CBS might as well be Trump TV now

Mainstream media keeps finding new and exciting ways to roll over for President Donald Trump, hoping that their ever-increasing displays of fealty will keep them from becoming his next target. 

But the problem they face is that nothing will ever be enough for Trump—because he doesn’t want media coverage. He wants cheerleaders. 

CBS is certainly doing its part to transform the media landscape into a praise chorus for Trump and his terrible ideas. In fact, its latest bending of the knee didn’t even require a threat directly from Trump. All it took was some whining from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 

Noem was apparently unhappy about how CBS edited her “Face the Nation” interview because it omitted some pearls of wisdom about Kilmer Abrego Garcia. It is, of course, common practice to edit interviews for clarity and length, and there is nothing nefarious, illegal, or unethical about editing out blatant lies. 

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But if CBS edits its interviews, it doesn’t let the full brilliance of someone like Noem shine through, and we wouldn’t want that. So it’s changed its entire interview policy to only air live or pre-recorded interviews with no cuts or edits. 

You could, of course, already see the full interview with Noem on YouTube or read the unedited transcript on the CBS website. But that’s apparently not enough. Nothing should come between the viewer and the complete, unexpurgated, unfiltered, unedited thoughts of such a masterful speaker. 

This is CBS essentially agreeing to air whatever lies, propaganda, and attacks that the Trump administration wants to deliver. It’s stenography—not interviewing or reporting or anything of the sort. 

CBS had already been leaning hard into coddling Trump and his feelings after the administration made clear that it was the only way CBS’ parent company, Paramount, could get its Skydance merger approved. Well, that and the low, low price of the customary $16 million bribe to settle one of Trump’s sham lawsuits. 

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Paramount also agreed to hire a “news ombudsman” to review any complaints of bias. Given that these complaints seem to spring ceaselessly from furious conservatives—some of whom happen to run the country—it’s pretty evident that their role will be to placate, not investigate. 

CBS is also rumored to be considering destroying the credibility of its news division by turning it over to Bari Weiss. Sure, Weiss has never run any media outlet bigger than her Substack “The Free Press”—a home for eugenicists, racists, and transphobes—but somehow it makes sense to give her a nine-figure salary to run CBS News. 

The problem for CBS and other outlets knuckling under is that what Trump really wants is just state-run media to eternally cheer his worst actions. But the only media outlets that will actually do that are the weird, sycophantic, tiny ones like Newsmax—currently embroiled in litigation against Fox News for allegedly coercing distributors into not carrying it. 

Newsmax may have to fight to get on the bigger cable networks, but it already has a presence on the hottest streaming service in town: Trump Media’s Truth+. So if you’re a subscriber, you could be paying the president—in his personal capacity—to watch fawning news about the president—in his professional capacity. 

Such synergy, such innovation, such stenography. And the Trump administration won’t rest until that’s the only kind of media left. 

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