The FCC chair is openly cheering the weakening of the press

In a speech, he ticked through defunded outlets, ousted journalists and looming ownership changes — then said the president is ‘winning’

President Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he detests the press, and for the past 10 years has waged a full-scale assault on it.

He has used fascist tactics, such as calling the media “fake news” and the “enemy of the people.” His attacks include lawsuits, bans and threats. My colleague, Angela Fu, continues to document that assault in Poynter’s Press Freedom Watch — a list that is growing alarmingly longer by the day.

And powerful people within his administration help him do his harmful work. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has used his position to kick news outlets out of the Pentagon for not reporting what he wants them to. He whines constantly in news conferences about fair and accurate media coverage of the war in Iran. His pettiness even led him to punish photographers because he didn’t like the photos they took of him.

Then there’s White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who echoes Trump’s claims of “fake news” whenever there is critical coverage of the president and his policies.