The Secret of Trump's Media Threats
Trump's Media Threats Are A Sign of Fear and Weakness
The last few days have been a reminder that Donald Trump and his court don’t merely loathe the press; they fear it.
Fear is the tell. Fear is the scent that gives the whole game away.
The Trump administration’s latest spasm of media intimidation, from late-Sunday night rage-truthing to regulatory threats to juvenile press-office tantrums to the President himself fantasizing about executing reporters, isn’t a sign of strength.
It’s a sign of a regime that understands the story is slipping out of its control.
And nothing terrifies authoritarians and their lackeys more than losing control of the story.
Start with the FCC’s resident culture warrior, Brendan Carr. Carr has spent the last several days issuing dark, throaty performative warnings to broadcasters and networks about their coverage of the Trump administration’s war and economic collapse. His threats are the regulatory equivalent of a mob enforcer tapping a baseball bat into his palm.
Nice little broadcast license you got there. Shame if something happened to it.
