Free Press

Trump’s FCC Chair Says that CBS News Will Have to Employ a ‘Bias Monitor’ to Police Their Reporting

Posted by on July 26, 2025 at 1:38 pm. 0 Comments :

Just in case there still people who are not convinced that Donald Trump is plotting to replace America’s democracy with a totalitarian dictatorship, he has dispatched his chairman of the FCC (Fascist Communications Commission) to Newsmax to announce his latest anti-free-press initiative.

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

Donald Trump and Media - ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX

FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has been making the media rounds this week to rollout the Trump agenda to clampdown on any journalistic enterprise that thinks it has the freedom to criticize Dear Leader Trump or his MAGA movement. Last week Carr bragged to Fox News that Trump had defunded PBS and NPR. And he told them that Trump was responsible for the cancelation of “Late Night with Stephen Colbert” because Trump is “not gonna play by the rules of politicians in the past and let these legacy outfits dictate the narrative and the terms of the debate.” Of course not. Dictating the narrative is a privilege reserved for Trump and his confederates.

SEE THIS: Did Trump Arrange to Get Stephen Colbert Fired? That’s What His FCC Chair Implied to Fox News

Not satisfied with those assaults on the free press, Carr also visited with Newsmax to announce a unique provision that was snuck into the FCC’s approval of the merger between Paramount (the owner of CBS) and Skydance Media. Carr sat for a friendly chat with Newsmax host Greg Kelly that included the following exchange…

Kelly: We heard a little about what they’re gonna have to do on 60 Minutes. Is there anything beyond that you can tell us about what they’re gonna do differently, fact-based? You know, that’s kind of a cultural shock to them.
Carr: Yeah, it might be news to some folks over there. One of the things they’re going to have to do is put an ombudsman in place for two years. So basically a “bias monitor” that will report directly to the president. So that’s something that’s significant that we’re going to see happening as well to broadcasters.”

Trump's FCC Chair says he will put a "bias monitor" in place who will "report directly" to Trump as part of the deal for Sky Dance to acquire CBS

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T16:08:59.336Z

HOLY CRAP! This is unprecedented. Carr is revealing that the government is exerting its full force to demand that a news network hire a censorship czar to police the content of CBS’s reporting, as well as that of other broadcasters. But not to worry, we can rest assured that he will execute his role as Bias Judge with the utmost neutrality, right? And he will also mandate bias monitors for Newsmax and Fox News, right? RIGHT?

[UPDATE: This story was corrected to note that the “bias monitor” would not be reporting to the president of the United States as originally stated. Carr’s remarks on Newsmax were not clear, but Talking Points Memo reviewed the text of the agreement which they report refers to the president of Paramount]

This brazenly autocratic conduct is not new for the Trump regime, or for Carr specifically. He recently told CNBC that “the media industry across this country needs a course correction.” And he believes that it is the proper role of government to impose that correction and determine the course. It’s a political philosophy that he and Trump acquired from their heroes, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

CNBC: Colbert is a comedian. You keep talking about journalism and fairness in news, but we all remember Carson and Jay Leno giving Reagan the business. Where does that fit in?FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: Frankly, the media industry across this country needs a course correction

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-25T15:05:29.181Z

The goal of these initiatives is to reshape the media into a Trump-fluffing platform of pure propaganda. If they get their way, all voices of dissent will be muzzled, and those who engage in it will be sent to gulags in El Salvador, or worse. Some in the media have already capitulated to Trump. Which makes it all the more imperative that every American speaks out and supports independent media and free speech. If we don’t do it now, we may not be able to do it at all.

UPDATE: Trump has weighed in on this with an inane comment posted on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social calling for the licenses of news networks to be revoked if he thinks they are too nice to Democrats and/or too mean to him…

“Networks aren’t allowed to be political pawns for the Democrat Party. It has become so outrageous that, in my opinion, their licenses could, and should, be revoked! MAGA”

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.

Did Trump Arrange to Get Stephen Colbert Fired? That’s What His FCC Chair Implied to Fox News

Posted by on July 24, 2025 at 3:57 pm. 0 Comments :

The history of broken democracies that descend into totalitarianism almost always begins with an aspiring dictator who lashes out at the media and seeks to muzzle any criticism from a free press that resists being censored. The honest journalists and others with the courage to speak truth to power are systematically identified and silenced.

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

Stephen Colbert & Trump Baby

That strategy can currently be seen playing out by Donald Trump and his neo-fascist MAGA movement. It began years ago with his frequent reference to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people,” and continues with his recent attacks on news organizations with multibillion dollar lawsuits and threats of regulatory punishment should they defy his divine will.

SUCH AS: Paramount Caves to Trump’s Extortion, Disgraces CBS, Pays a $16M Bribe to Settle a Bogus Lawsuit

Last week Stephen Colbert announced that his corporate bosses at Paramount had told him that his contract would not be renewed beyond this season that ends in May of 2026. Paramount is currently trying to complete a merger with Skydance Media that needs the approval of the Trump administration, The cancellation came as a shock to Colbert and his audience, considering that his program has been the number one rated show in its time slot for many years. And it came just two days after Colbert castigated Paramount for capitulating to Trump and agreeing to pay what Colbert called “a big fat bribe” in order to settle an entirely meritless lawsuit filed by the Litigator-in-Chief. What else did Paramount/Skydance promise Trump to secure his approval for their merger?

One person who was not shocked was Donald Trump, who rejoiced over the news, and looked forward to more of the same sort of government suppression for Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and others who dare to laugh at Trump. Which may have prompted Fox News host, Bill Hemmer, to engage with Trump’s Federal Communications (FCC) chair, Brendan Carr, about Trump’s possible role in the ousting of Colbert. Hemmer asked Carr, “Did Trump have anything to do with the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show?” And Carr gave a long-winded dodge that still managed to give Trump credit for axing the decades long, awarding winning program. Carr replied…

“Well here’s what’s important to keep in mind as a broader dynamic. When president Trump ran for reelection he ran right at the legacy broadcast media outfits and the New York and Hollywood elites that are behind it. And he smashed the facade that these are gatekeepers that can control what Americans think and what Americans can say. And once you do do that, you’ve exposed the business model of a lot of these outfits as being nothing more than a partisan circus.

That entire rant was pure, nonsensical, bullshittery. First of all, Trump may have campaigned against the media, but he won with one of the smallest margins in modern history. So he had no mandate to crush what he believed was a “partisan circus.” What’s more, neither Colbert, nor any of his colleagues, had any power as “gatekeepers” who could control what anyone thinks or says. If the American people didn’t like what they were seeing, they could always change the channel or go to bed. Instead, millions tuned in every night.

However, Carr wasn’t finished gaslighting the Fox News viewers. He eventually got around to answering the original question about whether Trump deserved credit for ridding television of Colbert. And Carr implied that he did…

“So there’s a lot of consequences that are flowing from Trump deciding ‘I’m not gonna play by the rules of politicians in the past and let these legacy outfits dictate the narrative and the terms of the debate.’ And he’s succeeding. Just look at what’s happening. NPR has been defunded. PBS has been defunded. Colbert is getting canceled. You’ve got anchors and news media personalities losing jobs. All of the is downstream of president Trump’s decision to stand up. And he stood up for the American people. Because the American people do not trust these legacy gatekeepers anymore.”

FOX: Did President Trump have anything to do with the cancelation of Colbert's show?FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR: When President Trump ran for election, he ran right at these legacy broadcast media outfitsFOX: I did not hear an answer

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-24T14:04:39.172Z

So according to Carr, Colbert’s firing was the result of “consequences” that flowed from Trump who wasn’t “gonna play by the rules” of the past, wherein viewers decided what they wanted to watch. He boasted that Trump was succeeding by defunding beloved institutions like NPR and PBS, and causing journalists to lose their jobs. Once again, giving the credit to Trump. Furthermore, Carr made the preposterous statement that all of this anti-free-press turmoil, was because Trump “stood up for the American people.”

MORE HERE: Trump Threatens Republicans Who Fail to Defund the ‘Monstrosity’ Public Broadcasters, PBS and NPR

Apparently Carr thinks that the nation was clamoring to get rid of such subversive fair as the PBS News Hour, All Things Considered, Masterpiece Theater, and Sesame Street. Even Fox’s host was less than satisfied with Carr’s respopnse, saying that “I asked you a very direct question. I did not hear a yes or a no in your answer. I heard ‘maybe.'” Although Carr did hint at his view that Trump was responsible for Colbert being cancelled. He just took the long way around to delivering a weaselly reply. Which is a skill that many in Trump World have had to master.

The bottom line here is that Trump is determined to cleanse the media of anyone who refuses to worship and obey him. And the supplicants in his administration will see to it that Trump’s will is done by any means necessary. And that’s true for his political agencies as well. Because that’s how authoritarianism works. And that’s what Trump wants. He must not be allowed to succeed.

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.

Scaredy Trump Kicks the Wall Street Journal Out of the Press Pool for His Next Junket Overseas

Posted by on July 21, 2025 at 3:23 pm. 0 Comments :

The six month old tenure of Donald Trump’s second occupation of the White House has been a debacle of epic proportions. He has presided over a faltering domestic economy that has resulted in a higher cost of living. And his foreign policy is anchored by fascist round ups of migrants, betrayal of international allies, and threats to Panama, Greenland, and Canada of forced annexation.

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

Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch

In the midst of all of that, Trump also seems to be intent on preserving his place as the most hostile American president toward the free press and the protections granted it in the First Amendment of the Constitution. His animosity toward honest, unfettered journalism is evident in his reshaping of the White House press office that is now populated by MAGA cult propagandists and Trump-fluffing Internet trolls. Including a Russian funded MAGA podcaster.

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

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Trump has now banished the Wall Street Journal from the press poll that will accompany him on his upcoming trip to Scotland. Some folks might wonder why Trump would single out a markedly right-wing newspaper owned by his friend – and Fox News owner – Rupert Murdoch. Well, as reported by Politico…

“The White House is removing the Wall Street Journal from the pool of reporters covering the president’s weekend trip to Scotland, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told POLITICO. The move follows the Journal’s report alleging that President Donald Trump sent a sexually suggestive message to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.”

That’s right! Trump is lashing out like spurned child against a playmate that was insufficiently adoring and obedient. The article in the Journal described a birthday card that Trump allegedly signed for his pedo-pal, Jeffrey Epstein, as having a line drawing of a naked woman with Trump’s unique and disturbing birthday wish saying that “may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump has already filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for their article. That case has now been assigned to a judge in the Southern District of Florida who was appointed by President Obama. Ironically, it’s the same District as Trump flunky judge Aileen Cannon. This sets up precisely the scenario that Trump wants. When he loses this meritless case he will blame the judge for being biased and assert that the whole justice system is corrupt.

In the meantime, Trump is proving that he is too afraid to face any questions about his relationship with Epstein, the story about the birthday card, or the lawsuit itself. Trump’s Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who couldn’t even muster a denial that he is on the Epstein client list, released a statement saying…

“As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces. Thirteen diverse outlets will participate in the press pool to cover the President’s trip to Scotland. Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board.”

If allegations about “fake and defamatory conduct” are the standard for whether a news organization is granted access to the president, then there aren’t very many news organizations that would pass Trump’s test. In addition to the Wall Street Journal, he has already sued ABC News, CBS News, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN. And most of the rest of the media he has declared is “fake” news. That’s why his press pool is infested with suck-ups like One America News, Breitbart, and various online fraudcasters.

If this case actually goes to trial, Trump is unlikely to win. He would have to show evidence that what they published was either knowingly false, or that it had reckless disregard for the truth. And the claim that the Journal “maligned President Trump’s character and integrity” would be difficult to prove, considering that he has no discernable character or integrity.

Nevertheless, some of the other targets of Trump’s multibillion lawsuits have settled with him for a few million dollars due to fear of him using his governmental powers to retaliate against their corporate owners. The Wall Street Journal doesn’t appear to have any pending business that would make such threats viable. And for the time being they are standing firm with a pledge to vigorously defend themselves and their reporting.

However, given Trump’s willingness to abuse the vast power of the federal government, and his friendship with Murdoch, time will tell if they can weather this storm of litigation, or persuade Trump to lay off. In the meantime, they have been shut out of the press pool, along with the Associated Press, and others who offended Trump’s tender fee fees. That’s the risk you take if you comply with an aspiring dictator who seeks to control the media and silence any and all dissenting voices.

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 Threatens Republicans Who Fail to Defund the ‘Monstrosity’ Public Broadcasters, PBS and NPR

Posted by on July 11, 2025 at 12:47 pm. 1 Comments :

One of the staples of Republican right-wing anti-media conservatism has been their obsessive animosity toward the beloved public broadcasters, NPR and PBS. The GOP has been determined to kill them for decades, despite the overwhelming support they have from the American people who favor continued funding by a nearly two-to-one majority.

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

Donald Trump, Censorship

The fierce aversion to public media by Republicans is driven by their hatred of an informed and educated populace. And their perverse passion for eliminating any and all sources of such information has never been more pronounced than it is today. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention to the second coming of Donald Trump, who famously gushed that “I love the poorly educated.” How else could he get elected? No wonder Trump despises the media that he refers to as “the enemy of the people,” and especially public media…

SEE THIS: Trump and MAGA Rep FREAK OUT that ‘Monsters’ at NPR and PBS ‘Hate Christians and America’

Trump’s latest salvo aimed at public broadcasting came in a comment posted to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, that unleashed a vicious threat of retribution should his MAGA cult followers in Congress fail to behave obediently. Trump wrote that…

“It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions (sic) Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together. Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Do you hear that Republicans? You do not have free choice in the Era of Trump. And you may not act in accordance with the wishes of your constituents. You must obey Dear Leader or suffer the consequences. To be clear, Trump is deploring his MAGA troops to fight back against the “monsters” that produce Sesame Street, Antiques Roadshow, All Things Considered, and This Old House, along with highly respected news programming.

Trump is raising this issue now as the Senate approaches a July 18 deadline to approve a Rescissions Bill that implements $9.4 billion in DOGE-inspired cuts that were passed by the House June. In addition to the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the bill eliminates funding for USAID, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). So Trump’s demands will not only make Americans less informed, they will result in extraordinary hardship and millions of deaths worldwide. (More info here from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities}

Trump has been on a recent crusade to coerce Republicans to defund public media. Just in the past three months he has raged that…

  • June 12, 2025: “For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it, until now. NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!”
  • April 1, 2025: “REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS’ THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!”
  • March 27, 2025: “NPR and PBS, two horrible and completely biased platforms (Networks!), should be DEFUNDED by Congress, IMMEDIATELY. Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our Country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party. JUST SAY NO AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

It is troubling to consider that the likelihood of defunding these American institutions is frighteningly plausible. The Republican majority in Congress is devoted to obeying every command from their Dear Leader Trump. Even if it means canceling treasured programs, maligning honorable people, and trashing the Constitution’s First Amendment protections of freedom of the press.

However, there is still time to defeat this abomination by Trump and the GOP. If the Rescissions Bill is not passed by the deadline, the cuts will not go into effect. And that means all the cuts, including those to foreign aid.

So this would be a good time to let your senators know how you feel. Success will will not only save public media, it will save lives. And it will also have the added entertainment value of seeing Trump withhold his endorsements from all the senators who disobeyed him. Here is how you can take action: Protect My Public Media.

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.

Lawrence O’Donnell Calls Out the ‘Stupidest White House Press Corps (and President)’ In History

Posted by on July 9, 2025 at 12:23 pm. 2 Comments :

The devolution of the White House press corps has been one of the most profoundly disturbing and dangerous aspects of the Era of Donald Trump. And it couldn’t come at a worse time. As Trump pursues his mission to undermine American principles and rule as an autocratic tyrant, much of the media is cooperating by failing to fulfill their duties as the guardians of democracy.

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

Donald Trump TV Set

Immediately upon his reoccupation of the White House, Trump orchestrated an overhaul of the press corps that he regards as “the enemy of the people.”. He installed an FBI boss, Kash Patel, who has threatened to “come after the people in the media.” And he ejected credible journalists from the press briefings and replaced them with sycophantic puppets devoted to disseminating his dishonest and self-serving propaganda and lies.

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

On Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell addressed this abysmal situation in an extended analysis of what’s gone wrong with the Washington press (video below). He tagged the current crop of White House Trump flunkies as “the stupidest White House press corps in history.” And that wasn’t hyperbole. O’Donnell said that…

“The possibility of a relentlessly stupid person becoming president of the United States has been underexplored by screenwriters. And then Donald Trump came along and went far beyond what Hollywood could ever imagine in the presidency.”

Recalling his past as a writer and producer on TV’s “The West Wing,” O’Donnell opined that…

“If I were writing the character of a stupid president in a script, I would simply have had the stupid president completely rely on a smart White House staff and a smart cabinet and just hide behind those people, and absolutely – and I mean absolutely – never talk to the press, because a stupid president’s stupidity would be immediately exposed by the White House press corps.

“And on that point, I would have been very wrong. Because it turns out the stupidest presidency in American history has the stupidest White House press corps in American history.”

What triggered O’Donnell’s angst was a remark made by Trump at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting where he took a few questions from the media. At one point he was asked a question by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about whether he had approved of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspending military aid to Ukraine. Trump dodged the question, so Collins asked him directly who approved the pause. Trump arrogantly – or ignorantly – replied “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

It was Trump's Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who ordered the pause of weapons to Ukraine.Did Trump know that? Is he lying here? Or is he utterly ignorant of what's going on in his own administration?

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-07-08T17:01:03.549Z

O’Donnell went on to criticize the press corps that Trump “has been able to beat down and humiliate…to the point where they take that for an answer meekly and shut up.” No one bothered to press Trump for a serious answer about who is running the Defense Department. Note that Hegseth was sitting next to him at the table.

Following this embarrassing exchange, Trump later the same day told the press that he would be resuming military aid to Ukraine. So it makes one wonder how Hegseth manages to hold on to his job in the wake of so many glaring mistakes, including disclosing military attack plans during a chat on the Signal app.

O’Donnell summed up his segment saying that…

“Some individual members of the White House press corps – and I want to stress this – remain excellent at their jobs. But they frequently don’t get to ask Donald Trump a question. […] And I have to admit, if I were in the White House press corps, I’m not sure I would figure out how to resist it, except to maybe yell out some question about Donald Trump lying about something. And then I wouldn’t be in the White House press corps anymore. I would be shown out the door and that would be the end of that.”

Exactly. The media who continue to participate in these charades are behaving like cowards who are afraid to lose their access to the president. But that access is worthless if the only things they ever get out of him are lies and propaganda. It is not worth sacrificing your journalistic integrity.

The media needs to grow a spine and start to challenge Trump, or refuse to show up just to bolster his blatant bullshittery. That shouldn’t be a difficult decision.

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.

Paramount Caves to Trump’s Extortion, Disgraces CBS, Pays a $16M Bribe to Settle a Bogus Lawsuit

Posted by on July 2, 2025 at 1:41 pm. 3 Comments :

In yet another capitulation by Big Media to the ravenous whims of aspiring authoritarian Donald Trump, Paramount Global has succumbed to the insidious intimidation of a tyrannical threat intended to quash the freedom of the press guaranteed by the Constitution’s First Amendment. It’s just the latest assault on the media that Trump frequently refers to in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.”

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

Donald Trump and Media - ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX

On Wednesday morning it was announced that Paramount had agreed to a settlement of the lawsuit that Trump had brought against CBS News, alleging that the network had defamed him by editing part of an interview with Kamala Harris. Never mind that the the editing (which was nominated for an Emmy) was proper and routine and done only for time and clarity. To Trump it was an assault on his tender sensitivities…

SEE THIS: Snowflake Trump Whines He Suffered ‘Mental Anguish’ From the 60 Minutes Interview of Kamala Harris

The settlement was nothing more than Paramount bowing to the extortion of a mob boss president who was only interested in exacting revenge on a news organization that had the audacity to present a fair and balanced interview of a political opponent and to report the truth about him. As reported by CNN…

“CBS News parent Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a legally dubious lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a ’60 Minutes’ news report last fall.” […]

“Legal experts maintained that Trump’s suit was frivolous and that CBS was on solid ground to fight and win the case in court. But corporate priorities trumped journalistic principles. Paramount has been trying for months to complete a lucrative merger with Skydance Media, and the deal requires approval from the Trump administration, in part because CBS owns local stations that are licensed by the government. This gave Trump a form of leverage over Paramount.” […]

In short, Paramount paid a bribe to Trump in order to get him to allow their multibillion merger with Skydance Media (owned by Trump associates Larry and David Ellison) to proceed with approval from Trump’s FCC. The fate of the merger was of – shall we say paramount – concern to the chairwoman of the corporation, Shari Redstone, who stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars when the merger is completed.

The settlement that Paramount agreed to was for $16 million that would cover Trump’s legal expenses, with the remainder going to his eventual presidential library. But far worse than that, it establishes a precedent for bullying news enterprises in order to shape their reporting or to make them pay for being honest and independent. And despite the fact that there was no apology or other statement of wrongdoing or regret, Trump still claimed that he scored a total victory. His legal team said that…

“[The settlement] holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit. CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle.”

None of that statement is remotely related to reality. It’s hard to sue for $20 billion in damages – which was the original amount sought by Trump – and settle for 0.08% of that, and spin it as a strong case that Paramount “had no choice but to settle.” Particularly when Trump couldn’t even get any kind of an apology, and the funds would not be going directly to him, but to his library, if there ever is one.

Nevertheless, the damage done to the reputation of CBS News is significant and enduring. It was a decision by their corporate parent to sacrifice the network’s credibility in order to enrich their owners. And their weakness makes it harder for other news organizations to stand up to the kind of criminal protection racket tactics that Trump is so notorious for engaging in. Hopefully any other media outfit facing this in the future will have more courage than than the cowards at Paramount.

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.

What 1st Amendment? Trump Threatens to Prosecute CNN for Imaginary Crimes Against Dear Leader

Posted by on July 1, 2025 at 3:23 pm. 0 Comments :

The determination of Donald Trump to exert tyrannical control over the media that he despises has taken another turn for the worse. He is now not only insulting them as “fake” news, or demeaning them as “the enemy of the people,” or suing them on preposterous charges of defamation. He has escalated his wrath to outright threats of prosecution.

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

Donald Trump, CNN

Bear in mind that Trump has not identified any actual crime that anyone in the press has committed. He has never needed any such trivialities as prosecutable offenses to backup his wild accusations. Trump merely babbles maniacally about some imagined illegality and expects his cult devotees to follow blindly.

SEE THIS: Trump Cult Priestess, Karoline Leavitt, Preaches the Divine Infallibility of Dear Leader

Trump participated in a staged photo-op in Florida to visit a new migrant detention facility that features alligator infested surrounding waters. Of course, the alligators have no impact whatsoever on the security of the facility. But the gruesome cruelty of the notion of migrants – including children – being ripped to shreds delights the sickly morbidity of the MAGA crowd.

During the press conference Trump was asked questions about some of his other inhumane and unconstitutional mass deportation initiatives. One in particular addressed a news report by CNN about a publicly available app that advised people of where ICE agents were conducting operations. Which led to the following exchange…

Question: CNN yesterday pushed an app that lets you track where ICE agents are. [Border czar] Tom Homan said that perhaps CNN should be prosecuted for that. Your Thoughts?
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem: We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that. Because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities, operations, and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute with the partnership of [Attorney General] Pam [Bondi] if we can, because what they are doing we believe is illegal.
Trump: And they may very well be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran. They were given totally false reports.

Trump on CNN: "They may be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-01T15:26:14.748Z

DHS Secretary Noem’s assertion that CNN engaged in some illegal activity has no basis in reality. They are entirely within their rights to report on the existence of an app that is available for anyone to download. That is journalism, not promotion. They never “encouraged” anyone to use the app. And it’s purpose is merely to notify the public about activities that ICE agents are openly engaging in. Which is also legal.

Trump went further – and wildly off-topic – to threaten CNN with prosecution for “having given false reports on the attack in Iran.” Once again, it is only Trump’s opinion that the reports were false. CNN derived the information from Trump’s own intelligence team. As previously reported, Trump’s Propaganda Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, complained about CNN for…

“…accurately reporting what Trump’s own intel professionals said about the results of the air strikes. They revealed that, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, Iran’s nuclear capabilities had only been damaged partially, and that they could be rebuilt within months.”

So CNN’s reporting was correct. However, even if it were not, that isn’t illegal either. News organizations are allowed to make make mistakes, and corrections when necessary. In this case it wasn’t necessary. But if Trump still wasn’t satisfied, he could file another wholly unwarranted lawsuit for defamation. But he cannot issue criminal indictments. CNN replied to these anti-constitutional threats saying that…

“There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.”

Trump’s use of intimidation against the media is more proof of his penchant for fascism. He would love to throw journalists in jail for reporting the truth about him. He has also been threatening political foes with arrest. Just in the past 48 hours he has mused about arresting Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, and Alejandro Mayorkas, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, and he indicated his openness to deporting Elon Musk, his former BFF and DOGE chief.

Trump’s threats of prosecuting journalists, along with his civil litigation, are long standing obsessions that reveal his hatred of the Constitution and its First Amendment protections. And it is a troubling signal of his intentions to control the media and form a fascist regime that won’t tolerate a free press or free thought. At this point in the process, he isn’t even trying to hide it. Which means that it is more imperative than ever to resist him and his authoritarian aspirations. The welfare of the country is at stake.

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.

FIRE EVERYONE! Trump Rages Over Accurate Reporting of Intelligence Regarding His Iran Bombing

Posted by on June 26, 2025 at 2:07 pm. 0 Comments :

In the wake of the bombing mission that Donald Trump ordered allegedly to rid Iran of nuclear weapons capabilities, the media had the audacity to do their job and report on what was known about the mission and its results. That, of course, drove Trump crazy, because the last thing he ever wants is for the truth about his often reckless escapades being exposed to the light of day.

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

Donald Trump

In Trump World it is never permitted to do or say anything critical of Dear Leader. His every word is to be regarded as if gospel, and every act must be glorified with the enthusiasm of an adoring apostle. That’s evident in the worshipful testimony delivered by his devoted propaganda purveyors.

SEE THIS: Trump Cult Priestess, Karoline Leavitt, Preaches the Divine Infallibility of Dear Leader

On Thursday Trump underwent a severe mental breakdown triggered by the press that he hates and regularly maligns as “the enemy of the people.” In a barrage of rancid posts to his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, Trump unleashed a series of demands that journalists he doesn’t like be fired. He seems to think that he’s still on “The Apprentice” and can axe people from his program at will.

The primary target of Trump’s wrath was CNN’s Pentagon correspondent, Natasha Bertrand. Trump began his harangue by lashing out at her on Wednesday saying that…

“Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.'” [And that] “She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad…She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN….FIRE NATASHA!”

First of all, does anyone really believe that Trump watched CNN for three days? Setting that aside, Trump’s claim that she lied is…well, a lie. She reported what she was told by Trump’s own Defense Department Intelligence Agency. Trump even later admitted that. Although he complained that the DIA assessment was preliminary. Which Bertrand reported saying that “The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available.”

Trump tried to spin this story as an attack on the pilots who flew the mission to Iran. Which is pure bullpucky. He also dredged up a five year old complaint about Hunter Biden’s laptop, which was also correctly reported by Bertrand. Then on Thursday, Trump continued his tantrum with several posts demanding the termination of many more reporters. He whined that…

“Rumor is that the Failing New York Times and Fake News CNN will be firing the reporters who made up the FAKE stories on the Iran Nuclear sites because they got it so wrong. Lets see what happens?”

And that…

“One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ News Conferences I have ever seen! The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this Witch Hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!”

And that…

“FAKE NEWS REPORTERS FROM CNN & THE NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD BE FIRED, IMMEDIATELY!!! BAD PEOPLE WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!!!”

And in a major escalation of his insanity, with zero evidence, Trump fumed that…

“The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!“

Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, who is currently playacting as Trump’s Secretary of Defense, held a press scolding Thursday morning, wherein he whined about the media in a manner that would embarrass an eight year old. During that reality TV-style melodrama, Hegseth chastised his former Fox News colleague, Jennifer Griffin, who wasn’t havin’ his asininity. And he demonstrated his pitiful lack of historical knowledge of American warfare…

This is a great example of how everything in Trump world dials up the hyperbole to preposterous levels, where whatever Trump does is the BESTEST in the history of humanity!Hegseth apparently never heard of D-Day, or Hiroshima, or Desert Storm, or getting Osama bin Laden.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-06-26T17:26:27.476Z

What Trump and his minions are making abundantly clear is that they do not want any credible journalism to be practiced in this country. They regard news reporting as unpatriotic if it isn’t gushing with praise for Trump. But nothing is more patriotic than reporters who speak truth to power.

Unfortunately, Trump’s hatred of the Constitution’s First Amendment is all too apparent in his attempts to get journalists fired when they are less than reverential supplicants to His MAGA-STY. Consequently, this country needs bold journalists now more than ever.

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 Cult Priestess, Karoline Leavitt, Preaches the Divine Infallibility of Dear Leader

Posted by on June 25, 2025 at 3:31 pm. 0 Comments :

The MAGA movement led by America’s moronic messiah, Donald Trump, has become a crusade of carnival acts that have transcended the bounds of parody. With each new day they provide more proof that there truly is no bottom to their farcical feats of lunacy.

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

Donald Trump and Karoline Leavitt

Consistent with the mission of every other cult, the MAGA missionaries are deeply focused on advancing the measure of devotion that is felt by their followers. To that end, the Pharisees of Trumpism fan out across the media to spread their message and corral their faithful and to harden their belief in him no matter how deranged.

SEE THIS: WHO’S DERANGED? Trump on Biden Clones, Transgender Mice, Autopens, and His Own Mental Anguish

On Wednesday Trump dispatched his high priestesses of propaganda to proselytize the masses. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, took up her regular post on Fox News, where she appears more often than she does in the White House press briefing room. While there she disgorged the doctrine of Trump as it related to his recent bombing campaign in Iran…

“No other president in history could have ever dreamed of such a success. And that’s exactly why the fake news media is now trying to demean and undermine the president. And we’ve seen this playbook be run before. You have hostile actors within the intelligence community who illegally leak bits and pieces of an intelligence assessment to push a fake news narrative.

Leavitt: "No other president in history could have ever dreamed of such a success, & that's exactly why the fake news media is now trying to demean & undermine POTUS…it was written by the exact same CNN reporter who wrote the original story falsely alleging the Hunter laptop was Russian disinfo"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-06-25T18:13:25.635Z

Leavitt’s description of Trump’s Iran adventurism as a success that “No other president in history could have ever dreamed of,” is patently absurd, and further evidence of the cultish rhetoric employed by Trump’s minions. From there Leavitt dived into an extend rant against CNN for accurately reporting what Trump’s own intel professionals said about the results of the air strikes. They revealed that, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, Iran’s nuclear capabilities had only been damaged partially, and that they could be rebuilt within months.

“The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it.”

Leavitt went on to complain about a five year old story reported by CNN and others about Hunter Biden’s laptop and the verified associations with Russian disinformation operations. Leavitt falsely claimed that the story was false, and that therefore, her assertion that “Trump completely and totally obliterated the capability of Iran to produce a nuclear weapon” was true. She insisted that “the American public are smarter than this” And on that score, Leavitt may be right. Because a recent poll found that…

“Americans disapprove of the strikes, 56% to 44%, according to the survey, with strong disapproval outpacing the share who strongly approve. Most distrust Trump’s decision-making on the use of force in Iran, with about 6 in 10 worried that the strikes will increase the Iranian threat to the US.”

Meanwhile, Trump himself was freaking out about the reporting on what he was trying to sell as an unqualified success. So naturally he lashed out out viciously at the media saying that “CNN is scum. MSDNC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They are bad people. They’re sick.”

Good morning, America.Your President is in Europe. It is not possible to fully articulate how much this man embarrasses the US on a global stage.“We have scum that’s in this group. CNN is scum. MSDNC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They are bad people. They're sick.”

— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) 2025-06-25T10:51:17.095Z

Trump followed up that harangue with one aimed directly at the author of one of CNN’s stories. He posted the following on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social…

“Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.’ … She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN … FIRE NATASHA!”

That’s another lovely example of Trump’s commitment to free speech and the Constitution’s explicit protection of the free press. He believes that it is appropriate for an American president to demand the termination of journalists that he doesn’t like. Which isn’t surprising considering that he has several lawsuits pending against media companies because they dared to report actual news that has hurt his tender feelings and bruised his fragile ego. Poor baby.

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 Fox News About Terry Moran, the AP, and the Constitution

Posted by on June 8, 2025 at 12:57 pm. 1 Comments :

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.