Donald Trump praises a ‘free, fair and open’ press — as long as it falls in line

In an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday, President-elect Donald Trump said, “In order to make America great again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair and open media or press.”

Wow, a free, fair and open media or press.

That’s quite the change from a man who has shown nothing but disdain for the media for the past eight years. He has called them the “enemy of the people” and “fake news.” He made a comment on the campaign trail about reporters being shot. He has threatened to punish various news organizations whenever he feels as though there has been unfair coverage. He even goes off on social media whenever Fox News, which has pretty much carried the Trump flag forever, dares to air something or interview a guest he doesn’t like.

Yet here he was Monday morning talking about a free press the way leaders of democracies are supposed to talk.

Don’t get too excited.

His hopeful remarks came with the kind of caveat you would expect from Trump. He said he feels “an obligation to the American public, and to our country itself, to be open and available to the press.”

And here drops the other shoe: “If not treated fairly, however, that will end. The media is very important to the long-term success of the United States of America,” Trump said.

So, in other words, Trump is a fan of a free and open press as long as he agrees with the coverage. Which, of course, really isn’t a free and open press.

But he said, “I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly, or even badly beyond comprehension. I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line.”

Again, don’t get too excited. Keeping scorecards, which Trump will surely alter in his head whenever he gets angry enough, means he will look for retribution, revenge and whatever other words authoritarians use when dealing with media coverage that doesn’t align with his own vision.

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Having said all of that …

It is interesting to note that Trump met with two of his biggest media critics: MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. The married couple apparently drove a half-hour from their Florida home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last Friday.

In a word: wow.

As The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum explained, “Mr. Trump was once a regular guest on their talk show, ‘Morning Joe,’ and the couple rang in 2017 at a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Then things deteriorated. Mr. Trump called Mr. Scarborough a ‘psycho’ and Ms. Brzezinski ‘crazy,’ claiming that he had once seen her ‘bleeding badly from a face-lift.’ ‘Morning Joe’ became a redoubt of the anti-Trump resistance. This year, the couple repeatedly warned that a second Trump presidency would threaten democracy’s future.”

Social media practically exploded Monday morning when Brzezinski and Scarborough talked about meeting with Trump.

Brzezinski told viewers, “For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, ‘Why wouldn’t we?’ Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him.”

Scarborough said, “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so.” However, Brzezinski added, “What we did agree on was to restart communications.”

Fans of the show were upset, and that’s something Scarborough addressed by saying, “Don’t be mistaken. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights (for) … understanding these deeply unsettling times.”

Trump told Fox News Digital, “Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication. In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago.”

Not much is known about the specific topics that came up during the conversation, although Trump said, “We talked about various cabinet members — both announced and to be announced. As expected, they like some very much, but not all. The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future.”

Trump added, “I expect this will take place with others in the media, even those that have been extremely hostile.”

A different view

The panel of ABC’s “The View” debated the “Morning Joe” co-hosts’ meeting with Trump.

Ana Navarro said she would never sit down with Trump. She added, “I think there’s a lot of people who are probably looking at what Joe and Mika did and find it opportunistic. There are people who change their stripes, or maybe their spots, I should say, today, depending on who is in power and what benefits them. I don’t know that that’s what they are doing, and to me, it’s a to-be-determined situation, because right now, it’s the transition. We don’t know what he’s going to do as president. We don’t know what they’re going to do if he commits abuses of power as president. So, you know, everybody has to live with their decision. Everybody has to look at themselves in the mirror. I’m good.”

Meanwhile, others on the panel, as well as many journalists, said that if you have a chance to meet with the president — or, in this case, the president-elect — you should absolutely take advantage of it.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, who worked in the communications office during Trump’s first administration but backed Kamala Harris in the election, said, “I don’t think this is opportunistic, but I think they recognize that 75 million people voted for this guy. He will be in power, short of something like an impeachment, for the next four years.”

Mediaite’s Jennifer Bowers Bahney has more.

Threatening the press

Ultimately, actions always speak louder than words. So Trump can say whatever he wants about wanting a free and open press, and talk about its importance to a democracy and so forth.

But check out his actions.

Trump has picked Brendan Carr to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr, who currently sits on the commission, was behind the FCC chapter of the controversial conservative Project 2025 planning document.

The New York Times’ Cecilia Kang wrote, “Mr. Carr could drastically reshape the independent agency, expanding its mandate and wielding it as a political weapon for the right, telecommunications attorneys and analysts said. They predicted Mr. Carr would test the legal limits of the agency’s power by pushing to oversee companies like Meta and Google, setting up a fierce battle with Silicon Valley.”

Last week on X, Carr tweeted, “The censorship cartel must be dismantled.”

In a post on Monday, Carr wrote, “Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource — our airwaves. In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation.”

What the Carr and the Trump administration consider “public interest” and what really is in the “public interest” likely are two very different things.

In a piece for Nieman Lab, Joshua Benton wrote, “Since Election Day, Carr has been making himself very visible backing Trump’s wishes — falsely accusing NBC of violating equal time rules, saying the FCC should stop doing anything ‘partisan’ until Trump’s inauguration, arguing the ‘censorship cartel must be dismantled and destroyed’ (you know, fact-checkers — he really doesn’t like NewsGuard), and backing Trump’s regular statements that TV networks should lose their broadcast licenses for doing things he doesn’t like. He’s also very tight with Elon Musk, last seen accompanying McNuggets at Trump’s right hand.”

Catching up on this news

Late last week, Trump named Karoline Leavitt the next White House press secretary. At 27, Leavitt will become the youngest White House press secretary in history. She was Trump’s campaign press secretary and has been serving as a spokesperson for his transition team.

In a statement, Trump said, “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again.”

And, again, keeping up with the theme of this newsletter, Trump’s actions speak louder than his words.

The New York Times’ Michael Gold wrote, “Throughout the campaign, Ms. Leavitt adopted Mr. Trump’s disdain for the mainstream media in frequent appearances on major television networks and conservative outlets. Mr. Trump was pleased with her performance and looked to her as a trusted voice to defend him on television, according to people who worked on the Trump campaign.”

But Leavitt has a challenge ahead of her. Gold noted, “Mr. Trump cycled through four press secretaries during his first four years in office, and Ms. Leavitt will have to manage his expectations while also navigating the demands of the White House press corps. Her position will immediately make her a public figure in a way that few other Trump officials will be.”

Tough news from AP

The Associated Press announced Monday that it will begin offering buyouts and could have layoffs in an effort to reduce the staff by about 8%.

Associated Press media reporter David Bauder wrote, “The AP said those eligible for buyouts were to learn of the offer, which would include severance pay and partial health coverage for 18 months, by the end of Monday. Those whose positions are due to be eliminated would learn about their fates over the next few weeks. Once considered the world’s largest newsgathering organization, the AP no longer makes that claim and does not reveal the size of its staff. As a result, it was impossible to say on Monday how many people would be affected. The AP said less than half of the anticipated cuts would involve its news employees, with the bulk happening within the United States.”

The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin reported, “In a note to employees Monday, the AP News Guild said the cuts were the result of revenue declines and would affect the organization’s global bureaus and administrative staff. The note said as many as 121 employees would be eligible for a buyout package, adding that managers said the buyouts aimed to avoid layoffs.”

In a statement, The Associated Press said, “This is about ensuring AP’s important role as the only truly independent news organization at scale during a period of transformation in the media industry.”

One in five adults regularly gets news from influencers

For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu.

More than 20% of adults in the United States regularly get their news from “news influencers,” according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday.

That percentage rises to 37% among adults under the age of 30. To compile the report, Pew researchers surveyed more than 10,000 American adults and examined the accounts of 500 popular news influencers, defined as individuals who regularly post about current events and civic issues on social media and have more than 100,000 followers.

Pew’s report comes at a time when some are questioning whether mainstream media has become irrelevant. An increasing number of people are turning to social media for their news, and during the most recent election cycle, both presidential candidates turned to alternate platforms, like podcasts, to reach voters.

Among the news influencers Pew analyzed, the vast majority — 77% — did not have any affiliation or background with a news organization. Researchers also found gender and political gaps. Sixty-three percent of news influencers are men, while 30% are women. And a higher percentage of news influencers explicitly identify as being right-leaning vs left-leaning (27% vs 21%).

Those demographics shift, however, when examining news influencers on TikTok. On that platform, 50% of news influencers are men, while 45% are women. News influencers on TikTok are also more likely to identify with the political left. Twenty-eight percent identify as left-leaning, while 25% identify as right-leaning.

Nearly two-thirds of people who get their news from news influencers say that the information they receive has helped them better understand current events and civic issues. Young adults in particular find the information they get from news influencers to be helpful, with 72% of adults under the age of 30 reporting such content helpful.

Media tidbits

• Surprise, surprise. The Fox-to-White-House pipeline continues. On Monday, Trump named former congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his pick for transportation secretary. NBC News’ Zoë Richards has the details.
• The New York Times’ Jessica Testa and Benjamin Mullin with “Substack’s Great, Big, Messy Political Experiment.”
• Also from the Times, Santul Nerkar with “Both Right- and Left-Leaning Media Criticize Trump Elevating Matt Gaetz.”
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Zachary Hansen with “AJC opens new Atlanta office: A ‘commitment to the city,’ publisher says.”
• For Columbia Journalism Review, Howard Polskin with “The Right-Wing Media Voices You May Hear More of Soon.”
• Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight with “Ken Burns’ absorbing new Leonardo da Vinci doc on PBS sidesteps one important question.”

Hot type

• The New York Times’ Rory Smith with “I Tried to Teach My Son Soccer. Here’s What He Taught Me.”
• Be sure to check out the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast.” I talk with my colleagues, Kelly McBride and Ren LaForme, about how the media did covering the presidential election and what might be in store for the press now that Trump is headed back to the White House.

More resources for journalists

• It’s time to apply for the Leadership Academy for Women in Media.
• Get an AI ethics framework for your newsroom. Start here.
• Manage big responsibilities without direct reports? Try Lead With Influence.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].