Originally Authored at TheFederalist.com
If there’s one thing corporate media have made clear over the last eight years, it’s that their very existence is predicated on degrading Donald Trump and boosting Democrats’ political agenda. Trump knows it, Americans know it, and, as ex-Washington Post and CNN columnist Chris Cillizza proved on Monday, the press knows it.
It should come as no surprise then that when Trump sued ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for falsely claiming Trump raped E. Jean Carroll, the Disney-owned corporate media giant decided to settle. Instead of subjecting itself to legal discovery that could reveal more slander against the president-elect, ABC News tried to rid itself of the case by pledging $15 million to Trump’s presidential library fund.
The decision to pay up instead of dragging out depositions did not sit well with newsroom activists across the nation. One of the biggest fits pitched came from Cillizza who, after hearing word of Trump’s recent legal victory, went into a tizzy on X about how the settlement “sets an incredibly dangerous precedent — and undermines journalists doing their jobs.”
Cilliza’s whining did not stop there. In a 10-minute rant posted to his YouTube page the same day, the “So What” founder complained that the settlement was just another example of how “the mainstream media keeps giving in to Donald Trump.”
“They didn’t settle because they were worried about losing,” he argued. “They settled because they didn’t want to have a high-profile fight with the incoming president of the United States.”
He’s right that making Trump “feel better and more comfortable … is not the role of the media.” Becoming unpaid spokesmen for the Democrats’ campaign against their top political enemy shouldn’t be on the résumé either, but it’s a position the propaganda press is all too eager to fill. In ABC News’ case, the cost of filling that position was quite literal.
It’s important to note that Cillizza, despite his years-long work in the propaganda press, which ended with his 2022 layoff, infamously asserted in 2016 that “Reporters don’t root for a side.”
His frustration that Trump will be “even more aggressive in trying to police and shut down media criticism” after he successfully forced ABC News to cough up an apology and cash, however, confirms Cillizza and his former corporate media colleagues do like to take sides — and it’s not Trump’s.
The only logical reason a settlement in a defamation case like that involving ABC News would hamper outlets from reporting is that those outlets routinely engage in defamation. Cillizza clearly fears the fact that Trump could finally force accountability for media mouthpieces like himself.
“If that is the precedent — and I think it is the potential precedent — that’s a scary place. Not just for [big media companies], but for local news, who doesn’t have anywhere near the resources to defend itself, and for independent creators. You know, if Donald Trump sues someone like me, it’s really a complicated situation. Whether it’s frivolous or not, it’s a huge amount of expenditure and all those sorts of things. It’s really dangerous territory,” Cillizza admitted.
Cillizza concludes his video by practically begging Americans to give media mouthpieces like him another chance at earning their cratering trust.
“We need people calling balls and strikes that you can trust, and I really, truly believe that I am someone that you can trust,” Cillizza said.
Yet, he’s unwilling to accept the very means by which that trust could ever have a chance at restoration.
Despite their penchant for creating lies, hoaxes, and scams aimed at demonizing Trump and boosting Democrats — something the blue party openly and proudly admits — corporate media have yet to face any retribution for their malfeasance. In fact, in more cases than not, they are rewarded for their brazen tampering.
Trump’s recent willingness to sue election-meddling pollsters and slanderous interviewers is one of the first and only ways to ensure the media’s despicable, democracy-threatening behavior ends. Cillizza takes issue with that because it threatens the very media landscape and model that got him his start and helps him stay in business.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.