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.

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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.

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WHUT? Washington Post Op-Ed Praises CNN for Being ‘Pro-Trump’ in All His ‘Fact-Deprived Glory’

The state of journalism in the era of Donald Trump has suffered an alarmingly rapid descent into submissiveness to power and capitulation to the threats of an aspiring authoritarian whose dependence on, and hostility toward, the media has long been openly and loudly expressed.

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General Donald Trump on CNN

In just the few short months of his reoccupation of the White House, Trump has demonstrated his disgraceful disregard for the Constitution’s protections of a free press by banning media outlets that have angered him (Associated Press, Reuters), dismantling independent agencies (Voice of America, Radio Free Europe), declaring critical media illegal (MSNBC, CNN), and reshaping the White House press room to align with his radical MAGA agenda.

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

in the midst of this media dismemberment, Eric Wemple of the Washington Post (which is owned by Trump flunky Jeff Bezos) has published an article that presumes to be an objective analysis of the the left-leaning cable news network, MSNBC. But it’s headline gives away it’s inherent bias: MSNBC in five words: ‘I could not agree more’ He began the article saying that…

“Over the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, CNN has erupted in regular shoutfests over the latest Trump outrage. Fox News, too, has had its moments of internal combustion, especially on its highest-rated show, ‘The Five,’ where rotating co-host Jessica Tarlov often snipes at her conservative peers. As for MSNBC: Does anyone ever debate stuff on this network? To get closer to an answer, I decided to gulp roughly 18 hours of MSNBC programming”

So Wemple is complaining that MSNBC doesn’t have the the “shoutfests” that Fox News and CNN have. And that’s supposed to be a bad thing? He also suggests that Jessica Tarlov – one liberal against four Trump-fluffers – constitutes balance. His premise is that MSNBC is a Democratic echo chamber that features “Vast expanses of predictable programming in which people passionately agree with one another” that Trump is a bad person and president.

That, however, is a hard position to argue with. What good is there to say about a president who has crashed the economy, abandoned longtime allies, embraced totalitarian foes, fought against the interests of working class Americans, and relentlessly seeks to enrich himself and his billionaire benefactors?

In Wemple’s article he claims to have watched 18 hours straight of MSNBC. But he only posts 15 time-stamped observations of that viewing, That’s less than one per hour. And they don’t even support his premise. For instance, he claims that MSNBC is stacked with liberal hosts and guests. But he acknowledges that they have Republicans in those roles, including host Michael Steele, Susan Del Percio, Brendan Buck, and Tim Miller. He left out hosts Joe Scarborough and Nicolle Wallace.

Wemple also claimed that MSNBC doesn’t book guests who support Trump, saying that they are “opting for Republicans that give it the patina of balance, even though those voices don’t represent Trumpism.”. But he himself notes that Trump advisor Stephen Miller, GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, all appeared on the network during his 18 hour taste test. And anti-Trump Republicans are the minority who wouldn’t have a platform, but for MSNBC.

Virtually every criticism that Wemple has of MSNBC applies much more accurately to Fox News that has zero Democratic hosts. MSNBC doesn’t avoid contrarian debate. They ARE the contrarian debate. Much of the rest of the media, including WaPo, has succumbed to Trumpism. Wemple closed his hackery by saying that…

“In pre-Trump times, MSNBC’s current programming model would have been outright journalistic fraud. In Trump days, not so much — and we have daily proof over at CNN: The segments featuring that network’s Trump-supporting contributors are loud, chaotic and poisoned by frequent distortions. At least CNN viewers get to hear the pro-Trump arguments in all their fact-deprived glory, however. I lean toward the CNN model, but not enough to strain my calves.”

REALLY? Wemple leans toward CNN’s “loud, chaotic,” “poisoned,” “fact-deprived” “distortions”? And what part of that does he regard as credible journalism? He is actually advocating that news networks air noisy, blatant falsehoods as some sort of exercise in balance. He thinks that viewers will benefit from being lied to, so long as it’s done by screaming right-wingers who emulate Trump’s infantile emotional infirmity.

If Wemple wants to watch pro-wrestling style face-offs by shouting partisans, that’s up to him. But he shouldn’t push his bone-headed ideas on others, or use them as a model for the principles of professional journalism. Fox News has always been useless as a source for honest news. And CNN has recently joined them in the gutter. America doesn’t need another network that traffics in anger and lies.

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HUH? Fox News Makes the Most Bizarre Justification Yet for Trump Accepting a Free Jet From Qatar

The recent revelation that Donald Trump is preparing to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar to replace Air Force One has been leading the news cycle for three days now. For better or worse, it has taken precedence over his junket to the Middle East, his phony trade deals with the UK and China, his unlawful and unenforceable drug price reductions, and his efforts to defy the constitutional protection of habeas Corpus laws.

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Fox News Sad

Naturally, Trump’s always predictable reaction to the torrent of criticism that he has received for his latest self-enriching enterprise has been predominantly to deny, lie, and insult his critics, whether they be Democrats, Republicans, or journalists. Especially journalists…

SEE THIS: Scaredy Trump Attacks Reporter to Dodge Questions About His $400 Million Gift Plane from Qatar

Fortunately for Trump, he will always have Fox News to carry water for him as he seeks to flood the zone with bullpucky and gaslight his gullible cult disciples. To that end, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends embarked on a path of shameless Trump-fluffing to absolve him of any guilt for eagerly grabbing the gift of a flying palace from a Middle Eastern nation with whom he is doing business. Spinning furiously, they said that…

Brian Kilmeade: The question is the optics. What does Qatar want in return for a multi billion dollar plane?
Lawrence Jones: I think we would be crazy not to accept the plane. I think people have been watching way too many spy movies. And if you think the United States government and our Defense Department is not going to strip the plane – everybody is talking about technology. Could they be spying on us? Of course. We have foreign assets that want to spy on us. But they are not going to take the plane as is. They will break it apart. They will put the necessary military assets on there. The technology is there.
Kilmeade: Flip the couches to the other side.
Jones: I think it’s a gift. I think it’s totally okay.
Ainsley Earhardt: Look, the left is going crazy about this. But they have to be careful. They are fine with Harvard getting all these gifts from these Middle Eastern countries. And Bill Ackman says “the hypocrisy is staggering. If the Pentagon took a $400 million plane from Qatar, it would rightly spark outrage over foreign influence. Yet universities pocket billions from the same regimes and get a free pass.” American universities are getting billions in gifts from foreign countries and they are okay with that. Remember Barack Obama supported Harvard for going after Trump?

Jones is parroting Trump himself who said that “It would be stupid” not to accept the plane. His reasoning rested solely on the claim that it’s free. Let’s get back to that nonsense in moment. First, let’s note that free gifts are not permitted under the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. And it would be ridiculous to suggest that just because something is free that it’s okay. Would it be okay for someone with matters pending before a senator or a judge to give them a free Mercedes or Rolex?

As to whether the plane is actually free, NBC News reports that it could cost more than a billion dollars to “strip the plane” and then rebuild it with the added security enhancements that the president’s plane requires. Plus it could take years to complete the transformation. So the planes currently being built by Boeing to replace Air force One could be delivered first. And Trump would end up getting a free plane for his library that was never used as Air Force One.

Perhaps the most preposterous take in this Fox News segment is Earhardt’s comparison of Trump accepting a multimillion plane from a foreign government, to Harvard accepting academic donations. To begin with, Earhardt is actually agreeing that Trump’s acceptance of the plane is improper and “would rightly spark outrage over foreign influence.” Her complaint is only that Democrats might be hypocritical for not also being outraged about Harvard. Which is not even remotely similar.

Unlike Trump’s gift, there is nothing in the Constitution prohibiting Harvard from taking such donations. Harvard isn’t using those funds in any endeavor that would impact national security. In fact, as reported by The Harvard Crimson, they are used for financial aid, graduate fellowships, research funding, and related educational and operational expenses. And the donations they receive are fully disclosed as required by law.

Trying to equate Trump, a known felon with 34 convictions for financial fraud, and his breach of constitutional law, to Harvard’s commonplace and legal academic fundraising, is really just a demonstration of how desperate Fox News is to find any justification for an unjustifiable act by a criminal president. And that desperation only makes their failure more apparent and pathetic.

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OH MY: Trump’s Competency and the 25th Amendment was Raised on Fox News by Democratic Congressman

The case for declaring that Donald Trump is mentally unfit to serve as president has been made by many experts and professionals in the psychiatric field. But it doesn’t take an expert to see that Trump’s behavior in office is profoundly disturbed, erratic, and dangerous. In fact, it was made during his first term by a group of doctors that came together as “Duty to Warn.”

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Donald Trump, Insane, Straight Jacket

In the 100 days since his inauguration, Trump has managed to crash the economy, alienate America’s allies, embrace its foes, dismantle critical agencies, and defy the courts and the Constitution, all while exalting himself as the messiah of his deranged MAGA movement. But no matter how hard he tries, he has been unable to convince the American people that he is capable and trustworthy.

SEE THIS: Trump Marks His First 100 Days By Glorifying Why Most Americans See Him as ‘A Dangerous Dictator’

While the majority of Americans have seen through the facade that Trump presents, a small faction of the population remains steadfastly loyal and blissfully ignorant. They can be identified by the media that they consume, which is primarily Fox News.

However, on Wednesday the curtain that covers Trump’s maladies and malevolence was pulled aside briefly. On Will Cain’s primetime Fox News program, Rep. Dan Goldman was interviewed about the state of Trump’s presidency at the 100 day mark. But their discussion went somewhat off course for a Fox segment on Trump when the matter of his competency was raised by Cain…

Cain: Even if you disagree, Congressman, and clearly you do with much of the president, the competency of the sitting president today, I think that the accuracy and the truth of those words do matter.
Goldman: Well, I don’t think he’s competent, Will. I don’t know what to tell you. Whether his cognitive abilities are sufficient to get past the 25th amendment, we don’t know that right now. But I think what is clear is that he has driven our country into a disastrous economy. He has undermined the fundamental rule of law and democracy. He is taking away benefits in order to cut taxes for the rich. I think even you, Will, would have to agree with me that this first hundred days is not at all what he promised the American people.
Cain: No, I’m sorry to notify you, I do not agree with you. I think this first 100 days is exactly what he promised the American people, and more importantly, exactly what was voted on by the American people.
Goldman: But I think the American people thought that he was going to lower costs, not raise them.

Dan Goldman to Will Cain on Trump: "Well, I don't think he's competent, Will. I don't know what to tell you." ?

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-04-30T20:45:26.867Z

That’s a lot of honest analysis for your average Fox News viewer to consume. They are not accustomed to hearing that Trump has cognitive deficiencies, or the examples of how those deficiencies impact the nation and the people. To be sure, most of Fox’s viewers are confirmed cult devotees who will dismiss everything that Goldman said. But the exposure to it could seep into the thoughts of a few whose minds are not cemented shut.

Unsurprisingly, Cain disagreed with Goldman. But his arguments for doing so were the sort of hollow rhetoric that is to be expected of a cult Pharisee. Obviously the American people did not vote for Trump to undermine democracy, increase the cost of living, terminate their healthcare and Social Security, or deport people – including U.S. citizens – with no legal basis or due process.

Goldman’s remarks on Fox News are the sort of medicine that the right-wing MAGA minions need. That includes the ones in Congress. And Goldman also addressed them on Thursday in a House committee hearing. Speaking to his Republican colleagues, Goldman said that…

“I don’t understand how you’re gonna be able to look yourself in the face knowing that you voted to allow our federal government to detain and deport United States citizens simply because you do not want to vote against something that Donald Trump may support.

“Do you have a thought of your own? Do you have a belief of your own? Or is everything literally just whatever Donald Trump tells you it should be?”

Rep Dan Goldman.

Chris Hauck (@chrishauck.bsky.social) 2025-05-01T15:31:20.051Z

That’s a silly question. Of course “everything is literally just whatever Donald Trump tells [them] it should be?” Trump is the only one in MAGA World who has any thoughts or beliefs. And those are are as wispy as a fog on a sunny morning. They will change from one moment to the next. But they are what GOP members of Congress cling to for dear life.

Some day Republican representatives will realize that they need to be more afraid of voters than of Trump. And with the way that the current polls ore going, that day may be upon us sooner than we think. But still not sooner than we hope.

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Is This a Joke? Trump’s Attorney Genuflect, Pam Bondi, Tells Fox News ‘No One Is Above the Law’

One of the most chronic complaints of Donald Trump and his cult cabal has been his assertion that there has been a “weaponization” of government, particularly with regard to the Justice Department. His feelings on this subject are surely driven by the fact that he has been the most criminally active president in history, with a rap sheet longer than mobster Al Capone’s. Which, for some reason, he likes to brag about.

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Fox News, Pam Bondi

However, the only real evidence of such weaponization actually comes from the Trump administration itself. From the outset of his reoccupation of the White House, Trump has embarked on mission of malevolence aimed at all manner of civil servants, but especially the judiciary.

SEE THIS: Trump is on a Crusade to Intimidate and Impeach Judges Who Dare to Rule Against Dear Leader

On Friday morning there was a chilling example of this malignant behavior in a report that Trump’s FBI had arrested a sitting judge in Wisconsin on charges of obstructing justice by allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade arrest. The charge is a typically specious exercise in the fascistic philosophy that permeates everything that Trump and his cronies are doing.

True to form, whenever there is a crisis connected to the Trump regime, he dispatches his subordinates to Fox News. Many of them spend more time on Fox than they do in their offices doing their jobs. That may actually be a blessing in disguise. In this case, it was Attorney Genuflect, Pam Bondi, who took her place on the Fox News pedestal to deliver her propaganda pitch to Fox hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith. She began by insulting the whole of the judicial system…

Bondi: What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me.
Smith: When the American public hears this and they think these were once outstanding people in their communities, and their professions, and they put it on the line for this. Have you dug into their motive? What inspired them to carry out these acts and harbor criminals?
Bondi: They’re deranged is all I can think of. I cannot believe… I think that some of these judges think they are beyond and above the law. And they are not. And we’re sending a very strong message today, if you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are. If you’re helping hide one, if you’re giving a TdA [Tren de Aragua gang] member guns, anyone who is illegally in this country, we will come after you and prosecute you. We’ll find you.

Bondi declares war on the courts: "What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me … they are deranged … we are sending a very strong message today … we will come after you and we will prosecute you. We will find you."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-04-25T17:11:59.990Z

Notice that Smith openly takes Bondi’s side, expressing her horror that this judge would put her reputation on the line, and falsely stating as a matter of fact that the judge was harboring criminals. To which Bondi replied that the only explanation for such behavior was that the judge is “deranged.” That is not a legal argument. It is a childish insult that reveals Bondi’s legal ineptitude. She also throws in an extraneous reference to someone giving guns to gang members, which no one has even hinted at. But this was just the beginning. They went on…

Roberts: Very significant development that you’re arresting judges now. Now it could be that the judges engaged in some terribly bad behavior and deserve to be arrested. But you know what critics will say. That this is the government that is expanding the powers of Article 1 of the Constitution, now they’re arresting judges. How do you respond to that?
Bondi: No one is above the law. No one is above the law in this country. And if you are destroying evidence, if you are obstructing justice, if you have victims sitting a courtroom of domestic violence, and you’re escorting a criminal defendant out a back door, it will not be tolerated. It is a crime in the United States of America. It doesn’t matter who you are. You are going to be prosecuted.”

ROBERTS: Critics will say this is the government expanding the powers of Article 1 of the Constitution, now they're arresting judges. How do you respond?BONDI: Nobody is above the law

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-04-25T17:13:12.277Z

How any credible journalist could listen to that response and not break out in hysterical laughter is hard to fathom. Although Fox News need not worry about that because they don’t employ any credible journalists.

Bondi’s clinging to the notion that “no one is above the law” is hypocritical in the extreme. Her boss, Trump, has literally been adjudicated to be above the law by the right-wing members of the Supreme Court who ruled that he has immunity for official acts, which they seem to define as anything that he says is official.

Meanwhile, Trump has 34 pending felony convictions for which he has not been sentenced. There are 54 more felony charges for which he has not been tried. And he continues to rack up more criminal acts, such his shuttering independent government agencies over which he has no jurisdiction. And his firing of thousands of employees without complying with the legal prerequisites to do so. And his deportations of people without providing the due process that the law demands. And his refusing to obey federal court orders and injunctions.

But other than that, no one is above the law. Well, except for all the MAGA politicians who break the law with impunity. And all of Trump’s oligarch pals who get away with flagrant financial crimes. And about 1,500 violent insurrections who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to undermine democracy, and put 140 police officers in the hospital, who all got presidential pardons. But other than that…

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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.

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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?

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Fox News Spikes Story by Their Own Reporter Who Asked Why Trump is Sucking Up to Laura Loomer

It isn’t often that Fox News stumbles onto a factual presentation of a political story, particularly if it involves their designated messiah and cult commander, Donald Trump. Generally they obediently parrot whatever Dear Leader says, and then divert to some unrelated nonsense that they repeat ad nauseum to drill it into their vacuous viewing audience.

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Fox News, Fake News

Most of Fox News “reporting” consists of smearing random Democrats, or spreading fictional accounts of imaginary liberal malfeasance, or inventing preposterous tales of misbehavior by migrants such as eating cats and dogs. It really doesn’t matter to Fox News how they mislead viewers, as long it keeps them glued to the network to have their devotion to Trump be continually reinforced.

SEE THIS: TRUST IN TRUMP? That’s the Only Solution Offered By the Trump Cult to Counter His Disastrous Tariffs

The Fox News mission to canonize Trump was on display recently after a story about his relationship with Internet troll and conspiracy crackpot, Laura Loomer, made headlines. Multiple reputable news outlets reported on Loomer’s influence over Trump with regard to her role in the dismissal of National Security Agency (NSA) Director, General Timothy Haugh and other intelligence officials.

On Friday, Trump fired Gen. Haugh after a meeting with Loomer in the Oval Office. Loomer was reported to have presented Trump with a list of officials she deemed disloyal to Trump. Never mind that she has zero experience in intelligence or national security matters. And her concern – and that of Trump – was not disloyalty to the nation or the Constitution, but to Trump personally.

Not surprisingly, this incident has raised concerns about the politicization of national security and the potential undermining of America’s intelligence interests and institutional stability. Among those concerned was Fox News chief national security correspondent, Jennifer Griffin. She expressed her concerns in a tweet on Saturday asking…

“Why is the administration dismantling the nation’s cyber defenses at such a dangerous time? The President orders the firing of NSA director Gen Haugh after meeting with conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer in the Oval Office without consulting the Pentagon. Gen Haugh was fired for no reason while traveling to Japan. No replacement has been named for nearly 48 hours suggesting there was no plan. This after the administration has taken steps to dismantle CISA [Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]. What is going on and why isn’t there loud bipartisan demand for answers?”

The fact that Loomer could even gain access to the Oval Office is shockingly disturbing and a dreadful omen for the future of the country. But even worse is that Trump would favor her opinion on national security matters over that of his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, and his National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz.

Waltz was in the room with Trump and Loomer when she was badmouthing Haugh. He reportedly made a weak attempt to defend his deputies, but gave up rather quickly. Although Waltz may be out of favor after having invited a reporter into an attack planning chat on an unsecure commercial app.

MORE HERE: SIGNALGATE: How Fox News Fouled Up the War Planning Chat Scandal Was More Cover-Up than Coverage

Griffin’s reporting on this story appears to consist entirely of the tweet noted above. While the significance of her comment is readily apparent, and unquestionably newsworthy, Fox News appears to question it anyway. They have not had Griffin on the air to report her story, or even posted it on their website.

So the revelations about Trump’s embrace of Loomer, or the questions about Trump’s “dismantling the nation’s cyber defenses,” or why Republicans in Congress are silent about it, are all being ignored by Fox News. Consequently, anyone relying on Fox News for information will remain in a state of blissful ignorance.

It’s bad enough that Fox’s coverage of current events is so heavily slanted toward the far-right. But when they are so committed to distorting their reporting that they even muzzle their chief correspondents, it is impossible to take the network seriously as anything other than the Ministry of Propaganda for Trump. Which everyone who is paying attention already knew.

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Fox News to Retirees: STFU About the Huge Losses Due to Tariffs, Because It’s Just Like Wartime

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made a plethora of promises that he said would be fulfilled on “day one” of his term if he were reelected. Chief among these was his pledge to reduce the prices of everything from groceries to automobiles, all while cutting taxes and protecting Social Security and Medicare.

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Go Fox Yourself

However, in just the first two months of his reoccupation of the White House, Trump has managed to renege on his promises and, even worse, he has presided over increases in the prices of most consumer goods. And those increases are only going to get worse as he escalates his boneheaded trade war, imposing his Trump Tax – aka tariffs – on America’s allies that will be paid for by American shoppers.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Visits Fox News to Contradict Her Boss’s Lies About the Cost of Tariffs

The Trump economic agenda is, according to most economists, barreling headlong into recession or worse. So naturally, Fox News is rushing to the rescue with sycophantic propaganda that would make North Korea’s happy talk media puppets blush. Case in point, Harris Faulkner, co-host of Fox’s Outnumbered, addressed the sacrifices that we all must endure if we hope to MAGA (Make America Grovel Again)…

“The ‘401K people – those retirees, all of that – Just talk in ‘plain speak’ with them. Look, when this nation used to go to war, people in this country would support the war effort with their materials at home and making things for weaponry and all that. We’ve gotta do 100% buy in over this bumpy period. Just communicate.”

Harris Faulkner on how Trump should talk to "401k people" worried about tariffs hurting them: "Look, when this nation used to go to war, people in this country would support the war effort with their materials at home and making things for weaponry. We have to do 100% buy in over this bumpy period"

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-04-01T16:52:05.162Z

That’s right! Those greedy, selfish “401K people” should STFU and accept their burden in order to force America’s enemies – Canada, Mexico, Europe, etc., – into submission. After all, we’re at war, aren’t we? Maybe they should start raising their own chickens for eggs, and crocheting car seat upholstery. Because how else will America be able to afford all of those tax cuts for Trump and Elon Musk and the rest of the billionaire oligarchy?

Faulkner is advising the Trump regime to communicate in “plain talk.” Which in Trumpese translates to “lies” and “hollow platitudes” and other rhetorical means of deceit and deflection. That would explain Trump’s plain talking Commerce Secretary, billionaire Howard Lutnick, who gleefully disclosed that his mother-in-law wouldn’t mind if her Social Security check didn’t arrive for a few months. Surely your family can say the same, right?

Faulkner may not be aware that most of the “401K people” are not retirees. They are working people who are saving for retirement that may be decades away. However, the ones who are already retired are the the most at risk, because they don’t have the timeline to earn back any losses incurred by Trump’s financial foolishness. They are just what professional economists say are “sh*t outta luck.” Too bad for them.

Meanwhile, everyone else just bears with the downturn, that for the month of March, has already seen the stock market suffer its worst decline since December 2022. Well, almost everyone else. You will be relieved to know that the wealthy class that Trump serves will be just fine. They will retain their riches, pay less taxes on them, and make their own purchases through international channels that avoid Trump’s tariffs.

But they ought not to get too comfortable. There is an expiration date on their free ride on the backs of the peasants that they abhor. Because the monarchs and their aristocracy do not generally fair well when the people rise up to claim what is rightfully theirs. And that day is coming.

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Trump’s Anti-Press Secretary Won’t Deny His Intention to Seek an Unconstitutional Third Term

As Donald Trump barrels headlong into one fiasco after another, his media flacks struggle to spin his catastrophes into something that avoids the malodorous stench of corruption, criminality, and failure. It’s a constant uphill battle with reality that pushes his press team to emulate the fantastical sycophancy of the totalitarian regimes that Trump idolizes.

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Donald Trump and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

The Trumpy propagandists are presently trying to find ways to turn his seething hostilities toward American allies (Ukraine, Canada, Europe, etc.), and the appalling breaches of his national security staffers (SignalGate), into a consumable mush that he can feed to his gullible cult followers. And to put it generously, it aint working.

SEE THIS: SIGNALGATE: How Fox News Fouled Up the War Planning Chat Scandal Was More Cover-Up than Coverage

One of the key methods that the Trump team uses to suppress criticism and dissent is the fine art of deflection. They will deliberately introduce a new subject to divert attention away from a matter that is more harmful. The risk of this tactic is that the new subject might actually be even worse than what they were hoping to avoid.

Case in point, Trump has been trying to float his authoritarian aspirations to tyranny by proposing that he extend his occupation of the White House into a constitutionally prohibited third term. The 22nd Amendment states plainly that “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” But mere laws can’t dampen Trump’s lust for power. When asked about this by Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, Trump replied that “I’m not joking…There are methods which you could do it.”

Of course there are. Vladimir Putin did it. Xi Jinping did it. Viktor Orbán did it. And if Trump’s idols can do it, so can he. Right? And Trump’s press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is more than happy to patronize his despotic dreams. When the matter came up on Fox News, Leavitt declined to refute the madness expressed by her boss, saying that…

“It’s funny to me that journalists ask the president this question. He gives an honest and candid answer and then they spiral about his answer. He was asked this, and you heard him, and he’s right. People love the job this president is doing. And as he said, we are focused on this term. We have four more years to go.”

Notice that Leavitt never actually denies that Trump is harboring unhinged hopes of declaring himself president-for-life. Instead, she just lies about his popularity, as if that would justify undermining democracy and taking over the country as its new dictator. For the record, Trump sits at the bottom of the popularity polls for presidents at this point in their terms.

CONGRATULATIONS MAGA!Trump is only the 2nd president since 1937 to have net negative approval two months into a term. The other one was also Trump.His policies are also in negative territory. And this is from 5 different polls, including Fox News.

News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-03-20T18:36:27.121Z

Leavitt is giving the propaganda operations in Russia and North Korea a run for their money. She is incapable of opening her mouth without lies gushing out like a busted fire hydrant. Which is a skill that has surely endeared her to Trump. But the ease with which these people advocate for monarchal rule should be a wake up call for all Americans. Because, as Trump himself says, he isn’t joking.

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White House Correspondents Association Axes Comedian Amber Ruffin After Tantrum By Trump Aide

The determination of Donald Trump to put his bone-spur infected boot down on the throats of the free press has been a hallmark of his career in politics. And in his reoccupation of the White House, his animosity toward the media that he repeatedly maligns in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people” has never been more pronounced.

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Amber Ruffin and Donald Trump baby

In recent weeks Trump has escalated his threats toward the press by filing frivolous lawsuits and banning media organizations that don’t worshipfully exalt him. And, unfortunately, the media has not been particularly eager to confront him or to stand up for themselves. To the contrary, they have been letting him get away with some of the most atrocious assaults on the Constitution’s First Amendment by any president in modern times.

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

On Saturday the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) provided another example of the lily-livered behavior that has stained their reputation. Every year the WHCA holds a gala dinner to honor members and raise funds for journalism scholarships. That dinner usually features addresses by the current president and a well known comedian.

This year the WHCA announced that the comic host would be, Amber Ruffin, a popular talent with an extensive and impressive resume. She has been an Emmy winning writer and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers. She has authored best selling books. She has written Tony Award winning plays. And she is currently a regular on CNN’s comedy news program, “Have I Got News For You.”

But apparently that wasn’t good enough for the WHCA to retain her services after an attack by a bitter and belligerent Trump bulldog. As reported by Variety

“The White House Correspondents’ Association has canceled plans to have comedian Amber Ruffin perform at its annual dinner on April 26, a new sign of the pressures being brought to bear on news organizations during President Donald Trump’s second term. The journalism group, which has seen its control over interactions with Trump eroded in recent weeks, made the decision after Taylor Budowich, a White House deputy chief of staff, raised comments Ruffin has made in the past that are critical of Trump.”

What Budowich was triggered by was Ruffin’s biting satire and political quips. Which is precisely what the comedian’s role at this dinner has always been about, no matter who was in the White House. Other presidents enjoyed the program with good humor, and even joined in it themselves. But Trump’s massive yet fragile ego couldn’t bear it. He was even too afraid to attend the dinner during his prior occupation of the White House. And he won’t be going this year either. So Budowich went after the WHCA and Ruffin saying that…

This year’s WHCA dinner will be hosted by a 2nd rate comedian…What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this? More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?

The Trump Doctrine demands that any criticism they make of others cannot be merely an expression of their disagreement. It must be rife with insults and threats. Consequently, Budowich resorts to calling Ruffin a “2nd rate comedian,” and adds some totalitarian-style coercion to sponsors to scare them off of contributing to the charity dinner. And to make matters worse, he inserts a preposterous assertion that Ruffin’s presence is “violence-inspiring.” That’s coming from a top aide to Trump who incited a deadly insurrection and then pardoned the rioters who stormed the Capital and put 140 police officers in the hospital.

In response to Budowich’s whining, the WHCA released a pathetic statement saying that…

“The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year. At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”

With all due respect…BULLSH*T! Why didn’t the Board make this decision last month before they invited Ruffin to be the host? And what is it about “this consequential moment for journalism” that makes political satire unsuitable? What could be more suitable? And how does Eugene Daniels, the president of the WHCA, explain his remarks when he hired Ruffin saying that…

“Amber’s unique talents are the ideal fit for this current political and cultural climate. Her perspective will fit right in with the dinner’s tradition of honoring the freedom of the press while roasting the most powerful people on all sides of the aisle and the journalists who cover them.”

So what changed in a couple of weeks? Other than the attack by Trump’s flunky? This is another bad omen for the fate of journalism in the Era (Error) of Trump. Daniels and the WHCA are kneeling at the feet of a neo-fascist authoritarian regime. And it’s a bad sign for Daniels, who was recently hired to co-host a weekend program on MSNBC. After this capitulation, how can anyone trust that he will be a reliable journalist who reports without fear or favor?

UPDATE: Seth Meyers and Amber Ruffin respond to her cancelation by the WHCA. Here are three things that Ruffin learned from the experience…

  • “When you watch The Sound of Music, you have to root for the singing children and the other people [e.g. Nazis]”.
  • “We have a free press so that we can be nice to Republicans at fancy dinners. That’s what it says in the First Amendment.
  • “I thought when people take away your rights, erase your history, and deport your friends, you’re supposed to call it out. But I was wrong. Glad to find that out now because if they had let me give that speech, ooh, baby. I would have been so terrifically mean.”

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Fox Nation vs. Reality:
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