Trump goes to war with the press: multi-billion dollar lawsuits and commands to ‘kill’ media protections

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery Brendan Carr, Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, has suggested pulling brodacast licenses for television news networks “With many purportedly concerned about how Trump may impact our free press, it is unthinkable to allow a bill with as much bipartisan support as the PRESS Act to wither away and die,” said Chip Gibbons, policy director with Defending Rights & Dissent. “Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out.” open image in gallery Former Trump administration official Kash Patel has threatened to ‘come after’ media organizations he says have ‘lied’ about elections During his 2024 campaign, Trump sued ABC News host George Stephanopoulos for making “patently and demonstrably false” statements that the former president was found liable for rape in E Jean Carroll’s defamation trial. The world’s wealthiest person now has the ear of the president-elect, who has called efforts to curb the proliferation of mis- and disinformation on social media platforms the work of “the censorship cartel.” Republicans have characterized attempts to block out hate speech and dangerously false claims as a fight against free speech intended to shut out right-wing views, a campaign that Musk and Trump have made central to their respective agendas. “They must not now also become commonplace in the United States, where threats of violence and online harassment have in recent years become routine.” Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters without Borders US, invoked Trump’s “make America great again” slogan in his defense of a free press.” “Freedom of the press is one of the core pillars of our democracy that made America great in the first place,” Weimers said in a statement.