Trump’s Propaganda Secretary Lies to Fox News About Terry Moran, the AP, and the Constitution

The shamelessness of how Donald Trump is advancing his intentions to reign as a supreme monarch over the United States continues to rocket to new heights of abhorrent anti-Americanism. He ignores every principle upon which this nation was founded as he rolls roughshod over them. Which he will do literally on June 14, with his North Korean style military birthday parade in Washington, D.C.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump and Karoline Leavitt

This week Trump celebrated what he said was a big win over the Associated Press when a three judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court voted 2-1 to allow him to continue to ban the Associated Press from presidential press events in the Oval Office and other locations that he deemed private.

Trump’s problem with the AP was their refusal to comply with his vain decree that all media refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Which other countries do not recognize. So in retaliation he took over the White House press pool, which was previously determined by the independent White House Correspondents Association. Under Trump the pool became populated by slobbering pro-Trump hacks.

SEE THIS: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

The ruling that thrilled Trump so much was actually just a temporary stay of a prior federal court ruling that declared Trump’s ban unconstitutional. The stay was a 2-1 decision issued by a three judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court and is in effect until the full court hears the case. The two judges deciding in Trump’s favor are Trump appointees. The AP is expected to appeal the ruling to the full court or the Supreme Court. D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao wrote that…

“These restricted presidential spaces are not First Amendment fora opened for private speech and discussion. No one suggests the Oval Office is a traditional public forum such as a park or sidewalk held in trust for expressive activity.”

That’s a twisted conclusion that ignores the fact that anywhere that the media is permitted general access, there may not be any exclusions based on viewpoint discrimination. That would be a violation of the First Amendment whether it is in the Oval Office or a park.

On Sunday morning, Trump’s Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, took up her usual position on Fox News (where she spends most of her time) to flagrantly lie about several matters related to the media (video below). Among them was her defense of how Trump has reshaped the White House press corps to mirror his totalitarian image. Leavitt told Fox’s Senior Trump-Fluffer, Maria Bartiromo, that…

“In president Trump’s White House we have made so many significant and much needed changes to press access and transparency in the White House. We have invited in new media. We have shaken up the White House press pool.”

Indeed, They have “shaken up the White House press pool” by limiting the access of credible journalists and replacing them with fringy Internet trolls who worship Trump. And that includes a Russian funded MAGA podcaster. That isn’t transparency as much as it is blatant promotion of Dear Leader’s manifesto. And it has resulted in some painfully comical episodes of bullshittery.

FOR EXAMPLE: Trump Escalates His War on the Press – and the Courts – with Predictably Preposterous Results

Leavitt also addressed the Associated Press affair, bragging about the imaginary “major victory”. She mocked the AP for thinking that “they had a constitutional right to walk into the Oval Office or to fly on Air Force One,” which they do. She went on to say that “those are privileged spaces that belong to the president of the United States,” and calling it “a great ruling for democracy.” Which is the polar opposite of the truth. It’s grotesquely arrogant to suggest that the Oval Office is a “privileged space” for the president. And censoring journalists hardly makes it a banner day for democracy.

Finally, Leavitt complained about a commentary posted by ABC News correspondent Terry Moran, who engaged in some courageous truth-telling about Trump and his designated Goebbels aide, Stephen Miller. Moran said of Miller that “It’s not brains. It’s bile. Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater [and that] his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.” And about Trump Moran wrote that “his hatred is only a means to an end, and that end is his own glorification. That’s his spiritual nourishment.”

It would be hard to argue with Moran’s assessment. But Leavitt managed to find a way. She told Bartiromo that…

“ABC is gonna have to answer for what their so-called journalist put out on Twitter in the wee hours of the night […] Hopefully this journalist will either be suspended or terminated. You cannot go on these unhinged rants against administration officials and the president of the United States.”

Moran later deleted the tweet. It is impossible to discern if that was because of the complaints by the Trump administration. However, ABC did suspend Moran pending further review. But it’s notable that ABC is also in the middle of a lawsuit filed against them by Trump that is complicating their proposed merger with another media company.

That, however, doesn’t justify Leavitt’s threat that you can’t go “against administration officials and the president of the United States.” Never mind that the Constitution says that you can. This fascist-leaning administration won’t permit it. And if the media doesn’t start defending itself – and the Constitution – they will soon be unable to do anything but praise Dear Leader.

Leavitt: "ABC is gonna have to answer for what their so-called journalist put out on twitter … we have reached out to ABC. They have said they will be taking action, so we will see what they do … hopefully this journalist will either be suspended or terminated."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-06-08T14:21:49.375Z

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Marco Rubio Bans Visas for Officials Who Censor Americans – Such as Marco Rubio and Trump?

After nearly two and half centuries, the American Constitution remains one of the most revered documents of independence and liberty ever written and adopted as the legal foundation of a democratic republic. It defines the basic governing principles for a free society that is truly made of, by, and for the people.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump, Censorship

That said, if there is one thing for which Donald Trump has distinguished himself throughout his occupation of the White House, it is his fervent aversion to the Constitution and especially its prohibitions on abridging freedom of the press and free speech. He has literally taken control over the once independently managed White House Press briefings in order to transform it into a pro-Trump puppet show of pure propaganda.

SEE THIS: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

On Wednesday Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, accelerated the autocratic aspirations of the Trump regime by issuing a new decree aimed at foreign government officials and other diplomats seeking to visit the United States. Rubio tweeted that…

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights.

“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

Paging Mr Orwell, Mr George Orwell. Please come to the White courtesy phone.

digby (@digby56.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T18:15:01.190Z

Rubio’s policy specifically references foreign nations and/or persons engaging in the moderation of social media in order to mitigate hate speech, disinformation, and efforts to incite violence. It’s the sort of responsible moderation that was practiced in the U.S. until Trump coerced American tech platforms to discontinue it so that Trump and his cult followers could rabble-rouse uninterrupted.

However, the flaming hypocrisy of Rubio’s decree is impossible to ignore. The Trump administration is the most censorious regime to assume power in America since the 1950’s blacklisting and McCarthyism. Trump has been persecuting Harvard University and other academic institutions who refused to kiss his… let’s say ring. He has been pressuring law firms (not always successfully) to kneel down before him, and even pledge the support of hundreds of millions of dollars in free representation for his MAGA agenda.

Perhaps worst of all, Trump has been threatening the media with billion dollar lawsuits and revocation of broadcast licenses unless they kowtow to him and his fixation on getting the press to lavish him with unflinching adoration.

What’s more, Trump has installed himself as the chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he has banned the Associated Press from presidential media avails; he appointed Kari Lake to head the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which manages Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA). And Lake has already made some preposterous decisions…

FOR INSTANCE: Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

On the same day that Rubio issued his decree, Trump’s Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, told CNBC that universities must be “in sync” with the Trump administration in order to receive government grants. That prohibit funding for life-saving research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other devastating illnesses.

Trump's Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, says that universities must be "in sync with the administration."In other words, they must abandon academic freedom and submit to their government overlords. Because that's what cult leader Trump demands.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T15:41:30.011Z

If Rubio’s decree were to be fairly enforced, Trump and most of his Cabinet would be unable to get visas to enter the U.S. Their blatant and shameless acts of censorship would fail to meet Rubio’s criteria. So while Rubio and Trump are whining about what they imagine to be censorship by foreigners, they are the worst practitioners of it. Now, if we could only get them to self-deport.

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump’s FTC is Investigating Media Matters for Revealing the Noxious Content Next to Ads on X/Twitter

During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump promised his cult followers that he would exact retribution for whatever imagined wrongs he thought had been waged against him. He swore to get revenge on the organizations and individuals who dared to criticize him and get in the way of his mission to subvert the Constitution and become America’s first dictator. On Fox News they described him as being “out for blood.”

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump, Twitter

Now Trump’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is playing its part to fulfill Trump’s promise. They have just announced that they are launching an investigation of the media watchdog organization, Media Matters for America. Media Matters has been a staunch defender of the Constitution’s protections of the free press, and a stalwart opponent of efforts to disseminate ultra-rightist propaganda and to suppress honest journalists.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Prospective CIA Director [Now FBI Director], Kash Patel: We’re Gonna Come After the People in the Media

This latest weaponization of government by Trump is clearly intended to threaten, not just Media Matters, but any critic of Trump or his administration. He has already launched, or threatened to launch, investigations against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, James Comey, Leticia James, Adam Schiff, Harvard, ActBlue, all news networks, and many more. Now Media Matters has been added to Trump’s Enemies List. As reported by CNN

“The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sent Media Matters for America a letter demanding communications between the progressive media watchdog and advertising entities as the commission probes whether the watchdog colluded with advertisers to pull funding from Elon Musk’s X.”

The FTC’s action is a malicious attempt to exploit the legal system to punish Media Matters with a fishing expedition in the hopes of finding evidence that they colluded with advertisers to pull their funding from Twitter/X. If successful, it could set a terrible precedent that would handcuff any individual or organization that engaged in political organizing.

One of the issues that Media Matters has reported on for several years is how advertising on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook has often appeared adjacent to offensive content that is racist, or that incites violence, or that is otherwise repugnant and harmful to the advertiser’s reputation. The result has been that some advertisers altered their media buys to avoid such associations.

This was an especially troublesome problem with X/Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company. His policy of tolerating hate speech and restoring the accounts of known white supremacists and neo-Nazis resulted a much higher incidence of ads showing up next to that noxious content. But when Media Matters reported this, Musk sued them alleging that the report was “manufactured,” despite Media Matters delivery of documentation. Media Matters president, Angelo Carasone, responded to the FTC’s letter saying that…

[The Trump administration has been] “abusing the power of the federal government to bully political opponents and silence critics. It’s clear that’s exactly what’s happening here, given Media Matters’ history of holding those same figures to account. These threats won’t work; we remain steadfast to our mission.”

Trump’s Reign of Terror is escalating as his thirst for revenge continues to boil over. And the victims will not just be politicians and political groups. His determination to clamp down on any and all dissent will eventually make victims of everyone who doesn’t kneel before Dear Leader and succumb to his demands. So don’t fool yourself. That could be you.

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

GET OUT OF HERE! Crybaby Trump Blows Up at NBC Reporter and Threatens to Investigate the Network

This week the White House hosted the children of reporters in observance of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” The kids asked some pretty probing questions that Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, quickly replied to with the hallmark dishonesty of her boss and his administration.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump Angry

The curiosity and maturity of the young reporters at this event made it abundantly clear that the biggest baby in the White House is, and will always be, Donald Trump. And he provided further evidence of that (as if any were necessary) in the Oval Office the next day with the president of South Africa. During this diplomatic meeting Trump reminded everyone that his primary concerns are always petty grievances and seeking retribution.

SUCH AS: What’s Keeping Snowflake Trump Awake at Night? Springsteen, Beyoncé, and Oprah, Oh My!

When Trump turned to the gathered press corps for questions, the first one came from NBC’s Chief White House Correspondent, Peter Alexander. The exchange that followed was a pure Trumpian temper tantrum that an eight year old wouldn’t have tried to pull off (video below).

Alexander: The Pentagon announced that it will be accepting the Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One.
Trump: What are you talking about? You oughta get outta here. What does this have to do with the Qatari jet? They are giving the United States Air Force a jet. Okay? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things, and It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw.

Setting aside Trump’s “3 Stooges” style demand that Alexander “oughta get outta here (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk),” Trump whined about having been asked about a matter that is currently in the news. He seems to think that reporters are out of line if they ask him questions about breaking news stories. And without even letting Alexander get to his question, Trump unloaded a reply that just repeated his prior lies about the jet being given to the Air Force. That’s only a layover until Trump leaves office and it is transferred to his library. And then he went on to insult Alexander saying that…

“You know, you are a terrible reporter. You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough. For you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing. They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet.

Trump watchers will recognize this as typical Trumpian projection, wherein he accuses others of what are his own failings. He was saying, in effect, “I am a terrible president. I don’t have what it takes to be a president. I’m not smart enough.” Which he follows with a lie that Qatar “gave” the U.S. $5.1 trillion. There was no gift of anything like that. And the business deals that Trump was likely referring to were actually made during the Biden administration. But he still wasn’t through. In fact, he was just getting to the best part…

“You ought to go back to your studio at NBC because Brian Roberts [Chairman and CEO of NBC parent Comcast] and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you’re a disgrace. No more questions from you. His name is Peter something. He’s a terrible reporter. Quiet. Quiet!

So in addition to maligning Alexander’s reporting skills, Trump is also threatening the network with investigations. He doesn’t say for what, but in Trump World there doesn’t need to be a valid legal predicate for persecuting his political foes. And he has already launched probes aimed at silencing and/or intimidating several other reporters and networks. It’s what aspiring dictators – and cult leaders – do.

Hopefully NBC won’t succumb to the totalitarian tactics of Trump, the way that other media outlets already have (ABC, CBS, and the Washington Post). History – and Trump’s past behavior – tells us that when you capitulate to bullies, they only want more more capitulation. But when you stand up to them, they crumble. STAND UP!

Trump loses it at Peter Alexander: "What are you talking about? You oughta get out of here … you're a terrible reporter. You don't have what it takes to be a reporter. You're not smart enough … Brian Roberts and the people that run that place they ought to be investigated."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-21T16:49:21.814Z

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump’s Propaganda Secretary Lies to Children on ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day’

On Karoline Leavitt’s first day on the job, she told reporters in the White House press briefing room that she was committed to “telling the truth from this podium every single day.” That may be the first official lie of Leavitt’s tenure as Donald Trump’s press secretary.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

The torrent of falsehoods emanating from Leavitt ever since has affirmed Trump’s choice to hire her as his media mouthpiece. She has been more than able and willing to disseminate his shameless distortions and deceit no matter how distant from the truth or even reality. Leavitt has proven to be the perfect redistribution vehicle for Trump’s daily delivery of garbage. And she made sure that the press corps that is permitted to attend briefings was cleansed of troublemakers who dared to ask real questions that challenged her or Trump.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Pledges to Plant Pro-Trump Crackpots in the White House Press Room

That atmosphere of contrived pro-Trump bias was inspired by the authoritarian regimes of Trump’s idols, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un, who are staunchly opposed to freedom of the press. The result has been that many of the press briefings in the White House have been dominated by ultra-rightist partisans, some of whom have actually been affiliated with Russian media.

Leavitt’s commitment to dishonesty was on display again on Tuesday when the White House observed “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” The press briefing room was filled with kids in the seats that were ordinarily reserved for journalists, or what the Trump regime considered to be journalists. It was actually kind of adorable, until Leavitt began to answer the questions posed by the children. What follows are a few examples of how Leavitt retained her determination to lie, even to kid “reporters.”

Question: How many people has he fired?
Leavitt: Thus far we have not had anyone fired with the exception of one individual who did leave their job.

FACT: The Trump administration has had thousands of honest, hard working staffers fired from dozens of government agencies. Many of those people were responsible for preserving the health, safety, and lives of Americans, and others around the world.

Question: What is Trump’s favorite room in the White House?
Leavitt: I think his favorite room in the White House is definitely the Oval Office because it’s so beautiful and he has decked it out in gold. It’s now MAGA gold in there.

FACT: Leavitt explains that Trump’s favorite room in the White House is the Oval Office. Not because it’s where important decisions are made that impact the nation and the world. But because he has turned it into a gaudy replica of his Mar-a-Lago home/hotel with faux gold that resembles a tasteless king’s palace. And plastering the Oval Office with a partisan “MAGA gold” further politicizes the People’s House.

Question: What is Trump going to do about climate change?
Leavitt: That’s a very good question. The President cares very much about our environment. He says all the time he wants to have the cleanest air, the cleanest water, the cleanest environment for the world. He also cares very much about our energy independence and ensuring that we can keep the lights on in our homes at a very cheap rate. So we want to make energy here in the United States because we do it cleaner and better than everyone.

FACT: Notice that the question asked was about climate change, but Leavitt never mentioned that in her response. She referred only to the environment. Maybe that’s because Trump has called climate change a hoax manufactured by China. And his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, bellowed that the Department of Defense does not do climate change crap.” And Trump’s remarks about the environment are just cover for his advocacy of fossil fuels that exacerbate climate change, make the environment (and people) less healthy, and produce dirtier air and water.

It’s bad enough that Leavitt and Trump lie so brazenly to adults. But this performance for kids is a nauseating example of how bereft they are of any morality or decency. The parents of those children – presumably the reporters who are usually in those seats – should make a point of admonishing Leavitt for lying to their kids.

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump Watches MSNBC? Yep! And It’s Driving Him Crazy. So He Threatens to Tax and Penalize Them

Donald Trump’s television diet is ordinarily filled with the junk food and empty calories of Fox News, or OAN, or other devoted purveyors of MAGA propaganda. He feels secure in the bunker he has built that is populated by friendly pundits whose perpetual outpouring of praise feeds his massive, yet fragile ego.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump

Trump’s fear of honest reporting keeps him in a state of constant anxiety and debilitating dread. However, on occasion he manages to stiffen his noodly spine sufficiently to hate-watch news programs that are something less than worshipful. In the meantime he barricades himself behind a wall of disciples who are ordered to sing his divine praises…

SEE THIS: Trump Gathers His Cabinet Members to Conduct Another Festival of Feckless Trump-Fluffing

On Friday morning Trump took to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, to express his outrage at a segment he had watched on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. The segment featured an interview of Stephanie Ruhle, a financial expert and host of an MSNBC primetime show. Ruhle’s analysis of Trump’s recessionary tariffs triggered another one of Trump’s tormented tantrums. He wrote that

“I just watched an exhausted, highly neurotic Stephanie Ruhle spew LIES about Tariffs, as do many others, in order not to give me the Victory that they all see coming.”

As usual, Trump is delusional. Ruhle’s reporting (video below), unlike Trump’s rant, was calm, reasonable, and rooted in facts. It was in line with what most reputable economists have concluded about Trump’s disastrous tax attacks on America’s international trading partners.

Trump went on to call his alleged “deal” with the UK “AMAZING,” and claimed, contrary to reality, that “We’re going to make a fortune with Tariffs [but that] only smart people understand that.” He still hasn’t explained how there will be any revenue from tariffs after he’s made all the deals he has promised in order to remove them.

Continuing in his infamously infantile fashion, Trump insulted Ruhle as “Never known as a ‘High IQ” person.'” And in closing he accused MSNBC of engaging in a “Major Campaign Violation,” and raged that…

“MSDNC has become the Voice of the Democrat Party, and they should be treated as a Political Advocate with all of the Taxes and Penalties therefrom. Their Ratings are terrible, but Brian Roberts and his crew should be forced to TELL THE TRUTH.”

Trump’s tunnel-blindness in asserting that MSNBC is “the Voice of the Democrat Party,” while ignoring how Fox News is literally aligned with his administration, is the purest form of hypocrisy. MSNBC has numerous Republicans on their roster, including Joe Scarborough, whose show he was actually watching as he unleashed this screed. Trump, meanwhile has recruited at least 21 Fox News hacks to serve in his White House.

MORE HERE: Trump’s Nominees Are Largely Fox News Alum, Mar-a-Lago Patrons, and Billionaires

What’s more, Trump is again demanding that the free press protections in the Constitution be discarded so that he can impose “Taxes and Penalties” on the network, and “force” it to tell whatever bullpucky he regards as the truth.

For the record, the segment that is apparently the cause of Trump’s concern included the following discourse by Ruhle who warned that Trump “needs to get off this crazy tariff train, and he knows it.” [Because] unless he turns this around…we’re going to have a COVID-like supply chain crisis.”

“Donald Trump is backed into a corner. His grand plan of tariffs, tariffs, tariffs, aren’t working. You’re seeing, day in and day out, more business leaders – whether it’s Warren Buffett or Jamie Dimon or Ken Griffin – on big global stages saying ‘This is going to crush us economically.’ And then you’ve got congressmen, senators, saying to this White House ‘our small businesses are strangling, are dying here.'”

"Unless he turns this around, three weeks from now, you walk into a store and we're going to have a covid-like supply chain crisis, and Trump is looking for an exit" — here's the @stephruhle.bsky.social commentary that triggered a Trump Truth Social meltdown

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-05-09T16:31:48.237Z

Everything that Ruhle said was true and verifiable. Conversely, everything that Trump said was fantasy and preposterous. Not to mention un-American and inspired by the authoritarian practices of Trump’s heroes, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jong Un. But then, what do you expect from a wannabe dictator who doom-scrolls cable TV networks that he despises?

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

From the very first day that Donald Trump reoccupied the White House, he has orchestrated an assault on the free press and any journalistic effort to report the truth about him. There is nothing that irks him more than accurate reporting of his wrecking of the economy and his contempt for the Constitution.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump, OAN

Trump’s anti-media crusade has taken the form of banishing news outlets like the Associated Press from all presidential events, and stacking the White House press corps with sycophantic Trump-fluffers

SEE ALSO: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

The Trump regime’s campaign to undermine the free press is not limited by international borders. He put one of his most fervent cult devotees, Kari Lake, in a position to control the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees multiple broadcasting networks that inform people in countries that have no other source for reputable news. The networks under the auspices of the USAGM include Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA).

Now David Folkenflik is reporting for NPR (an American public broadcaster that Trump is trying to defund) that “Kari Lake says OAN’s far-right coverage will fuel Voice of America.” Folkenflik writes that…

“Senior presidential adviser Kari Lake appears to have resolved any doubts about what she wants to do with the Voice of America. Lake seeks for it to look and sound a lot like the far-right One America News Network.”

[Lake said that] “the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is excited to announce a partnership with One America News Network (OAN) to provide newsfeed services to USAGM networks, including Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Martí, and Voice of America (VOA). […] I can ensure our outlets have reliable and credible options as they work to craft their reporting and news programs.”

The notion that Lake can ensure the VOA outlets of “reliable and credible options” by teaming up with one of the most dishonest purveyors of ultra-right propaganda would be laughable if it weren’t so harmful. And since she has already put the staff of VOA and the other USAGM networks on indefinite leave, OAN will be the only source of news for the these networks.

The “quality” of reporting by OAN is notoriously untrustworthy. After all, they hired former GOP representative, MAGA Matt Gaetz, as a primetime host after he crashed and burned as Trump’s attorney general nominee. And they have been the subject of massive defamation lawsuits, one of which they already settled, admitting that their reporting was false.

MORE HERE: OAN Concedes that ‘There Was No Widespread Voter Fraud’ to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

VOA insiders are justifiably appalled. Their White House bureau chief, Patsy Widakuswara, said that “Congress mandated VOA to report reliable and authoritative news, not outsource its journalism to outlets aligned with the president’s agenda.” And the former CFO of USAGM, Grant Turner, said that “Kari Lake providing One America News Network to our global audiences makes a mockery of the agency’s history of independent non-partisan journalism.”

It is entirely understandable that honest journalists would be disgusted by Trump and his lackey, Lake. But it is not unsurprising that the Trumpists would exploit and abuse their power to spread their disinformation to the world. They are already doing it here at home. Fortunately, however, they are losing in the courts, and in the court of public opinion. But we must remain vigilant and resolved to resist the totalitarian Trump agenda if we are to prevail.

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

60 Minutes Interview of Kamala Harris that Drove Trump to Sue CBS is Nominated for an Emmy

The crusade by Donald Trump to suppress the media, intimidate journalists, and bring an end to America’s constitutional protection of the free press, has accelerated since his reoccupation of the White House. His determination to emulate the sort of autocratic control that his idols (Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, etc.) enjoy is the keystone of his MAGA Cult movement.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Kamala Harris, Donald Trump baby

Among Trump’s brazen efforts to clamp down on independent news organizations and reporting is his lawsuit against CBS for what he claims was their “illegal” editing of an interview of Vice-President Kamala Harris near the end of the 2024 election campaign. It was just another attempt by Trump to use meritless legal tactics to bring the media to heel with threats and the abuse of the power of the presidency.

SEE THIS: Trump Threatens CBS Over Kamala Harris Interview on 60 Minutes He Says Was ‘Possibly Illegal’

Trump was furious at CBS and 60 Minutes for reporting in a manner that was consistent with honest and professional journalism. He posted a frothingly rabid comment in October of last year on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, saying that…

“60 MINUTES SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY TAKEN OFF THE AIR – ELECTION INTERFERENCE. CBS SHOULD LOSE ITS LICENSE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN BROADCAST HISTORY. Kamala should be investigated and forced off the Campaign”

Trump is going to have an aneurism after he learns that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has just announced that the interview that triggered Trump’s wrath has been nominated for an Emmy in the very category that ruffled his scales. As reported by the Associated Press (which Trump has banned from presidential events)…

“Last fall’s ’60 Minutes’ story on Kamala Harris — the subject of Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS — was nominated for an Emmy Award Thursday for ‘outstanding edited interview.’ Trump, in his lawsuit, complained that the interview was deceptively edited to make his Democratic election opponent look good.”

That’s right. The interview that Trump baselessly asserted was “illegal” and “election interference” due to its editing, has been nominated for an Emmy for “Outstanding Editing.” Could there be a better example of the irrational inanity of Trump’s impotent whining?

Well, actually there can be. Because Trump is still doing it with even greater force of idiocy. A few days ago Trump posted a new comment absurdly claiming that “The case we have against 60 Minutes, CBS, and Paramount is a true WINNER.” He reiterated his false accusation that the interview was improperly edited. But then he escalated his legal threats to include the New York Times because they published an article that correctly reported that legal experts regarded his case as “baseless.” He wrote that…

“[T]he Failing New York Times, which is Fake News both in writing and polling, claims that ‘people’ said that the case is baseless. They don’t mean that, they just have a non curable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, possibly to the point where the Times’ interjection makes them liable for tortious interference, including in Elections, which we are intently studying.”

It is also notable that Trump’s legal threats are both a conflict of interest and a flagrant abuse of power. As David Corn of Mother Jones reports, Trump is simultaneously suing CBS and it’s corporate parent, Paramount, while his FCC chair, Brendan Carr, is reviewing a proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance Media. So Trump can extort a settlement from CBS under the threat of declining to approve the merger.

That wholly inappropriate scenario may have contributed to the resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer, Bill Owens, whose reason for leaving after 37 years included the complaint that he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”

Hopefully CBS will not capitulate to Trump’s demands. What is clear is that everyone who has done so previously has paid a price for it, financially and reputationally. And those who have stood up against him have prevailed. That’s because the law, and the Constitution, and the people are on the side of unfettered freedom of the press. And it’s why Trump’s totalitarian efforts to undermine it will fail in the end.

UPDATE: An outraged and deranged Trump is predictably whining that the 60 Minutes interview “has now been nominated for an award by the totally discredited Emmys. Did 60 Minutes and its Corporate Parents apply to get an Emmy for an illegally falsified interview?”

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump’s Justice Dept Threatens Journalists as ‘Treasonous’ for Not Disclosing Sources of Leaks

The authoritarian aspirations of Donald Trump have hardly been kept hidden. To the contrary, he brags about it, even celebrates it, on a daily basis. His brazen attacks on everything from universities, to law firms, to independent federal agencies that he is expressly prohibited from interacting with, are naked attempts to unlawfully expand and abuse his position as president.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump, Censorship

Among the institutions that Trump regularly persecutes is the one profession that is explicitly protected in the Constitution by name: Freedom of the Press. For many years Trump has maligned the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” But more recently he has taken to filing ludicrous lawsuits and banishing those who are insufficiently worshipful from presidential events.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Takes Questions From a Russian Funded MAGA Podcaster in the WH Press Room

Trump’s most recent assault on the free press comes on the heels of its abhorrent attack on the judiciary with the arrest of a judge in Wisconsin on phony charges that she helped an undocumented immigrate evade apprehension by Trump’s ICE goons. This escalation of the Trump regime’s demolishing of the Constitution has infuriated even conservatives worried about Trump’s overreaching into totalitarian tactics.

However, if you thought that it couldn’t get any worse, you don’t know Trump. On Friday, Trump assigned his lickspittle Attorney Genuflect, Pam Bondi, to issue an official Justice Department memo aimed at threatening journalists with legal consequences – including arrest and potentially much worse – for merely doing their job.

Journalists have long been shielded from these sort of government threats by the First Amendment of the Constitution, along with Justice Department policy to refrain from imposing pressure on them to disclose their sources or other work product. But now Trump and Bondi are exacerbating their bullying by rescinding a Biden administration policy that prohibited such oppressive conduct.

What follows are a couple of the most harrowing portions of the Bondi memo, wherein she advocates for “the use of subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to compel production of information and testimony by and relating to members of the news media.” As reported by Ken Dilanian, NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent…

“I have concluded that it is necessary to rescind Merrick Garland’s policies precluding the Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks.”

Translation: Bondi is permitting Trump’s Justice Department to demand that journalists give up their confidential sources, including personal communications (texts, phone records, emails, etc.), under threat of subpoena, incarceration, and criminal prosecution if they refuse to comply. That is flagrantly unconstitutional. What’s more, it would hamper the ability of reporters to gather information from government sources who would be too afraid to talk if they knew the reporters could be coerced into revealing their identity. And leaks are not “improper” unless they include classified data. The memo continued…

“This Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people. ‘Where a Government employee improperly discloses sensitive information for the purposes of personal enrichment and undermining our foreign policy, national security, and Government effectiveness— all ultimately designed to sow chaos and distrust in Government- this conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous.'”

Translation: Bondi is improperly assuming the role of policing the media’s disclosures of presidential activities. That is not remotely within the jurisdiction of the Justice Department. And it is especially improper if the intent is to avoid what it regards as “undermining” the president’s policies. The public has a right to know what the president is up to, whether the president or the Justice Department likes it or not.

Even worse, Bondi is overtly threatening journalists with the capitol crime of treason. She is actually advocating for the execution of a reporter who might tell the truth about some malfeasance by the president. Which the public also has a right to know about.

For the record, that portion of Bondi’s memo was lifted verbatim from Trump’s prior executive order instructing the Justice Department to conduct a punitive investigation of Miles Taylor, the former Chief of Staff to Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security, whose only crime was writing an honest book about Trump’s scandalous first term in office.

Trump’s fondness for threatening to execute his political foes is well documented. He has made a habit of calling his critics “treasonous.” Some of those he has targeted in the past include, Barack Obama, Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, James Comey, Adam Schiff, the New York Times, and Google.

Now Trump has had his Attorney General codify his bloodlust so that he can begin to carry out his campaign of vengeance. This must not be allowed to proceed. And since his Justice Department cannot be relied on to do the right thing, it is left to Congress to find the courage to impeach him before he gets away with any more of his monarchal madness.

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

Trump’s Press Secretary Takes Questions From a Russian Funded MAGA Podcaster in the WH Press Room

From the very first day that Donald Trump entered politics, he has been an avid opponent of the free press and the Constitution’s First Amendment. He frequently refers to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” And whenever he is confronted by a reporter whose inquiries are less than worshipful, Trump responds by insulting the reporter and dodging the question.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

So naturally Trump’s White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, devotedly reflects Trump’s heinous animosity toward the press. In the few short weeks since he began his second occupation of the White House, Leavitt has reshaped the press room into a propaganda factory whose purpose is to advance the lies of Dear Leader, rather than to inform the American people.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Pledges to Plant Pro-Trump Crackpots in the White House Press Room

On Tuesday Leavitt opened her press briefing session by recognizing a notoriously repugnant character who would be more at home in the Kremlin’s press briefing room than this one in the White House. Tim Pool is an ultra-conservative MAGA proselytizer whos dispenses some of the most bizarre conspiracy theories and hate mongering that the right-wing has produced. But in the Trump White House he has a seat in the press briefing room and gets the first question. Which went like this…

“Many of these organizations that are represented in this room have marched in lockstep on false narratives, such as the ‘very fine people’ hoax, the ‘Covington smear,’ and now what’s being called the ‘Maryland man’ hoax. Where an MS-13 gang member, adjudicated by 2 different judges I believe, is just simply being referred to as a “Maryland man” over and over again.

Now, in an effort from the White House to expand access to new companies, you’ve created this New Media Seat. So I’m wondering if you can comment on – following this expansion, you’ve had numerous outlets disparage the companies that you’ve had sit here, as well as the reporters, I’m wonder if you can comment on that unprofessional behavior, as well as elaborate on if there’s any plans to expand access to new companies.

To summarize, Pool is asking Leavitt why credible journalists are being so darn mean to the bullshit spewers, like Pool, that she has installed in order to prevent any real questions from being asked by professional reporters. And he prefaced his ludicrous question with a stream of crackpot complaints about accurate reporting that he called hoaxes. To this Leavitt replied…

“Sure. Well, we certainly welcome diverse viewpoints in this room. Which is one of the reasons we have you in here. And there’s many new faces in this room in comparison to the previous administration. We wanna welcome all these points into this room. We welcome unbiased journalists who really care about the truth and the facts and accuracy. And you rightfully pointed out the ‘Maryland man’ story.”

First question of the briefing comes from Tim Pool

Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T17:44:09.898Z

REALLY? So Leavitt regards Pool as an “unbiased journalist” who she welcomes into the room because he “cares about the truth and the facts and accuracy?” This would be a good time to take a look at Pool’s record of “diverse viewpoints.” For instance, it was recently revealed that he was the recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Russian state media to produce anti-American propaganda…

“Podcaster Tim Pool was one of six conservative influencers featured by Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based company that was secretly funded by Russian state media employees, according to a criminal indictment filed in September.

“The indictment charged two Russian media executives with allegedly funneling $10 million to Tenet, whose personalities were paid to ‘amplify domestic divisions in the United States’ by parroting Kremlin talking points on immigration, inflation and foreign policy, according to the Department of Justice. […] Pool earned $100,000 per episode for a weekly show he hosted.”

That’s the caliber of “unbiased journalist” that Leavitt has been introducing into the White House press room. While simultaneously she has been banishing respected media organizations like the Associated Press. And the result has been a plethora of preposterous questions from the MAGA goon squad.

MORE HERE: Trump Escalates His War on the Press – and the Courts – with Predictably Preposterous Results

Pool is certainly earning his pay by posing questions that are mostly rabidly biased statements, and pushing the propaganda that is mandated by both Trump and his BFF, Vladimir Putin. Would anyone be surprised if Putin was still paying Pool, and Leavitt as well? Or are they serving their Russian master for free, just because they share the same mission to bring down American democracy?

RELATED STORIES:

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.