War on the press

Congress, at Trump’s request, cancels $1.1 billion for public media; the funding body shuts down

$1.1B rescinded (stays in the Treasury)

On July 18, 2025 the House gave final approval, 216 to 213, to a White House request to rescind $1.1 billion that Congress had already approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the money that reached NPR, PBS and about 1,500 local stations for the next two years. Trump signed it within days; the corporation announced on Aug. 1, 2025 that it would wind down, and its board voted on Jan. 5, 2026 to dissolve it after nearly 60 years. By July 2026 more than 500 public media staff had been laid off, by one industry tally, and PBS had cut 15% of its workforce, while donations rose and the networks stayed on the air. This was a lawful act of Congress, not a court-contested order, and NPR itself received less than 2% of its revenue directly from the federal government; local and rural stations depended on it far more.

Their response: Trump wrote after the votes: “REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED....BUT NO MORE.” A White House memo to Congress said taxpayers had been “on the hook for subsidizing [NPR and PBS], which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news’.”

Sources: NPR (final House vote, July 18, 2025) · CNN (CPB to shut down, Aug. 1, 2025) · The Guardian (CPB board votes to dissolve, Jan. 5, 2026) · NPR (one year later, July 26, 2026)

Judge rules Trump’s order cutting off NPR and PBS was unconstitutional retaliation

Trump’s May 1, 2025 executive order, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media”, told the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and every federal agency to stop funding NPR and PBS. On March 31, 2026 Judge Randolph Moss permanently blocked it, writing that the order “singles out two speakers and, on the basis of their speech, bars them from all federally funded programs” and that “The First Amendment does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type.” The ruling does not restore the $1.1 billion Congress rescinded; it mainly reopens agency grants, such as $23 million in Education Department funding for educational TV shows that was scrapped in May 2025. The administration won an earlier round: in 2025 the same judge denied the corporation’s emergency request to block Trump’s attempt to remove three of its board members.

Their response: The order states: “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize.”

Sources: White House (executive order text, May 1, 2025) · CNN (ruling, Mar. 31, 2026) · NPR (CPB restores $36 million NPR contract, Nov. 17, 2025) · Current (CPB board cases dismissed as moot, Jan. 15, 2026)

Trump orders Voice of America’s parent agency gutted; a judge voids the layoffs a year later

A March 14, 2025 executive order told the U.S. Agency for Global Media to shrink to the legal minimum; the next day more than 1,300 Voice of America staff were suspended and grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia were cut off. Radio Free Asia suspended all news production in October 2025 for the first time in its 29 years. On March 7, 2026 Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, ruled that Trump adviser Kari Lake had run the agency unlawfully and voided her actions, including more than 1,000 layoffs; on March 17 he ordered 1,042 employees back to work, calling the dismantling “arbitrary and capricious”. Lake said she would appeal, an appeals court had earlier questioned the judge’s power to order staff back, and no appeals ruling on the 2026 decisions had been reported; the agency said VOA was down to six language services from 49.

Their response: The White House said the order “will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” Lake said after the March 2026 ruling: “An activist judge is trying to stand in the way of those efforts at USAGM.”

Sources: NPR (Lamberth ruling on Lake, Mar. 8, 2026) · NPR (1,042 staff ordered back, Mar. 17, 2026) · NPR (Radio Free Europe order, Mar. 26, 2025) · The Guardian (Radio Free Asia suspends news, Oct. 31, 2025) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (March 2025 order, White House statement)

White House bars the Associated Press, then CNN, MS NOW and Politico; judges order access restored

In February 2025 the White House shut the Associated Press out of the Oval Office and Air Force One for not adopting the name “Gulf of America”; a Trump-appointed judge ruled on April 8, 2025, in a preliminary injunction, that the government cannot retaliate against the AP for its viewpoint, but an appeals court on June 6, 2025 let the ban continue in small spaces while the case proceeds, and it is still in court. In September 2026 Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, saying their coverage was unfair; they sued, and Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day order restoring their credentials. On Oct. 8, 2026 he extended it through Oct. 13, and on Oct. 13 he granted a preliminary injunction that keeps their access in place while the case proceeds.

Their response: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote that “the Associated Press is not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in other sensitive locations.” On the 2026 ban Trump said: “There’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposefully negative things.”

Sources: Associated Press (April 8, 2025 ruling) · CBS News (appeals court stay, June 6, 2025) · NPR (CNN, MS NOW, Politico lawsuit, Sept. 21, 2026) · First Amendment Watch / AP (ban lifted by court order) · JURIST (order extended, Oct. 9, 2026) · ABC News (preliminary injunction, Oct. 14, 2026)

White House takes over the press pool, drops the wire services’ seat and closes press offices to reporters

On Feb. 25, 2025 press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the White House, not the White House Correspondents’ Association, would choose which reporters travel with and question the president in small spaces. On April 15 it eliminated the permanent pool seat for the wire services; on May 12 no wire reporter flew on Air Force One for a foreign trip, which the association called a first; on July 21 it removed a Wall Street Journal reporter from a trip after the paper’s report on a letter to Jeffrey Epstein. On Oct. 31, 2025 a memo barred reporters from the “Upper Press” offices of the press secretary without an appointment. A Trump-appointed judge hearing the AP’s case had himself questioned why a private association controlled the pool.

Their response: Leavitt said: “Legacy outlets who have participated in the press pool for decades will still be allowed to join - fear not.” On the Journal she said: “Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board.” The October memo said the office rule “will ensure adherence to best practices pertaining to access to sensitive material.”

Sources: NPR (pool takeover, Feb. 26, 2025) · White House Correspondents’ Association (statement, Feb. 25, 2025) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (wire seat, May 2025 trip) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Upper Press, Oct. 31, 2025) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Journal reporter removed, July 21, 2025)

Pentagon press-credential rules drive out major news outlets; a judge finds key parts unlawful

In October 2025 the Defense Department introduced rules letting officials revoke the credentials of reporters who ask staff for unauthorized information, and many reporters handed in their badges rather than sign. On March 20, 2026 Judge Paul Friedman, ruling for the New York Times, blocked key portions as unlawful. The department then imposed an interim policy requiring escorts; as of July 2026 an appeals court had allowed the escort rule to stand while the appeal continues.

Their response: Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: “We disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal.”

Sources: PBS / AP (ruling, Mar. 20, 2026) · NPR (ruling and Pentagon response) · Freedom Forum (timeline through July 2026)

Pentagon gives legacy outlets’ workspace to friendly media, then closes the press corridor and press office

In February 2025 the Pentagon told the New York Times, NPR, NBC News and Politico to give up their in-building workspaces to the New York Post, Breitbart, One America News and HuffPost under a new “annual media rotation program”. After most reporters refused new credential rules in October 2025, it announced a “next generation” press corps drawn largely from pro-Trump outlets and commentators, including Laura Loomer, LindellTV and the Gateway Pundit. On March 23, 2026, days after a judge sided with the Times over the credential rules, it closed the “Correspondents’ Corridor” used by reporters for decades, and on June 1 it barred journalists from the press office by designating it a classified space. The February 2025 change was described at the time as largely symbolic, since no outlet lost access to briefings.

Their response: A Pentagon memo said the rotation would “broaden access to the limited space of the Correspondents’ Corridor to outlets that have not previously enjoyed the privilege”. On the press office, acting press secretary Jose Valdez said: “This is the most transparent war department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.”

Sources: The Guardian (workspace rotation, Feb. 1, 2025) · The Guardian (new press corps, Dec. 6, 2025) · PBS / AP (Correspondents’ Corridor closed, Mar. 24, 2026) · The Guardian (press office closed to reporters, June 1, 2026)

Pentagon takes control of Stars and Stripes and fires its editor after he objected on television

Stars and Stripes is a military newspaper partly funded by the Pentagon and long guaranteed editorial independence. In January 2026 the Pentagon’s spokesman said it would be refocused “away from woke distractions”; a March 9 memo ordered it to stop publishing several kinds of content and required coverage “consistent with good order and discipline”, a military-justice phrase. After the Pentagon installed an active-duty officer as deputy publisher, it fired editor in chief Erik Slavin, reporter Lara Korte and publisher Max Lederer on Aug. 21, 2026, for insubordination, according to Slavin, after he and Korte told CBS that censoring news for troops would be a red line.

Their response: Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department “is returning [Stars and Stripes] to its original mission: an independent news source for service members stationed overseas that is by the warfighter and for the warfighter.” He had written: “No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”

Sources: PBS / AP (firings, Aug. 21, 2026) · NPR (March 2026 memo)

FBI searches a Washington Post reporter’s home and seizes her phone and laptops in a leak case

On Jan. 14, 2026 FBI agents searched the Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who covers the federal workforce, and took her phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch as part of a case against a Pentagon contractor accused of taking classified documents; the Post was told she was not a target. The contractor, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was indicted on five counts on Jan. 22. On Feb. 24, 2026 Magistrate Judge William Porter barred Justice Department lawyers from searching the devices themselves and said the court would do it, writing that the alternative was “the equivalent of leaving the government’s fox in charge of the Washington Post’s henhouse”; he declined to order the devices returned, citing classified material.

Their response: Attorney General Pam Bondi said the reporter was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote: “President Trump has zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively crack down on these illegal acts moving forward.”

Sources: NPR / AP (search, Jan. 15, 2026) · CBS News (judge blocks DOJ search of devices, Feb. 24, 2026) · The Guardian (contractor indicted, Jan. 23, 2026)

Justice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One story, then backs down

On July 10, 2026, two days after the New York Times reported on security concerns about the Qatari-donated Air Force One, prosecutors subpoenaed Times journalists to testify to a grand jury about their sources and sought phone records of several journalists and some of their relatives, with two requests reaching back to Jan. 1, 2026. At a July 23 hearing Judge Arun Subramanian said he would quash the subpoenas and threatened sanctions over the government’s filings, and the department withdrew them. The Times then disclosed that prosecutors in Virginia had also subpoenaed freelance reporter Matthew Cole for two years of contacts over a story on a failed mission in North Korea; on July 13 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a joint Pentagon and Justice Department task force to find and prosecute leaks.

Their response: A Justice Department spokesperson said: “This judge’s conduct overrides clear longstanding principles and common sense - blocking the grand jury from receiving core evidence in a national security investigation.” A White House official told CNN the leaks “are dangerous and a threat to national security.”

Sources: NPR (subpoenas dropped, July 23, 2026) · PBS / AP (phone records of journalists and relatives, July 20, 2026) · The Guardian (freelance reporter subpoenaed, Aug. 1, 2026) · The Guardian (Hegseth task force, July 13, 2026) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (White House statement, subpoena dates)

Attorney general scraps rule that shielded reporters’ records in leak investigations

On April 25, 2025 Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a Biden-era Justice Department policy that barred prosecutors from secretly seizing reporters’ records or compelling their testimony to identify sources, except in narrow cases. Her memo allows subpoenas, court orders and search warrants against journalists with approval from department leadership and advance notice. NPR noted the change returns to the approach used in Trump’s first term and under Barack Obama; the search of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the 2026 subpoenas to New York Times reporters followed.

Their response: Bondi wrote: “Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep America safe. This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop.”

Sources: NPR (memo, Apr. 25, 2025)

Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are indicted for covering a protest inside a church

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon livestreamed a Jan. 18, 2026 anti-ICE protest that interrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, saying on air, “I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist.” A magistrate judge rejected prosecutors’ first attempt to charge him; a grand jury then indicted him and independent journalist Georgia Fort for conspiracy and interfering with worshippers’ rights, and Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles at the end of January. Both pleaded not guilty and accuse the government of vindictive prosecution, and Lemon has moved to dismiss; in August 2026 Judge Laura Provinzino demanded to see the grand jury materials, and the case was pending in late September 2026. The protest did disrupt a worship service, and some clergy who oppose the immigration crackdown said they were uncomfortable with it.

Their response: Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote: “At my direction, early this morning federal agents arrested Don Lemon, Trahern Jeen Crews, Georgia Fort, and Jamael Lydell Lundy, in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.” Karoline Leavitt wrote: “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.”

Sources: PBS / AP (charges and arrest, Jan. 30, 2026) · The Guardian (not guilty plea, Feb. 13, 2026) · CNN (status of the case, Sept. 25, 2026)

Reporter Mario Guevara, arrested while livestreaming a protest, is deported to El Salvador

Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning Spanish-language journalist who had lived near Atlanta for about 20 years, was arrested by local police on June 14, 2025 while livestreaming a “No Kings” protest; the local charges were dropped, but ICE held him for more than 100 days and he was deported in October 2025. What is documented is the arrest while reporting, the dropped charges and the removal; what is disputed is the motive. The Committee to Protect Journalists says he was held in retaliation for his reporting, and Guevara says agents asked why he kept filming them; the government points to a removal order that it says an immigration judge issued more than a decade earlier. His lawyer said that case had been administratively closed and that he had a work permit and a pending green card application.

Their response: A Homeland Security spokesperson said claims he was “arrested by ICE or isolated while in detention because he is a journalist are completely FALSE” and added: “If you come to our country and break our laws, we will arrest you and you will NEVER return.”

Sources: NPR (arrest and ICE custody, June 24, 2025) · The Guardian (removal ordered, Sept. 19, 2025) · The Guardian (deportation and DHS response, Sept. 21, 2026)

Judges find federal agents retaliated against journalists covering immigration protests

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, run by an advocacy group, counted at least 32 journalists detained or charged in 2025, nearly 90% of them at demonstrations and all of those tied to immigration enforcement, plus about 170 assaults on journalists; many incidents involved local police, not federal officers. In Los Angeles, Judge Hernan Vera on Sept. 10, 2025 barred federal agents from using force on journalists without cause, citing an “avalanche of evidence” of retaliation and writing, “The First Amendment demands better.” An appeals court ruled on April 1, 2026 that his order was too broad and sent it back, while citing “extensive evidence that Defendants acted with retaliatory intent.” In Chicago a judge issued a similar order on Nov. 6, 2025, with the judge saying agents’ actions against the press “shock the conscience”. The Chicago order and its findings were vacated by the Seventh Circuit on March 5, 2026, after the plaintiffs dropped the case.

Their response: Homeland Security asked the Los Angeles judge to suspend his order, calling it “intrusive, unworkable, and vague”.

Sources: U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (2025 arrests review) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Los Angeles injunctions) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (April 2026 appeals ruling) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Chicago injunction) · The Guardian (Chicago restraining order, Oct. 11, 2025) · Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, Chicago Headline Club v. Noem (updated Mar. 9, 2026)

Graduate student is held six weeks over a campus op-ed

On March 25, 2025 masked federal agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University whose student visa had been revoked, and held her for more than six weeks in Louisiana. Ordering her release on May 9, Judge William Sessions said the government had offered “no evidence” against her “other than the op-ed” she co-wrote in a campus newspaper criticizing the university’s response to the Gaza war. A Boston immigration court dismissed her deportation case in early 2026.

Their response: The administration accused Ozturk of “activities in support of Hamas”.

Sources: NPR (Ozturk released, May 9, 2025) · The Tufts Daily (deportation case dismissed, February 2026)

Homeland Security cuts foreign journalists’ visas from five years to 240 days; a judge blocks it

In July 2026 the Department of Homeland Security issued a rule ending open-ended stays for foreign journalists, students and exchange visitors: journalist visas, previously good for up to five years, would last 240 days, and those for Chinese journalists 90 days. Visas could be renewed, which press groups said would make reporters dependent on the goodwill of the government they cover. On Sept. 14, 2026, a day before the rule was to take effect, a federal judge blocked it in a suit brought by unions and university associations, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The first Trump administration proposed a similar rule in 2020 and the Biden administration dropped it.

Their response: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: “For nearly half a century, the outdated ‘duration of status’ system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud.”

Sources: The Guardian (rule announced, July 17, 2026) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (rule blocked Sept. 14, 2026)

FCC opens probes of NPR, PBS, ABC, CBS and NBC but not Fox, as Trump calls for licenses to be pulled

Within days of taking over the Federal Communications Commission in January 2025, chairman Brendan Carr opened an investigation of NPR and PBS sponsorship credits, revived complaints against ABC, CBS and NBC that his predecessor had dismissed, and left dismissed a complaint against a Fox station; he later opened diversity-policy investigations of ABC’s and NBC’s parent companies, Disney and Comcast. CBS handed the FCC the raw footage of its Kamala Harris interview while its parent needed Carr’s approval for a merger. Trump said on Aug. 24, 2025 that ABC and NBC should lose their licenses or “pay BIG”, and on Sept. 18: “I think maybe their license should be taken away. It’s up to Brendan Carr.” No license has been reported revoked.

Their response: Carr wrote to NPR and PBS: “I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials.” Both networks said their sponsorship messages comply with FCC rules. Carr and the FCC did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment on the license calls.

Sources: NPR (NPR and PBS investigation, Jan. 30, 2025) · NPR (CBS footage, revived complaints, Feb. 6, 2025) · NPR (Trump on ABC and NBC licenses, Aug. 25, 2025) · PBS (Trump: “their license should be taken away”, Sept. 18, 2025)

FCC chairman threatens ABC over Jimmy Kimmel; the show is pulled, and the fight over ABC’s licenses continues

After FCC chairman Brendan Carr said of Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about the Charlie Kirk killing, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way”, ABC took Jimmy Kimmel Live off the air indefinitely on Sept. 17, 2025; the show returned the following Tuesday. In April 2026, after another Kimmel joke angered the Trumps, the FCC ordered an early license review of ABC’s eight owned stations, and on Aug. 18, 2026 ABC sued the FCC calling the review retaliation for its speech; that lawsuit is pending. What the record does not establish is cause: whether Carr’s threat, rather than pressure from station owners and public backlash, produced the 2025 suspension.

Their response: Carr said companies “can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.” The FCC cited the network’s diversity practices as a reason for the 2026 license review.

Sources: NPR (show pulled, Sept. 18, 2025) · NPR (Carr quote) · PBS / AP (suspension ends, Sept. 22, 2025) · NPR via Houston Public Media (early license review, Apr. 28, 2026) · PBS / AP (ABC sues FCC, Aug. 18, 2026)

FCC chair and Trump threaten broadcast licenses, treason charges and jail over Iran war coverage

On March 14, 2026 FCC chairman Brendan Carr, reposting a Trump complaint about Iran war coverage, wrote that broadcasters “running hoaxes and news distortions” “have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up” and “will lose their licenses if they do not”. Trump wrote the next day that he was “thrilled” Carr was “looking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations” and that outlets behind one false image “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON”. On April 6 he said of the outlet that reported a downed airman was missing: “We’re going to go to the media company that released it and we’re going to say, ‘National security, give it up or go to jail’”; on May 15 he told New York Times reporter David Sanger, “I actually think it’s sort of treasonous what you write.” No license has been reported revoked, and no reporter jailed, over war coverage; Carr’s post drew rebukes from members of both parties.

Their response: Carr wrote: “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.” Trump said the leak reporting endangered the missing airman. A Times spokesperson replied: “Reporting isn’t treason.”

Sources: The Guardian (Carr post, Mar. 14, 2026) · The Guardian (Trump backs Carr, “TREASON” post, Mar. 16, 2026) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (April 6 and May 15, 2026 statements)

FCC ends talk shows’ equal-time exemption; two networks pull a Democrat’s interviews from TV

On Jan. 21, 2026 the FCC’s Media Bureau said daytime and late-night talk shows could no longer rely on a 2006 ruling that treated their candidate interviews as exempt news interviews, so a candidate’s appearance can oblige stations to give rivals equal time. In February, Stephen Colbert said CBS lawyers told him he could not air an interview with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico; it ran on YouTube instead, and Carr said the FCC had opened an enforcement action against ABC’s The View over a Talarico appearance. On Sept. 9, 2026 Jimmy Kimmel said his Talarico interview would also run only online because the FCC had “threatened” the show. The equal-time rule itself dates to 1934, and CBS says it gave legal guidance rather than an order.

Their response: Carr said of the coverage of Colbert’s account: “I think you guys should feel a bit ashamed for having been lied to and then run with those lies.” CBS said: “The Late Show was not prohibited by CBS from broadcasting the interview with Rep. James Talarico.”

Sources: NBC News (FCC guidance, Jan. 21, 2026) · The Guardian (Colbert and CBS, Feb. 17, 2026) · The Guardian (Carr response, The View action, Feb. 18, 2026) · PBS (Kimmel interview moved online, Sept. 10, 2026)

Trump endorses Nexstar’s takeover of Tegna, his FCC waives the ownership cap, and a judge halts it

$6.2B private deal

In November 2025 Trump attacked the $6.2 billion plan by Nexstar, the largest owner of local TV stations, to buy rival Tegna; on Feb. 7, 2026 he reversed, writing “GET THAT DEAL DONE!” because it would add “competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks”. In March the FCC approved the deal, waiving the rule that limits how many stations one company can own, in a decision the commission’s lone Democrat said was made without a vote. The combined company would own 265 stations in 44 states, before six promised divestitures. On April 17, 2026 Judge Troy Nunley ordered Nexstar to run the Tegna stations separately until an antitrust trial brought by state attorneys general and DirecTV; Nexstar said it would appeal.

Their response: Nexstar chief executive Perry Sook said: “We are grateful to President Trump, Chairman Carr and the DOJ for recognizing the dynamic forces shaping the media landscape and allowing this transaction to move forward.” Carr said: “if you care about local news, you should care about the future of local broadcast stations.”

Sources: CNBC (Trump endorsement, Feb. 7, 2026) · NPR / AP (FCC approval, Mar. 20, 2026) · NPR (judge halts integration, Apr. 17, 2026)

Trump says it is “imperative that CNN be sold”; an ally’s family takes control of CNN’s parent

$111B deal (private money)

On Dec. 10, 2025, with Warner Bros. Discovery up for sale, Trump said: “I think the people that have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace. I think it’s imperative that CNN be sold.” Warner chose the bid from Paramount, controlled by Trump ally Larry Ellison and his son David, over Netflix in February 2026; CNN reported, citing the Wall Street Journal, that Justice Department officials cleared the roughly $111 billion deal in June “despite misgivings from career staffers”. Twelve states sued, settled in September for conditions including an “editorial independence board” for CNN and CBS News, and the merger closed on Oct. 6, 2026, with the combined company renamed Skydance. That Trump’s wishes shaped the outcome is an inference: the documented parts are his statements, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remark that “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better”, and the federal approval.

Their response: Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper in July 2026: “We’re trying to have CNN go in a normal path.” David Ellison said on the day the deal closed that the company had “not talked to any political leader of any party about news”. CNN chairman Mark Thompson, who is staying on, told staff he has “real confidence” the new owners “will fully support the principle and practice of the kind of independent news that CNN has always stood for.”

Sources: NPR (Trump on CNN’s sale, Dec. 12, 2025) · NPR (states sue, July 13, 2026) · CNN (settlement approved, Sept. 30, 2026) · CNN (Ellisons take control, Oct. 5, 2026) · The Guardian (Hegseth remark, Mar. 14, 2026) · Associated Press via KSAT (Oct. 6, 2026)

After the merger Trump’s FCC approved, CBS News gets a bias monitor, a new chief and a purge at 60 Minutes

To win FCC approval in July 2025, Skydance promised changes at CBS News; it then named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of a conservative think tank, as ombudsman and on Oct. 6, 2025 made Bari Weiss editor in chief, reporting to owner David Ellison. In December Weiss pulled a finished 60 Minutes report on Venezuelans the administration sent to a Salvadoran prison, saying it needed an administration voice; it aired four weeks later largely unchanged. In late May and early June 2026 CBS fired correspondents Cecilia Vega, Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley and the show’s executive producer. That these moves were made to please Trump is the staff’s accusation, not an established fact: CBS cites insubordination and editorial standards, and CNN notes CBS News “has kept breaking hard-hitting stories, including about the Trump administration”.

Their response: Weiss said the prison report lacked “the administration’s argument”. The 60 Minutes executive producer wrote that Pelley’s “antipathy to the future of the show came through loud and clear.” Separately, Karoline Leavitt was recorded telling CBS’s anchor after a Trump interview: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”

Sources: NPR (Weiss appointed, Oct. 6, 2025) · NPR (60 Minutes report pulled, Dec. 22, 2025) · The Guardian (report airs, Jan. 19, 2026) · NPR (60 Minutes firings, June 3, 2026) · The Guardian (Leavitt recording, Jan. 18, 2026) · CNN (on CBS News under the Ellisons, Oct. 5, 2026)

CBS cancels Stephen Colbert’s show three days after he called its Trump settlement a “big fat bribe”

On July 17, 2025 CBS announced it would end The Late Show, the top-rated program in its time slot, days after host Stephen Colbert called parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with Trump a “big fat bribe” and while Paramount’s sale awaited approval from Trump’s FCC. The final episode aired on May 21, 2026. The timing is documented; the motive is disputed. CBS says the show was losing money in a shrinking late-night ad market, and CNN reported there was “no evidence that Colbert’s cancellation is connected to the settlement”; the writers’ union and Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked whether it was political.

Their response: Trump wrote: “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.” CBS president George Cheeks said: “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show. Unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”

Sources: CNN (inside the decision, July 18, 2025) · The Guardian (timing and “big fat bribe”, July 19, 2025) · The Guardian (final episode, May 22, 2026)

Trump personally sues news organizations for a combined $35 billion

$35B demanded in three suits; $0 awarded

Trump sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion (July 2025, over its report on a letter to Jeffrey Epstein), the New York Times for $15 billion (September 2025) and the BBC for $10 billion (over an edited speech in a Panorama programme). A judge dismissed the Journal suit on April 13, 2026 with permission to refile, which Trump did in May 2026; the Times judge threw out the first complaint as improper and in July 2026 let Trump amend again before ruling on dismissal; in the BBC case a judge ordered Trump’s trust to hand over financial records in July 2026. All three suits are pending and none has produced a judgment for Trump.

Their response: After the July 2026 Times ruling Trump wrote that the paper “failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped”. The Times said it “stands by our journalism”.

Sources: NPR / AP (Journal suit dismissed, Apr. 13, 2026) · The Guardian (Journal suit refiled, May 28, 2026) · TheWrap (Times suit, July 27, 2026) · BBC (financial records order, July 21, 2026)

Judges throw out Trump’s suit against an Iowa pollster and his company’s $3.8 billion suit against the Post

$3.8B sought from the Washington Post; $0 awarded

On Sept. 23, 2026 Iowa judge Scott Beattie dismissed, with prejudice, Trump’s lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register and its owner over a 2024 poll that wrongly showed Kamala Harris ahead in Iowa, ruling that the “Iowa Poll and its reporting are fully protected political speech”. In July 2026 Judge Thomas Barber, a Trump appointee, threw out Trump Media’s $3.8 billion defamation suit against the Washington Post over a 2023 article on its financing, and in April 2026 the company dropped a claim against the Guardian. These are private lawsuits, not government actions; none has produced a judgment for Trump, and he has said he will add a New York Times poll he disliked to his separate suit against that paper.

Their response: A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said he plans to appeal the Iowa ruling and will pursue “a just and winning conclusion.” Of the Times poll, Trump wrote: “They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!”

Sources: CNN (Selzer suit dismissed, Sept. 23, 2026) · The Guardian (Selzer case history, Sept. 23, 2026) · The Guardian (Washington Post suit thrown out, July 8, 2026) · The Guardian (Times poll, Jan. 22, 2026)

FBI director sues The Atlantic for $250 million; his bureau looked into a reporter who wrote about him

$250M sought (private suit, pending)

On April 20, 2026 FBI director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for $250 million over an article, citing more than two dozen sources, that described “conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences”; the magazine stands by it. The New York Times reported on April 22 that after its reporter Elizabeth Williamson wrote in February about FBI security for Patel’s girlfriend, agents searched databases for information on her and suggested a stalking investigation, until Justice Department officials found “no legal basis to proceed”. The lawsuit is documented; the inquiry into Williamson rests on the Times’s reporting, and Patel denied it on Fox News.

Their response: Patel’s statement to The Atlantic before publication read: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court, bring your checkbook.” On Fox News he said of Williamson: “this same reporter delivered a baseless story which caused a direct threat of life to my girlfriend.”

Sources: U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Patel suit and FBI inquiry) · The Guardian (Times account, Patel denial, Apr. 23, 2026)

“Quiet, piggy”: Trump insults reporters by name and the White House posts a “Hall of Shame”

On Nov. 14, 2025, when Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey began a question about the Epstein files aboard Air Force One, Trump pointed at her and said, “Quiet. Quiet, piggy.” Days later he told ABC’s Mary Bruce, “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter”, and said ABC’s license should be taken away; on Nov. 26 he wrote that New York Times reporter Katie Rogers was “a third rate reporter who is ugly, both inside and out”. On Nov. 28 the White House launched an official “Media Offenders” web page with a “media offender of the week”, an “Offender Hall of Shame”, a “Repeat Offenders” leaderboard and a tip form for reporting biased articles; it was still online and naming reporters in October 2026. An advocacy group’s count puts Trump’s anti-press social media posts since 2015 at more than 3,720, of which 776 name individual journalists.

Their response: A White House official said of Lucey: “This reporter behaved in an inappropriate and unprofessional way towards her colleagues on the plane. If you’re going to give it, you have to be able to take.” The web page describes itself as “A record of the media’s false and misleading stories flagged by The White House.”

Sources: The Guardian (“piggy”, Nov. 18, 2025) · The Guardian (White House response, Bruce exchange, Nov. 24, 2025) · The Guardian (Katie Rogers post, Nov. 26, 2025) · White House (Media Offenders page) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (count of anti-press posts)

U.S. falls to 64th in a press-freedom ranking; trackers log record incidents

Reporters Without Borders, a press-advocacy group, ranked the United States 57th in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index and 64th in 2026, calling Trump’s attacks on the press a “systematic policy”. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, run by another advocacy group, logged 54 incidents in January 2026, which it called an all-time monthly high in a database that starts in 2017. The Committee to Protect Journalists wrote after Trump’s first 100 days: “These are not normal times for American press freedoms.” Courts have often ruled against the administration: Reuters counted 75 federal rulings by August 2026 finding it had infringed First Amendment rights, a figure that covers speech and religion cases as well as the press.

Their response: Trump promised in his 2025 inaugural address to “stop all government censorship” and “bring back free speech to America.” No administration response to the rankings themselves was found.

Sources: Reporters Without Borders (2025 index) · The Guardian (2026 index, Apr. 30, 2026) · U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (record January 2026) · Committee to Protect Journalists (100 days report) · CNN (Reuters count of rulings, Sept. 25, 2026)