FACE OUR FEARS: A “MADE FOR TV” SPECTACLE
It was a perfect set up on Friday when the White House chose what media was able to cover the meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Instead of asking important, pertinent questions about how to end this war with Russia, reporters were so unserious…in this case…just parroting Trump.
So who was in the room acting as the Voice of America (or is it Trump?) and who was denied access? “Real America’s Voice,” according to the New York Times, was selected to take a “secondary TV” role in the White House press pool alongside CNN — a position that did not exist before this week. Real America’s Voice is a right-wing cable channel that has spread conspiracy theories about noncitizen voting and helped distribute Stephen K. Bannon’s “War Room” podcast after Mr. Bannon was barred from YouTube, Spotify and other mainstream platforms.
Its access was granted as the White House continued to block reporters from The Associated Press from attending, according to a schedule sent out by the White House. Also blocked were Steve Herman, one of Voice of America’s chief news correspondents, who was subjected to an HR investigation just weeks after one of Trump’s allies publicly attacked him. Voice of America’s mission is to “inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” There has been no explanation given and it is having a “chilling effect on the entire institution,” said one VOA staffer.
CNN’s Kaitlin Collins repeatedly tried to engage Trump on the topic of mineral rights and who would push back on Russia if they did not hold up their end of the agreement. Trump took the opportunity to mock her and CNN, saying that she needs to worry more about the survival of the station, as it’s “got very low ratings.” (According to Trump).
And while all hell broke loose during Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ill-fated meeting, conservative reporter Brian Glenn—a.k.a. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s boyfriend—no really—took a moment to question the Ukrainian president’s choice of clothing after Trump commented on Zelensky being “all dressed up today.”
Greene, for one, thought it was an entirely appropriate question for Glenn to ask the President of Ukraine while he is in the middle of a war, fighting for the sovereignty and survival of his nation.
She took to X to note how “proud” she was of Glenn “for pointing out that Zelensky has so much disrespect for America that he can’t even wear a suit in the Oval Office when he comes to beg for money from our President!!”
REALITY CHECK: Without a free press, there is no accountability.
What no one is talking about is Glenn’s first question to Trump: Where he asks if Trump’s legacy will be that of peacemaker? Soft-balling a question like that to Trump was intentional. It wasn’t just leading but allowed Trump to grandstand and spin more lies. This is exactly what happens when the press is handpicked. Fact based journalists are replaced by propagandists and puppets.
The press’s job is to call out the leaders and hold them accountable for the things that they say and do. What happened on Friday wasn’t just shameful. It was another example of how the media when handpicked and run by Trump and his beta dogs will only lead to an echo chamber where the corrupt can spin a tale and distract us with stupid clickbait like Zelensky’s lack of a suit instead of focusing on the reality that Trump has aligned himself with one of the most horrific dictators in the world and is pushing the United States further into isolation and closer to a devastating financial collapse.
And who’s going to call out truth to power when there are no journalists left, only talking heads willing to do the President’s bidding?
Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other. In solidarity, Natalie
Did you like the latest Facts Over Fear newsletter? Please “like” and “share” as that encourages Substack to increase its reach. Thank you to all of my subscribers! Please consider a paid subscription to help expand this work.
Share this post