and give him the night to celebrate.” Unlike Trump — who has yet to concede the 2020 election, inspired an insurrection and recently said he should have never left the White House — Harris conceded on Wednesday by calling Trump and making a concession speech.
- And here’s The Associated Press’ David Bauder with “Four years make a big difference for Donald Trump — and for Fox News.”
- Variety’s Todd Spangler with “Donald Trump Presidency Could Make 2025 a ‘Breakout Year for M&A’ With Deregulation on the Table.”
- For FiveThirtyEight, G. Elliott Morris digs into the polls with “How Donald Trump won the presidency.”
- From the editorial board of The New York Times: “America Makes a Perilous Choice.”
- The Wall Street Journal’s Alex Leary and Tarini Parti with “How Donald Trump Won — by Being Donald Trump.”
- The Los Angeles Times’ Virginia Heffernan with “Elon Musk bought himself a starring role in Trump’s second term. What could go wrong?”
- For those struggling with Trump winning, this is a good piece from Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson: “How I’m coping with a Trump win.”
More resources for journalists
- It’s time to apply for the Leadership Academy for Women in Media.
- Consider this dynamic, in-person, five-day workshop for new newsroom managers.
- Reinvigoration for the unsung heroes of the TV newsroom.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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