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Trump's assault on the media goes into overdrive
The Observer
|September 21, 2025
Donald Trump has warned that media outlets that are "against" him could be punished as his administration's crackdown on opponents intensifies after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, raising fears for freedom of speech in America.
Soon after the talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel was taken off air for saying the Maga movement wanted to exploit Kirk's death, Trump told reporters that US television networks were "97% against me". "They give me only bad publicity," he said.
"I would think maybe their licence should be taken away."
Trump and his allies vow to dismantle what they call the "radical left" after Kirk's death. Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff, has blamed "a vast domestic terror movement" for the killing.
Trump has long been critical of mainstream US media, calling it "fake news". In 2019, he called the press "the enemy of the people". In the last 10 months, Trump has escalated his war on the press with legal cases and policy moves.
"This moment must be recognised for what it is: an extraordinary assault on free speech in the United States," the media freedom group, PEN America, said in a statement. Here is a list of the Trump administration's targets so far:
New York Times
Trump last week launched a $15bn defamation and libel lawsuit against the NYT for a variety of articles about his business dealings and political rise. A judge struck down the suit but gave Trump leave to amend the action.
Wall Street Journal
In July, the WSJ published a story alleging Trump wrote a "bawdy" birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender. Trump denies writing the letter and launched a $10bn defamation lawsuit against WSJ owner Rupert Murdoch and publisher Dow Jones. Dow Jones said it had "full confidence in the rigour and accuracy of our reporting".
Des Moines Register
This story is from the September 21, 2025 edition of The Observer.
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