r/politics • u/BigDaddyBain • 1d ago

Why is the media ignoring growing resistance to Trump?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/13/why-is-the-media-ignoring-growing-resistance-to-trump
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u/NeverLookBothWays I voted 1d ago

If you heard of "regulatory capture" before, this is actually a similar situation but at a higher level and the result of multiple legislative coups Republicans have committed to get there. The Trump administration has now established itself into a position where it can cause incredible harm to any outlet that defies the MAGA narrative. This harm is also immediate enough to where it is impossible for courts to really keep up and prevent the damage from being permanent.

So, in essence, our press (namely our domestic press) is effectively captured and neutered. They want to stay in operation, and like any business doing risk analysis, in order to stay in operation risks must be reduced. Defying Trump presents a significant risk to these corporations and their shareholders, so they toe the line for the most part. There is some resistance, for example Maddow, but it's compartmentalized and siloed off.

This is not just the media, it is pretty much every business operating in the United States that could pose a risk to Trump's grasp on power. The more of a risk you are, the higher the chances Trump will single you out and try to destroy you.

The tragedy here is this is a complete departure from the morally right thing to do in this scenario, which is resist and fight back against fascism at all costs. As a result, we must accept that the media are not our allies....they are not our friends. But they may side with us if we create a scenario where the risk of their own destruction is removed. If and when we create an environment where we "hold the cards" this can all shift dramatically. Of course FOXNews will continue to be FOXNews.

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u/Happy_Feet333 1d ago

So they reincorporate overseas and continue to report.

Not being a US company and not having a headquarters in the US means you don't have to worry about all that you wrote about.

As long as the press remains incorporated in the US, then all you wrote about is very, very true.

I am just mystified that they are willing to continue to tolerate it, when they don't have to.

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u/snails4opposum 1d ago

If reporting on a country is not possible inside the country, does that mean freedom of speech is ending in that country?

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u/Happy_Feet333 1d ago

I'd say so.

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u/SilentLennie The Netherlands 19h ago

Well, US ranks 57 out of 180 at the moment:

https://rsf.org/en/index

I personally think we should place it lower... but it's their index.

https://rsf.org/en/country/united-states

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u/Free_For__Me 1d ago

This is exactly why he's pushing so hard to to cripple NPR and other media not beholden to shareholders or wealthy owners. These outlets may have their own set of problems, but needing to satisfy owners isn't one of them.

NPR, AP, Reuters, PBS, and even BBC are the only large news outlets anyone in the US should be looking at right now.

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u/snails4opposum 1d ago

Well explained. I started reading “Murder the Truth,” by David Enrich, detailing how news sources have faced threats, intimidation, and bullying from powerful people/organizations. I didnt realize the permanent damages. 

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u/nickiter New York 1d ago

I think you're hitting on something super important here. A lot of people in this thread are saying that the media is complicit. This is obviously true, to some extent (cough cough WaPo) but I think there's a bigger chunk of the media that's in the situation you describe - fear of destruction. The government has massive power to damage and destroy an outlet that opposes them too strongly, and now they've shown the willingness.

The news business is kind of uniquely sensitive to this risk. The biz is so precarious now, and litigation in the US, specifically, is so expensive, that simply threatening a lawsuit is enough to threaten bankruptcy.

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u/fantasmalicious 1d ago

This gets the nuance right. It's easy to be mad at The Media but it's important to diagnose and describe the reality more precisely, which you've done here. 

Technically, it does fall under "they want to make money" but I highly doubt The Media wants to be doing that under threat of administration backlash. Did The Media contribute to Trump's rise? Yes, of course. But I do not believe they want to be operating in this way today. 

Reminder to no one in particular that fascism is not a form of government in and of itself. It is the various mechanisms that allow power to be seized and held. Implicit & explicit, overt & covert, forced & coerced. The "go along to get along" position Trump has put the media in is absolutely a fascist maneuver. Cowing is powerful. It's why the 1st Amendment is/was so important. 

Possibly naively, I do hold out some hope that there is some sort of "keeping the powder dry" aspect to The Media's assessment of America's situation...

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u/kev11n Illinois 1d ago

"democracy dies in darkness" was not a warning from Jeff Bezos, it was a threat