It’s been 14 chaotic days since Donald Trump’s circus of horrors set up shop in the White House and the media is still playing catch-up. It’s difficult to overstate just how disruptive and destructive the Trump administration has already been, between Elon Musk seizing access to the government’s sensitive payment system and Trump’s tidal wave of regressive and possibly illegal executive orders.
Jim Acosta
Daily Kos’ Emily Singer found that Republicans had no shortage of excuses for Trump’s unhinged week. Fortunately for them, no one in the media really bothered to ask. That could be because a growing number of TV anchor chairs are sitting empty, a crisis that got even worse this week when CNN’s Jim Acosta and NBC News’ Chuck Todd unexpectedly announced their resignations. In Acosta’s case, it was clear CNN wanted him out as a way to rebuild the network’s toxic relationship with Trump. So much for accountability journalism!
As the media industry wrestles with layoffs, sudden departures, and the increasing subservience of outlets’ corporate owners, there’s hardly time left over to report on America’s speedy descent into autocracy. Don’t worry: Daily Kos is here to pick up all the stories that legacy media left on the cutting room floor.
Let’s see what the media missed this week!
The Hangover
Let’s give a tiny credit where credit is due. The Sunday cable news shows led their coverage with what The Wall Street Journal is calling “The Dumbest Trade War in History.” But even the best newscaster will struggle to explain the nuances of tariffs and import quotas during a five-minute news segment. That’s where our own Markos Moulitsas comes in, with a special report on how Trump’s 25% tariffs are about to screw Kentucky’s $9 billion bourbon industry.
Donald Trump
Trump’s sweeping tariffs are both broader and deeper than the trade war he led against China during his first term. That means Kentucky’s distillers aren’t the only ones who are about to feel the pain: Farmers who supply feed grain and the corn and rye used for bourbon are also facing dire economic storm clouds.
In 2018, when Trump implemented smaller tariffs than he’s threatening today, the United States ended up authorizing nearly $30 billion in direct aid to farmers hurt by the trade war that followed. That’s almost six times as much money as we spend to operate the entire legislative branch. Farmers faced so much economic pressure during Trump’s last tariff tantrum that rural suicide rates reached record highs. It sure didn’t feel like a Golden Age for farmers on the plains.
The second time around will be even worse. As Daily Kos’ Alex Samuels reports, Trump is considering additional 100% tariffs on 10 emerging economies if they replace the dollar as their reserve currency. The threat is widely seen as an effort to keep growing nations out of China’s political orbit, but those tariffs would mainly only succeed in sending consumer prices soaring. If Trump follows through on his threats, consumers will ultimately pay more at the cash register and the gas pump for the foreseeable future. For now, Trump thinks that’s a price most Americans are willing to pay.
The Purge
Legacy media has bent over backwards to sanewash Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI. Instead of focusing on Patel’s repeated pledges to “come after” members of the media, outlets including NBC News focused instead on Patel’s disagreement with Trump over pardoning 1,500 felons involved in the Jan. 6 riot. Not a single cable news outlet led with Patel reaffirming his commitment to investigate the president’s personal enemies.
The DOJ purge is here.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is carrying out a sprawling purge of the FBI and national security agencies in preparation for what now looks like Patel’s narrow confirmation. Daily Kos’ Morgan Stephens reports that Trump has already ordered the removal of multiple top FBI officials in the first of what could be multiple waves of mass resignations and firings. The New York Times confirmed that reporting on Friday, adding that Trump had also fired FBI staff involved in his multiple criminal prosecutions. Meanwhile, CBS News reported late Sunday that “questionnaires” have been sent to over 1,000 FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
Trump has been hard at work reshaping the federal justice system in his own image. It’s taken the president just two weeks to fire more than a dozen of the government’s top U.S. attorneys, empty out key FBI departments, and drive his critics from career civil service positions. Patel has reassured Republican lawmakers that further purges will come once he is safely installed as the FBI’s top man. The result will be a federal police force staffed entirely by Trump’s truest believers—and more than willing to harass anyone the president suggests.
Patel’s invisibility in the mainstream media is one of the biggest abdications of journalistic responsibility we’ve seen so far. That media sanitization has allowed Patel to come within a hair’s breadth of the FBI’s considerable police powers, and its continued silence makes his confirmation more likely with each passing day.
Kash Patel is ready to be Donald Trump’s federal enforcer. The question is: Are we ready for him?
Reach out!
Keep the conversation going all week by sharing stories you think the media missed with me at @themaxburns on Bluesky! And remember: If you’re tuned to cable news, you aren’t even getting half of the story.
Until next week, keep your eyes peeled and stay inquisitive, friends.
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