Good evening everyone. Over the past 72 hours, something major has happened in the American news industry. It’s not a subtle shift. It’s a full-scale change in how some of the biggest outlets in the country are approaching their coverage of the Trump administration. Three major media organizations either softened their stance toward the White House or began reframing their reporting in a way that favors President Trump.
This should alarm anyone who believes journalism exists to serve truth, not power.
Independent media has never been more important. While the mainstream press bends and reshapes itself to fit a political narrative, we continue to grow. In fact, in the past month alone, this publication has outperformed the very outlets I’ll be talking about below. They have thousands of people in their newsrooms. I have one: me.
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CNN’s Sudden Change of Tone
Let’s start with CNN. According to a report from Status, CNN chief executive Mark Thompson met last week with senior officials in President Trump’s administration. Soon after, Thompson reportedly told network staff to “ease up” on coverage of the White House renovation project, a controversial teardown of the East Wing that has drawn intense public criticism.
The report said many at CNN were surprised, because Thompson typically avoids weighing in on editorial matters. But this time, he allegedly suggested that viewers “aren’t all that interested” in the story.
CNN later confirmed to The Hill that Thompson did visit the White House, but denied that he directed staff to soften coverage. A spokesperson called the Status report “reckless and irresponsible conjecture.” Still, the sequence of events is hard to ignore. A private meeting with the White House followed by a shift in tone on a story the administration is sensitive about raises serious concerns about editorial independence at one of the country’s biggest news brands.
The Washington Post Praises Trump’s Demolition
Then came The Washington Post. Over the weekend, its editorial board published an opinion piece praising President Trump’s demolition of the East Wing. “The White House cannot simply be a museum to the past,” the board wrote. “Like America, it must evolve with the times to maintain its greatness.”
The piece described Trump’s action as “a shot across the bow at NIMBYs everywhere.”
The demolition, completed last Thursday, removed offices that once housed the First Lady, the White House social secretary, the theater, and even the presidential bunker. The space will now be used for a new ballroom. Preservationists and historians have condemned the decision as reckless. For the Post to frame this as an act of bold leadership is not only misguided but a striking departure from the paper’s long tradition of holding power accountable.
Face the Nation’s Double Standard
On Sunday, CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan faced backlash for what many viewers called a hostile interview with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Brennan pressed Jeffries on redistricting, gerrymandering, and his recent comments accusing President Trump of “trying to rig the midterm elections.” She noted that Democrats had criticized Trump for using similar language about 2020 and asked whether Jeffries was undermining voter faith by using that same phrase.
Tough questions are a key part of journalism. But the pattern is clear. When Democrats appear, Brennan pushes hard. When Trump allies appear, she softens. That is not balance. It is bias disguised as professionalism.
We are watching a coordinated effort to normalize what should not be normalized. Some outlets are treating the Trump administration’s actions as ordinary politics. Others are changing their approach to coverage, their language, even their interviews.
The result is a slow but steady reconditioning of how audiences see truth. It is a story being rewritten in real time, with the press playing along.
This is why independent media matters. When large institutions lose their backbone, smaller ones must hold the line. Independent journalists exist to keep truth alive when others decide it is safer to look away.
If you value that kind of journalism, honest and unbought, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. This publication survives only because of readers who refuse to accept spin in place of truth.
We are living through a critical moment for the media. Every subscription, every share, every person who stands for truth over access matters. Let’s make sure the public still gets the journalism it deserves.