On Friday, President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters, originally intended to address immigration and drug trafficking. However, he quickly shifted focus, using the platform to air grievances about the judiciary, his political adversaries, and the media.
“I will insist upon and demand full and complete accountability for the wrongs and abuses that have occurred,” Trump said. “ The American people have given us a mandate, and really, just a far-reaching investigation is what they are demanding into the corruption of our system.”
From the stage, Trump boasted about firing Justice Department prosecutors, calling them “Marxist.” Since taking office, he has directed the DOJ to dismiss more than a dozen prosecutors linked to investigations and prosecutions against him during his time out of office. Recently the DOJ has also launched investigations into officials involved in prior probes against him.
Trump’s attacks on Justice Department prosecutors echoed his hostility toward outside legal advocates who have challenged him and his administration. He specifically targeted lawyers and the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), labeling them as “scum.” Trump has increasingly taken aim at law firms and nonprofit legal workers linked to Democratic figures, prior investigations against him, and challenges to his executive orders.
Trump’s antagonism wasn’t limited to legal advocates; he also issued vague threats against journalists, accusing them of unlawfully influencing judges overseeing his criminal trials and calling outlets “really corrupt and … illegal.”
“They take tremendous abuse in The New York Times and The Washington Post,” Trump said of the judges overseeing his cases. However, according to NPR (a news organization also targeted by the Trump administration), it is federal judges who have ruled against Trump — not those who have ruled in his favor — who have faced an increasing number of bomb threats and impeachment efforts.
This marks an escalation in Trump’s attacks on media outlets that negatively cover his administration. While Trump has routinely dismissed unfavorable coverage as “fake news” and labeled journalists as the “enemy of the people,” his hostility toward the press has escalated significantly during his second term. “These newspapers are really no different than a highly paid political operative. And it has to stop. It has to be illegal … it just cannot be legal,” Trump continued.
Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, The Associated Press (AP) was removed from the White House press pool after refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico “the Gulf of America.” More recently, Trump signed an executive order effectively defunding Voice of America after one of its reporters asked, “What about the president’s plan to expel Palestinians out of Gaza?” (Trump responded to the question by saying: “Nobody is expelling any Palestinians. Who are you with?”)
Trump then expanded his criticism to other major news networks, accusing them of biased reporting and misinformation. “The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and MSDNC, and the fake news, CNN and ABC, CBS and NBC, they’ll write whatever they say,” Trump said, tweaking the initials of MSNBC to “MSDNC” in a reference to the Democratic National Convention.
Critics say that as Trump intensifies his attacks on the judiciary, legal institutions and the press, his administration’s actions signal an ongoing effort to consolidate power and reshape public accountability in his favor. “They don’t like what they’re seeing in the courts, and this is setting up what may very well be a constitutional crisis about the independence of the judiciary,” Heidi Beirich, founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told AP.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
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