Donald Trump frequently attacks theAmerican media as having aleft-wing bias and being "corrupt", and also uses a variety of insults when speaking about outlets that give him unfavorable coverage. Trump has sued various media outlets for perceived inaccuracies or biases, and has used his position as president to pressure outlets he dislikes by interfering in their business operations, launching investigations, and threatening to revoke broadcast licenses or funding forpublic broadcasting.
You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.
In 2020 theCommittee to Protect Journalists published a special report byLeonard Downie Jr. titled "The Trump Administration and the Media".[2] In the very beginning the report stated:
Trump has habitually attacked the news media in rallies, responses to reporters' questions, and many hundreds of tweets. He has repeatedly called the press "fake news," "theenemy of the people," "dishonest," "corrupt," "low life reporters," "bad people," "human scum" and "some of the worst human beings you'll ever meet."[2]
...
More than 600 of Trump's tweets targeted specific news organizations, led by The New York Times, CNN, NBC and MSNBC, Fox News and The Washington Post. He called the Times, among other slurs, "fake," "phony," "nasty," "disgraced," "dumb," "clueless," "stupid," "sad," "failing," and "dying." He characterized the Post as "fake," "crazy," "dishonest," "phony," and "disgraced."[2]
In March 2025, during hissecond term, Trump suggested media outletsCNN andMSNBC were doing illegal activities.[3][4]
On November 14, 2025, Trump answered a question from Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg News by saying "Quiet, piggy".[5] On November 18, 2025, Trump told Mary Bruce of ABC News "You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter."[6]
In September 2025, the Department of Defense set out new rules for reporters where they would not obtain or use unauthorized material even if the information is unclassified.[7] On October 14, most media outlets includingFox News said it would not adhere to the new rules laid out for reporters.[8][9]
"Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon's new requirements, which would restrict journalists' ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues," the networks said in the statement. "The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press."[8]
| Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) tweeted: |
The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!
18 February 2017[10]
From his inauguration in January 2017 through October 15, 2019, Trump called the news media the "enemy of the people" 36 times on Twitter.[11] In 2012, formerDemocratic pollsterPatrick Caddell gave a speech at a conference sponsored byAccuracy in Media, a conservative watchdog group, in which he called the media "the enemy of the American people". The term was promoted byfar-right media organizationBreitbart News, one of whose major stockholders isRobert Mercer who employed Caddell as a contractor since 2013 and was one ofDonald Trump's biggest financial backers.[12] In February 2017, hours after meeting Caddell while touring aBoeing aircraft plant inNorth Charleston, South Carolina, Trump said on Twitter thatThe New York Times,NBC News,ABC,CBS, andCNN were "fake news" and "the enemy of the American People".[13] On February 24, he said at theConservative Political Action Conference, "A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people."[14][15]
In a June 2018 rally inSouth Carolina, Trump called journalists "fake newsers" and "the enemy of the people".[16][17] On July 19, following the critical reaction to hismeeting with Russian presidentVladimir Putin on 15 July 2018 inHelsinki, Finland, Trump tweeted "The Summit with Russia was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the Fake News Media."The New York Times noted Trump's use of this phrase during his "moments of peak criticism" and use of the term byNazi andSoviet propaganda.[18] On August 2, after Trump tweeted "FAKE NEWS media... is the enemy of the American People",[19][20] multiple international institutions such as the United Nations and theInter-American Commission on Human Rights criticized Trump for his attacks on the free press.[21] On August 16, theUnited States Senate, in a symbolic rebuke to Trump, passed byunanimous consent a resolution affirming that the media is not "the enemy of the people" and reaffirming "the vital and indispensable role the free press serves."[22][23][24]
In August 2019, when journalistJonathan Karl asked him if he feared that his supporters would interpret this as a justification for violence, Trump replied: "I hope they take my words to heart. I believe the press is the enemy of the people."[25] In March 2024, Trump, who had previously supported a congressional bill that would banTikTok in the United States, said he now opposed a ban because it would helpFacebook, and that he considered "Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media".[26][27][28]
In November 2018, Trump abruptly banned CNN reporterJim Acosta from the White House after he asked a difficult question at a press conference and refused to relinquish the microphone before asking his second question; Trump berated him from the podium.[29]CNN's lawsuit filed in response (ondue process grounds) resulted in Acosta's access being restored before the end of the month. Thereafter, the White House published standards of conduct for press conferences.[30] In early 2019, the Trump administration updated eligibility rules for White House press passes, yanking credentials from most of the White House press corps and refusing to give exemptions to Trump critics.[31]
In August 2019, the Trump administration suspended, after allowing for an administrative appeal, the White House press pass ofPlayboy writerBrian Karem after a confrontation he had in theRose Garden with right-wing commentatorSebastian Gorka.[32] A panel of theDC Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed restoration of Karem's access on the grounds he was not afforded due process due to lack of published conduct standards for events outside of press conferences.[30]
Shortly after the beginning of the President's second term, media outlets which published coverage Trump considered unfavorable were denied office space inthe Pentagon, though still allowed to enter the building:CNN,The Washington Post,The Hill,The War Zone,NBC News,The New York Times,NPR, andPolitico.[33] These were replaced by outlets which had not requested Pentagon office space, almost all of which leaned conservative:Newsmax, theWashington Examiner,The Daily Caller,The Free Press,One America News Network, theNew York Post,Breitbart News, andHuffPost (which leans progressive).[33] In February 2025, President Trump indefinitely bannedAssociated Press reporters from pooled press events in theOval Office on aboardAir Force One because they continued to use the term "Gulf of Mexico" instead of Trump's preferred term "Gulf of America". The decision is being challenged inAssociated Press v. Budowich.[34]
During Trump's first term in office, in 2017 the Department of Justice blockedAT&T's purchase ofTime Warner unless it sold offCNN, a cable network that Trump often attacks.[35] Trump sued ABC over aThis Week interview, in whichGeorge Stephanopoulos said Trump had been found liable for "rape", though the technical jury determination inE. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump was for "sexual abuse". Though many lawyers[who?] thought ABC would win the suit due to the high legal bar for defamation of public figures, after Trump was elected president a second time, ABC settled and paid $15 million to the Trump presidential library, $1 million in legal fees, and gave an apology.[36][37][38] Trump also sued the pollster forThe Des Moines Register for predicting that Trump would lose Iowa in November 2024.[36]
In 2020, Trump suedThe Washington Post andThe New York Times for defamation over opinion pieces that alleged connections between the campaign and Russia.[39][40] In 2021, the lawsuit againstThe Times was dismissed.[41] In 2023, the lawsuit againstThe Post was dismissed.[42]
In 2021, Trump suedMary L. Trump and The New York Times over stories on leaked tax records.[43]
In 2023, Trump filed a lawsuit againstBob Woodward andSimon & Schuster for $50 million.
In October 2024, Trump suedCBS News for releasing two different clips of an interview withKamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the presidential election, on the television program60 Minutes, alleging deceitful manipulation to harm his electoral chances. In July 2025, CBS's parent companyParamount, which needs the Trump administration's approval for a planned merger, agreed to pay $16 million to Trump's future presidential library and to release transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates on60 Minutes.[44][45]
Trump suedMeta after it suspended his accounts following theJanuary 6 U.S. Capitol attack by a mob of Trump supporters.Section 230 ofTitle 47 of the United States Code generally exempts internet companies from liability for the material that users post, giving Internet companies broad license in moderating their services by removing posts that, for instance, are obscene or are blatantly false or inciting violence or otherwise violate the services' own standards, so long as they are acting in "good faith". Meta had suspended several accounts used by Trump and associates over repeated violations. In January 2025 Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle that suit. TheAssociated Press reported, "It's the latest instance of a large corporation settling litigation with the president, who has threatened retribution on his critics and rivals, and comes as Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have joined other large technology companies in trying to ingratiate themselves with the new Trump administration."[46] In February 2025,Twitter reportedly settled for around $10 million for suspending Trump's account.[47][48] In September 2025,YouTube agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit for suspending accounts following January 6 with $22 million going toward theWhite House Ballroom.[49][50]
Shortly after Trump took office for a second time in January 2025, newFederal Communications Commission (FCC) chairBrendan Carr opened an investigation into underwriting credits onNPR andPBS.[51] In contrast, Trump nominated 19 current and former hosts, reporters, and commentators to work in his second administration from the conservative-leaning Fox.[52] In February 2025, FCC chair Carr demanded full footage from a60 Minutes interview with Trump opponentKamala Harris, which Trump was also suing Paramount (the parent company of CBS) over, alleging biased editing.[53] Carr and the FCC must approve the pending acquisition of Paramount bySkydance Media.[53] Carr also revived previously dismissed complaints against ABC and NBC, but not Fox News, which tends to give Trump favorable coverage.[53] On May 5, 2025, in an interview with CNBC'sSara Eisen, FCC chair Carr said he would consider pulling CBS's broadcast license.[54]
In May 2025, Trump issuedExecutive Order 14290 instructing theCorporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) Board of Directors and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS. In July 2025, Trump signed theRescissions Act of 2025. After failing to advance budget measures to eliminate federal funding forpublic broadcasting during hisfirst administration, Trump requested arescission bill to eliminate federal funding for the CPB,[55][56][57] which passed in both chambers of theRepublican-controlledCongress largely along party lines in July 2025,[58] despite warnings from public media advocates that it would result in the closure of some stations and hamper access to emergency alerts in rural communities; the CPB's defunding and resulting closure would result in some public television and radio stations imposing staffing and programming cuts (with some electing to drop PBS and/or NPR programming altogether).[59][60][61]
Also in July 2025, Trump suedThe Wall Street Journal and its owners for $10 billion over a story that described a collection of letters from associates ofJeffrey Epstein for a2003 birthday album.[62] The story focused on one letter which contained "the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker" concluding "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret" with Trump's signature below her waist.[63][64][65] TheJournal filed a request with the judge to dismiss the lawsuit the following September.[66]
In September 2025, Trump suedThe New York Times, four of its reporters, andPenguin Random House, the publisher of a book written by two of the reporters, in theU.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking $15 billion in damages fordefamation.[67] The complaint cited three articles written byPeter Baker andMichael S. Schmidt and a book co-written byRuss Buettner andSusanne Craig that were published within two months of the 2024 presidential election.[68][69] Less than a week after the lawsuit was filed, JudgeSteven D. Merryday dismissed the 85-page complaint as "improper and impermissible" under Rule 8 of theFederal Rules of Civil Procedure for not stating the first allegation until page 80 and being full of material irrelevant to the allegations made,[70][71] saying that a complaint is neither a "public forum for vituperation and invective" nor a "megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner". Merryday gave Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint of less than 40 pages.[72] Trump refiled the lawsuit the next month.[73]
In 2025, a lawsuit by Trump against CNN alleging defamation for using the phrasebig lie seeking $475 million was dismissed.[74]
On September 17, 2025, following pressure from the administrationJimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended. The show was reinstated on September 23.[75]
A 2025 memorandum from Attorney GeneralPam Bondi rescinds a policy preventing theUnited States Department of Justice "from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks".[76][77]
In 2025, all but one publicationforfeited their press credentials following the implementation of new press policies at the Pentagon.
In December 2025, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against theBBC for airing aPanorama documentary produced before the 2024 presidential election with footage ofTrump's speech before the January 6 United States Capitol attack that Trump alleges was deceptively edited.[78][79]
Trump has pursued matters of alleged editorial misconduct in England by the BBC.[80]
First presidency of Donald Trump (2017–2021) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||
| General |
| ||||||||||
| Events |
| ||||||||||
| Policies |
| ||||||||||
| Protests |
| ||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||
Second presidency of Donald Trump (2025–present) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||||||||||||||
| Events |
| ||||||||||||||
| Policies |
| ||||||||||||||
| Democratic backsliding |
| ||||||||||||||
| Protests | |||||||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||||||
