Journalists have a long, complicated history of serving as the gatekeepers of information between the government and the public.
Often, this work isn’t easy. It involves networking with sources, digging through reports, and fact-checking government narratives.
These challenges become amplified when dealing with authoritarian regimes where negative reporting can result in imprisonment—or worse.
But now, thanks to the Trump regime, journalists in the U.S. are confronted with blowback once reserved for notorious countries like Russia and China.
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Last month, two journalists—including Don Lemon—were arrested for covering an ICE protest at a church.
President Donald Trump and his administration claim that Lemon was actively participating in a demonstration that violated churchgoers’ First Amendment rights, despite video evidence showing Lemon behaving as any responsible journalist should.
And journalists aren’t just taking legal fire from Trump and his goons. Reporters are also being physically targeted on the ground while covering the president’s chaos in American streets. Numerous videos this past year show federal agents intentionally aiming weapons and tackling journalists who were simply doing their jobs.
This descent into outward aggression toward newsgathering didn’t appear out of nowhere. In fact, the Trump administration has spent its first year in office nurturing a culture of mistrust that has normalized attacks on journalists.
On Feb. 4, Homeland Security Secretary Krisit Noem quipped that a New York Times reporter was “down another source” after a supposed contact was identified.
“We just caught another prolific leaker putting our [DHS] law enforcement at risk,” she posted on X.
Noem’s language is very specific here. The administration has been intentional in crafting a narrative that journalists—in their efforts to gather information for the public—are actually a dangerous threat.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also actively weaponized the word “leakers” to target disloyal staffers who share information with the press.
While federal workers are technically barred from sharing sensitive information with reporters, the practice is often vital for keeping the public informed and maintaining another check on political power.
And while previous administrations have also bristled at intrepid newsgathering, the president and his team express their disdain for the press with a disturbing intensity.
“You are the worst reporter,” Trump said on Feb. 3 to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when asked about Jeffrey Epstein. “CNN has no ratings because of people like you.”
"You know she's a young woman — I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,” the president said, deciding a sexist attack would be appropriate when asked about his connections to one of the country’s most notorious predators.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face. You know why you're not smiling? Because you know you're not telling the truth,” Trump said.
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Of course, this behavior toward female journalists is nothing new for Trump.
“Quiet piggy,” Trump said to another reporter aboard Air Force One in Nov. 2025.
Even White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who has vehemently defended Trump’s sexist remarks, has brushed off reporters’ questions with unserious answers.
“Your mom did,” she wrote in a text to a HuffPost reporter’s innocuous foreign policy query.
All of these interactions share a similar theme—the normalization of aggression and antagonism towards the media.
There has even been a shift in how journalists are allowed to obtain information from the White House. Traditional media have been forced to pack up their desks at the Pentagon and abandon their chairs in the press briefing room for not agreeing to cover the news exactly how the Trump administration would like.
In their place, MAGA-friendly influencers who do not adhere to any journalistic ethical standards.
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Meanwhile, once-vaunted newsrooms across the nation—now owned by billionaires close to Trump—are sadly shrinking.
Journalists who remain dedicated to their mission of uncovering and sharing truth are increasingly running up against a hostile White House determined to make them the enemy in support of Trump’s reckless pursuit of power.
Trump famously called the press “the enemy of the people” after assuming office for his first term. In his second term, that dark vision has ramped up considerably.
Daily Kos reached out to the White House for comment on this story but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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