Hey, good morning! Let's get right to it...
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Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images |
As you digest news coverage about President Trump's first acts in office, keep in mind that various audiences are hearing very different stories about what Trump is doing and what impacts he is having.
Trump devotees are scrolling on social media apps and seeing triumphant memes about the "new golden age" he promised. They're watching Fox News and hearing all about the fun times at the inaugural balls. (Jake Paul carried Mike Tyson on his shoulders last night.) They're hearing from radio hosts and podcasters that Trump is immediately closing the border and making them safer. They're enjoying the gloating. "The libs have no idea what's coming," anti-DEI crusader Christopher Rufo said last night.
But pro-Trump media consumers are not hearing much at all about the January 6 pardons that have outraged and horrified so many people. The only MAGA-approved storyline is that Trump is keeping his promises to the families of "hostages," which ignores that the rioters were charged and convicted. But it's barely breaking through as a story at all.
Conversely, mainstream media consumers are hearing all about the stunning reversal of the largest criminal probe in U.S. history, and on the consequences for the country. They're hearing not just about Trump's executive orders, but about the legal challenges.
In short, while newsrooms are focusing on the rule of law, MAGA opinion outlets are focusing on Trump's rule. Notably, right-wing commentators are both celebrating Trump's immigration restrictions and preparing their audiences to ignore the inevitable backlash. "The media will now rely on its time-tested tactic of showing only one side of the immigration issue," Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham predicted. The message, as always, is to just trust Trump and his favorite media sources.
I'm leading with this topic today because we have to burst these media bubbles in order to understand what Americans of various political persuasions are feeling and thinking right now. Some conservative feel like they can breathe again — that sentiment keeps coming up on Fox and Newsmax. Contrarily, I'm sensing that some liberals are choking over the "normalization" of Trump, and abandoning traditional media outlets altogether out of frustration...
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In one day, the outgoing and incoming presidents generated a month's worth of news, easily. Maybe two or three months' worth. President Biden's pardons could have filled a week of rundowns and homepages on their own! Trump's impromptu back-and-forth with the White House press pool was full of storylines, too. And he is expected to make a lot more news today, including an infrastructure announcement. It's news overload! Which is why followups, explainers and human interest stories about the impacts will be so valuable in the days ahead...
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"Let's get to work!" new White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her first post from her @PressSec X account. Does that entail a traditional press briefing? Not today. Of course, Trump is his own spokesman. On "Fox & Friends" this morning, Leavitt said "President Trump will be speaking to the press later this afternoon at the White House, and we will have a big infrastructure announcement."
>> When she was gently asked about the January 6 pardon "controversy," she audaciously responded, "I don't think it's causing much controversy." (That's evidence of the pro-Trump media bubble's power, right there.)
>> And when asked about the date of her first briefing, she said "to be announced."
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Trump tries to produce news coverage of his presidency in real-time. After taking the oath of office, he told fans at the Capital One Arena "oh, you're going to be happy reading the newspapers tomorrow – and the next day and the next day and the next day." (Trump voters favor Fox and social media over newspapers; Trump's reference to print is a reflection of his age.) Later in the day he seemingly tried to reposition the videographers in the Oval Office. He beamed on stage at the inaugural balls late at night. As an anonymous Trump advisor told Axios, "He owned every second of screen time today."
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"The truth will never change," Liz Cheney said yesterday as she denounced Trump's whitewashing of the January 6 attack. No, it will never change, but the truth sure will be tested in the months ahead. To a greater degree than he did in his first term, Trump is using the powers of his office to turn MAGA fictions into governmental fact.
Take the executive order to "immediately stop all government censorship:" Nina Jankowicz, a disinfo researcher who has been demonized on the right, wrote on Bluesky that Trump has "canonized lies and conspiracy theories about those responding to disinformation," calling it an "attack on reality."
>> To be fair: To bring this newsletter back around to the topic of media bubbles, conservatives argue that liberals attacked reality during the Biden years around gender identity and the 28th Amendment, among many other topics, and Trump is fixing what they broke...
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What ending 'censorship' really means |
Trump's executive order to "immediately stop all government censorship" will "create legal uncertainty for government officials who communicate with tech companies," Washington Post reporter Cat Zakrzewski writes.
After all, there have been "years of efforts to bolster coordination between Silicon Valley and the government to combat misinformation about elections, natural disasters and public health." But conservatives have been trying to beat back those efforts, claiming efforts to help protect people are hurting free speech. So Trump's order "could chill years of efforts to combat the proliferation of false information online..."
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>> From the left: "Florida Man Unconditionally Discharged Into Oval Office." (Mother Jones)
>> From the right: "FULL SPEED AHEAD |
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