𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝔽𝕦𝕣𝕪: 𝔽𝕠𝕩 𝕄𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝔹𝕖 𝕄𝕪 𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕔𝕖, ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤

𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝔽𝕠𝕩 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕔𝕖, 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖.

𝗗

onald Trump’s latest Truth Social screed against Fox News exposes a core truth: He doesn’t crave a “fair and balanced” press—he demands one that parrots his every word without question. 

On October 5, amid a government shutdown standoff, Trump erupted over Peter Doocy’s interview with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) on healthcare costs and expiring tax credits. 

“Why is FoxNews and Peter Doocy putting on Democrat Senator Mark Kelly to talk about, totally unabated or challenged, Healthcare?” 

He fumed, branding it “FAKE SPIN” that’s “so bad for Republicans” and warning Fox to “get on board, or get off board, NOW!” This wasn’t journalism’s sin; it was the audacity of letting a Democrat speak unchallenged. 

Trump’s rage isn’t new—it’s a pattern of punishing any outlet that strays from sycophancy. 

Trump’s media animus dates back decades, but it crystallized during his presidency. 

He popularized “fake news” as a cudgel against critical reporting, calling the press “the enemy of the people” over 2,000 times. 

Fox, once his “fair and balanced” fortress, became a target when it projected Biden’s 2020 wins, prompting a boycott and pivot to loyalists like Newsmax. 

By 2024, he accused Fox of “totally losing its way” for airing Kamala Harris positively, echoing his 2017 rift that fractured conservative media. 

Under Roger Ailes, Fox morphed from conservative critique to Trump propaganda, but even that wasn’t enough when it occasionally platformed nuance. 

The hypocrisy is glaring: Trump lauds “unbalanced” echo chambers like OAN for their devotion, yet decries Fox’s mild deviations as treasonous. 

“Trump wants Fox News to be personal mouthpiece above accuracy and fairness.” 

In September, he escalated, declaring negative coverage “really illegal”—not hyperbole, but a direct assault on the First Amendment. 

“They’ll take a great story and they’ll make it bad... See, I think that’s really illegal,” he told reporters, later targeting late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel for “lopsided” jabs, insisting such speech crosses into criminality. 

This isn’t about equity; it’s authoritarianism dressed as grievance. 

Trump’s lawsuits against Dominion and Smartmatic (settled for $787 million) show he’ll weaponize courts to silence scrutiny, while floating FCC revocations for “biased” networks. 

His vision? A media landscape where “fairness” means mandatory airtime for MAGA myths, not facts. 

In a March DOJ speech, he bashed outlets as “totally illegal” for unfavorable spins, urging probes. 

Allies echo this, pushing a warped Fairness Doctrine to force “balance”—code for pro-Trump algorithms. 

It’s why he praises Putin’s controlled press: No pesky accountability. 

Kelly’s interview wasn’t bias; it was democracy—diverse voices clashing ideas. 

Trump’s meltdown proves he loathes that. 

A balanced media thrives on challenge, not coronation. 

Until Trump tolerates the former, his “free, fair” rhetoric rings as hollow as his polls.

𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: 𝔅𝔯𝔲𝔠𝔢 𝔄𝔩𝔭𝔦𝔫𝔢

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