Local opinion: Trump’s relentless attacks on media spark concern

Geez, you go on vacation for a couple of weeks, and while you aren't paying close attention, the U.S. wins the war with Iran, the new Air Force One exceeds expectations, Donald Trump finally offers irrefutable evidence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, and America has somehow remained the hottest country in the world.

Meanwhile, all the Democrats turned into communists overnight and suddenly pose an existential threat to the 2026 midterm election, which, by the way, is already compromised and crooked and the results of which can’t be trusted and must be overturned, unless Republicans win. Then it’s all fine.

Oh, wait.

Trump spins his own brand of 'news'

A quick glance at the headlines reveals that we seem to still be deeply entrenched in war with Iran and getting deeper every day. The new Air Force One that the Qatari government gifted to Trump is, in fact, not ready for prime time, lacking the sorts of defensive measures the leader of the free world likes to have while thousands of feet above ground. And despite Trump’s strange prime-time address that revealed nothing new but instead set the stage for interfering with the midterms, there is still no credible evidence that there was anything fishy about the 2020 election.

Or the 2022 election. Or the 2024 election.

Of course, if you depended solely on Trump, the White House press office, MAGA-aligned elected officials who parrot whatever story Trump tells, and see-no-evil networks like Fox News and Newsmax, you could be forgiven, I suppose, for thinking all of that nonsense before was true.

So maybe don’t.

If I was reminded of anything from taking some time off, it’s that media — credible media — is more important than ever. Because the administration is not taking its foot off the gas or off the throat of the First Amendment. I’ve said it before: Every administration has to be treated with skepticism by journalists. Prove it. As the saying goes, if your mother says she loves you, get a second source.

But Trump’s lies and his relentless attacks on the media make that more important than ever.

Every administration deserves scrutiny and skepticism

Here’s an interesting example of what a lack of skepticism gets you. Sunday morning talk shows aren’t usually comedy hotbeds, but Maria Bartiromo provided some on her Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” show recently, telling a guest, “I don't understand how it is possible that Iran still has the capabilities to fight this way and continue to try to lash out at Gulf countries and U.S. military bases, because the U.S. has obliterated Iran's military, and the president continues to reiterate that.”

Umm, because maybe they haven’t obliterated Iran’s military? Has that possibility occurred to you? Telling the truth is the best option.

Is there anyone in the administration who will honestly tell us what the status of the war in Iran is? Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had some trouble when he testified before a U.S. Senate committee while asking for $87.6 billion more in new funding. Some of this could be strategic, sure. But Hegseth has spent more time bashing Joe Biden and talking about measuring testosterone in soldiers than he has talking about the war with reporters.

As for Trump’s “election integrity” address, it was the same old, same old. Among broadcast networks, only CBS aired it live, at a time when its every move is under scrutiny after paying $16 million to settle a frivolous Trump lawsuit. Say this for the news division, though, which hasn’t always cloaked itself in glory during the Bari Weiss era: Its fact-checking of Trump’s claims was thorough and pulled no punches.

As opposed to Fox News. This address should have been red meat for them. Trump gave it during prime time, meaning that when it ended, Sean Hannity could rave about election interference and continue to serve as a de facto Trump spokesperson. Yet he barely talked about it, and a reporter reminded viewers that Fox News hadn’t seen the documents Trump talked about and couldn’t verify their accuracy.

It’s worth noting that in 2023 the network paid $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems after some Fox News personalities pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election — theories that internal messages and emails revealed some of them didn’t even believe. Ratings are demanding, man, but money talks. Or keeps people from talking.

But the Air Force One debacle was the most dangerous development, and that’s saying something. The New York Times reported, using anonymous sources, that security concerns led Trump to fly out of Turkey in early July on the old Air Force One, instead of the one Qatar gave the U.S. as a gift, over security precautions, despite $400 million to upgrade the plane. This being the Trump era, the Justice Department responded by issuing subpoenas to reporters, some at their homes, as well as demanding phone records, even those of the reporters' families, in an attempt to find out who the sources for the story were.

And what did the Times do? Fought back, and on Thursday, July 23, the Justice Department said it would withdraw the subpoenas. How about that? Report the truth, don’t wilt under a bully’s threats and you win the day. That’s something for every media outlet and every journalist working for them to remember.

People — readers, viewers, listeners — forget. They need to be reminded, constantly, of what the administration — what any administration — is up to. The truth is the best defense, as they say. For journalists, it’s also the most important one.