Trump takes victory lap over struggling media: ‘This is a good thing’
President Trump slammed struggling mainstream news outlets overnight, characterizing them again as the “enemy of the people” and proclaiming their falling audience numbers as a “good thing.”
“Wow! Rachel Maddow has horrible ratings. She’ll be off the air very soon. MSNBC IS CLOSE TO DEATH. CNN HAS REACHED THE BOTTOM. This is a good thing. They are the Enemy of the people,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post an hour past midnight on Friday.
Maddow, MSNBC’s star anchor, has returned to hosting her prime-time show for the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, a shift viewed by some as a way to offset the numbers the network lost after the 2024 presidential election.
Trump has been critical of the nation’s leading media outlets for years now. During his first term, some outlets, including CNN and The Washington Post experienced the so-called "Trump Bump" in audience engagement with their aggressive coverage of the commander-in-chief.
This time around, a few of those leading outlets have looked to reset as they embark on covering Trump’s second foray into the White House, with some media observers arguing the audience boost might be harder to come by.
“It’s pretty clear the biggest loser of the 2024 election was the mainstream media,” one national political reporter remarked to The Hill last week. “A lot of these outlets are completely lost, and the vibe is basically one of fear and insecurity as Trump takes over again.”
CNN is planning to lay off around six percent of its workforce, impacting around 200 employees on its linear television side. The network also plans to make changes to its daytime and evening news programs.
Aside from Trump's social media criticism, news outlets have also found themselves in legal battles with the president.
ABC News in December settled for $15 million with Trump after being sued for defamation over star anchor George Stephanopoulos’ segment where he said a New York jury found the president “liable for rape” in the columnist E. Jean Carroll case. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse under the state’s law, but not rape.
The president’s legal team has also sued CBS News over “60 Minutes” early October 2024 interview with former Vice President Harris, then-Democratic Party nominee. They are seeking $10 billion in damages, alleging the news program engaged in “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive and substantial news distortion,” over editing an answer Harris gave on the war in Gaza.
The network’s spokesperson said Trump’s claims against “60 Minutes” are “false."
Topics
-
Trump Takes Victory Lap in Las Vegas With Speech on Ending Taxes on Tips
The president reiterated a pledge to end taxes on tips, but the message was an afterthought as the president celebrated his blitz of orders in his first week in office.The New York Times - 1d -
Trump touts 'no-tax-on-tips' plan in Nevada victory lap
President Trump on Saturday touted his campaign promise for tax-free tips and thanked Nevada voters for delivering his win as he stopped for a victory lap in the battleground state that flipped red ...The Hill - 1d -
Trump takes Nevada victory lap; Democrats lick wounds
Democrats are trying to figure out how to make a comeback in Nevada after President Trump became the first GOP presidential candidate to win the state since President George W. Bush in 2004. Trump ...The Hill - 1d -
MAGA Influencers Take Their Victory Lap, With Big Tech Picking Up the Tab
At parties throughout Washington over the long Inauguration weekend, creators and strategists who take credit for Donald Trump’s victory toasted their success on the dimes of TikTok, Google, and ...Wired - 6d -
Trump return prompts reset by struggling media outlets
President-elect Trump’s return to the White House is forcing a major shift in editorial tone by some of the nation’s leading mainstream news outlets. News organizations like The Washington Post, ...The Hill - Jan. 19 -
Young scores 28 points to lead the Hawks to a 119-115 overtime victory over the struggling Celtics
Dyson Daniels hit a short jumper in the lane with just over a minute left in overtime and Onyeka Okongwu made two free throws with 11 seconds left, lifting the Atlanta Hawks to a 119-115 victory ...ABC News - Jan. 18 -
Mark Mitchell, Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates lead Missouri to 83-65 victory over struggling Arkansas
Mark Mitchell and Caleb Grill both had 17 points, Tamar Bates scored 15 and Missouri upped its win streak to four by handing Arkansas its fifth straight loss, 83-65ABC News - Jan. 18 -
How a 1980s Orlando Magic song became a victory lap
Dating back to last season, the Magic have posted the same song on social media after every win.ESPN - Jan. 17 -
Nix takes victory lap after Broncos clinch berth
Bo Nix high-fived ecstatic fans all the way around the stadium after the Broncos ended an eight-year playoff drought with a rout of the Chiefs.ESPN - Jan. 5
More from The Hill
-
White House says US-Colombia agreement in place after back-and-forth over tariffs, immigration
The White House said Sunday night that a U.S.-Colombia agreement had come together in the wake of a back-and-forth between the two countries over topics including immigration and tariffs. "The ...The Hill - 38m -
White House says US-Colombia agreement in place after back-and-forth over tariffs, immigration
The White House said Sunday night that a U.S.-Colombia agreement had come together in the wake of a back-and-forth between the two countries over topics including immigration and tariffs. "The ...The Hill - 38m -
Rubio orders suspension of visa issuance at the US Embassy Bogota
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, the State Department said Sunday. In a media note, the State Department’s Office of ...The Hill - 1h -
Johnson: 'Colombia and all nations should be on notice'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that “Colombia and all nations should be on notice” after President Trump said he was placing tariffs and a travel ban on the South American country. ...The Hill - 2h -
Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended: White House
The White House said that a ceasefire involving Israel and Lebanon had been extended in a Sunday statement. The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, announced by former President Biden in ...The Hill - 4h
More in Politics
-
White House says US-Colombia agreement in place after back-and-forth over tariffs, immigration
The White House said Sunday night that a U.S.-Colombia agreement had come together in the wake of a back-and-forth between the two countries over topics including immigration and tariffs. "The ...The Hill - 38m -
White House says US-Colombia agreement in place after back-and-forth over tariffs, immigration
The White House said Sunday night that a U.S.-Colombia agreement had come together in the wake of a back-and-forth between the two countries over topics including immigration and tariffs. "The ...The Hill - 38m -
Rubio orders suspension of visa issuance at the US Embassy Bogota
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of visa issuance at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, the State Department said Sunday. In a media note, the State Department’s Office of ...The Hill - 1h -
Johnson: 'Colombia and all nations should be on notice'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that “Colombia and all nations should be on notice” after President Trump said he was placing tariffs and a travel ban on the South American country. ...The Hill - 2h -
Senate Democrats ready formal resolution to condemn Trump's pardons of Jan. 6 defendants
In one of President Trump's first executive actions, he pardoned roughly 1,500 people charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.CBS News - 2h