Trump’s Attacks on the Press and on Freedom of Expression

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

President Donald Trump has always bashed the press. But his attacks are no longer just rhetorical — he’s using lawsuits to intimidate the news media, and he’s inspired a conservative legal movement to overturn the New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The landmark Supreme Court decision protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and unfortunately, Trump’s attempt to destroy it are part of a larger pattern of tearing away at our right to freedom of expression. To break it all down, Kara speaks to three exceptional journalists: David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor for The New York Times and the author of four books, including the newly released, Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful; Ruth Marcus, a former associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover; and Ben Mullin, a media reporter for The New York Times covers the major players in the news and entertainment business. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, how you doing? Good. How are you? How's the acquisition going? We'll see. It's a slow, it's a slow effort by Kara Swisher. I wear them down eventually. Hi, everyone, from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:24.5	This is on with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:27.2	President Donald Trump loves bashing the press.
0:29.8	In fact, it's his favorite sport.
0:31.6	Those attacks helped him win the presidency in 2016, and they formed a core of his appeal.
0:37.1	But the onslaught is no longer just rhetorical.
0:39.7	Trump is using lawsuits to intimidate the press, and he's inspired a conservative legal
0:43.4	movement to overturn the Supreme Court case that sets a high bar for proving defamation.
0:48.9	And his assault on the press is part of a larger pattern of intimidating freedom of expression
0:52.7	on multiple fronts, including against the legal profession, universities, and even corporations that implement DEI.
0:59.2	So I'm speaking with a panel of exceptional journalists to break it all down.
1:02.7	David Enrich is the business investigations editor for the New York Times,
1:06.6	an author of a very timely book, Murder the Truth, Fear, the First Amendment,
1:10.6	and a secret campaign to protect the powerful Truth, Fear, the First Amendment, and a secret
1:11.1	campaign to protect the powerful. Ruth Marcus was a longtime columnist for The Washington Post,
1:16.4	and also a fantastic reporter who recently resigned after one of her columns was spiked.
1:21.4	Since then, she's been on a tear writing brilliant pieces for The New Yorker, and I've known
1:25.3	her for a very long time, and she's, again, a tremendous journalist. And Ben Mullen is a media reporter for the New Yorker. And I've known her for a very long time. And she's, again, a tremendous
1:28.4	journalist. And Ben Mullen is a media reporter for the New York Times who's constantly getting
1:33.0	scoops on the news biz. So stick around. Hey, this is Peter Kafka.
1:51.7	I'm the host of channels, a podcast about technology and media and how they're both changing all the time.
1:58.1	And this week, I'm trying to figure out how Donald Trump is changing the media in
	...

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