President Trump’s attacks on the media are not new. They're not normal either

Ever since he rode down the escalator in June of 2015 to announce that he was running to be the leader of the free world, President Donald Trump has waged a war on the media

He’s characterized the media in many ways: as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people,” for example. He’s wielded his power to limit reporters’ access and make their jobs more difficult.

It’s a strange stance for a man who was in large part created by the media, let alone someone who clearly craves media attention.

And yet, he can’t help himself when confronted with questions or criticisms he doesn’t like.

Take the past week.

Last Friday, he snapped at Bloomberg’s Catherine Lucey for asking about the Epstein files. In conduct unbecoming of a gentleman and, especially, the president of the United States, Trump told her, “quiet, piggy.”

Then on Tuesday, Trump grew irritated over questions about the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The president was sitting next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man U.S. intelligence says ordered the killing.

As he defended the crown prince, Trump bitterly criticized the reporter asking the questions — ABC News’ Mary Bruce — calling her a “terrible person and a terrible reporter.” He went even further, saying, “I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong.”

Questions about the Epstein files and the murder of Khashoggi did not come out of nowhere. They were fair questions. They were not gotcha questions. Yet in both instances, Trump seemed surprised and rattled by them.

He surely had to have known those questions were coming. If he didn’t, then he’s not as sharp as he should have been, and press secretary Karoline Leavitt and her staff are not doing their jobs.

Trump’s default setting whenever pressed or caught off guard is to start verbally swinging. He either attacks the reporter as an individual or blitzes the news organizations with insults. Usually, he does both. A common first response whenever he is asked a tough question is, “Who are you with?”

That’s what happened Tuesday in the Oval Office when Bruce asked about Khashoggi’s murder. And when Bruce said she was with ABC News, Trump launched his threats.

This is not normal, and that can’t be stressed enough.

Every president — every single one — has had clashes with the press.

But it isn’t commonplace for a president to threaten pulling FCC licenses. And it’s not typical for a president to call for late-night talk-show hosts to be fired because he didn’t like their jokes. Most presidents refrained from using terms like “fake news” and “enemy of the people” to describe the media. And it’s not protocol for a president to sue networks with regularity.

And not every president called reporters “nasty” and “horrible” and used words like “piggy” when ordering them to shut up.

It is incredibly rare for a president to act with such ill will toward reporters and media outlets. And just because it has become a normal part of the current president’s routine does not mean that it should be normalized.

This behavior would be wildly abnormal for anyone in a democratic nation, and it is especially so for the president of the United States.

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A busy man

As I mentioned in Wednesday’s newsletter, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith will not be a regular on this season’s “NBA Countdown” studio show, as he has been for most of the past two decades. It’s mostly because he has so much going on, including his daily show on ESPN (“First Take”) and his work on SiriusXM. Plus, he often shows up on other ESPN shows, such as “SportsCenter.”

But he reiterated Wednesday that he wasn’t yanked off the show, and that when he signed his $100 million deal with ESPN last spring, he understood that he’d have less of a presence on “NBA Countdown.”

He said on his “Straight Shooter” for SiriusXM, “In case you haven’t noticed, I got other things on my plate. I’m a busy man. Just to be clear, I’m always available because once you’re working for ESPN, you’re part of the family. And if they need me for anything, of course I’ll show back up on ‘NBA Countdown.’”

He added, “But it was always my intent to come off, it’s something I negotiated. So, just so we’re clear, this story is a non-story. This is not some epiphany that everybody is getting attached to that, ‘Oh my God, this just happened, and he’s being yanked off the show!’ No, it didn’t happen like that, I’m available when needed. And when I’m not needed, I got other stuff to do on my own. This was negotiated last year.”

Less time on ESPN is probably a good thing for Smith, and I don’t mean that as an insult. I’m a fan of his. Aside from running the risk of being oversaturated and wearing out his welcome with audiences, Smith could use some downtown. That means more rest. A more-rested Smith who isn’t trying to fill hours upon hours of airtime, trying to be provocative and interesting, means more smart takes. And, more importantly, a lesser chance of saying something dumb or worse.

Media tidbits

• Good stuff from my Poynter colleague Al Tompkins in “‘We are the anti-fake news.’ Nexstar appeals to Trump while seeking a merger with Tegna.” Tompkins writes, “Nexstar chair and CEO Perry Sook went out of his way to praise President Donald Trump while asking regulators to approve a $6.2 billion deal to buy rival Tegna. The merger would make Nexstar by far the country’s biggest owner of local TV stations and would require the government to relax long-standing rules limiting station ownership. And Nexstar is pushing the FCC to move quickly, something the agency rarely does. The application, filed Tuesday, includes multiple nods to the president and the GOP-controlled commission.”
• The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti and Joe Flint with “Major League Baseball Signs New Rights Deals with ESPN, NBCU and Netflix.”
• My Poynter colleague Amaris Castillo with “‘Where’s the amaro?’ How one independent journalist tested North Carolina’s state-run liquor system.”
• For Nieman Lab, Neel Dhanesha with “‘Every media era gets the fabulists it deserves.’”
• Columbia Journalism Review’s Riddhi Setty with “The Nation’s Longest Ongoing Strike Is Over—but the Battle Isn’t.”

Hot type

A superb Washington Post investigation complete with interactive map from Ian Duncan, Emmanuel Martinez and Dylan Moriarty: “The deadliest roads in America.”

Variety’s Matt Donnelly with “‘Our Value Was Never Disrespected’: Hollywood Career Producers Are Battling Actors, Greedy Managers, Penny-Pinching Execs and Stolen Credits to Survive.”

In the NFL, they have coaching trees. In other words, head coaches who have assistants who then go on to coach other teams — and perhaps those coaches produce more coaches. That’s a coaching tree. So with that in mind, here’s a fun piece from The Ringer’s Alan Sepinwall: “Which TV Show Has the Best Coaching Tree?”

More resources for journalists

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• Access a list of mental health reporting resources on funding, source-building and more.
• Join 300 newsrooms receiving free digital preservation training. Apply by Jan. 9, 2026.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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