What Trump really thinks of the media — in his own words
Donald Trump’s latest feud with CNN, Politico and MS NOW is already a legal and political story. The language the US president has used to describe what he believes is wrong with the American press tells volumes about his true stance on the media.
Over the past year Trump has described parts of the media as a national security threat, questioned why outlets that are consistently negative should have White House access, suggested broadcasters could be subject to scrutiny of their licences and pushed to end federal funding for NPR and PBS.
The rhetoric has been especially hot recently. Here are some of the most remarkable things Trump has said about the media, in his own words.
- ‘Fake news’ has ‘grown like Cancer’
- ‘Why should I have to give access to such people?’
- ‘The Oval Office… should not be defiled by Third Rate Clowns’
- ‘I don’t think a court should allow fake news… day after day’
- ‘They never write a good story’
- ‘I think we’re repressive also’
- ‘Radical, woke propaganda disguised as news’
‘Fake news’ has ‘grown like Cancer’
Trump said the White House was «not instituting an assault on the Free Press», which he said he cherished.
Instead, he argued, it was targeting «FAKE NEWS», which had «grown like cancer» and had become «a threat to our national security».
The remarks came in a 21 September Truth Social post after CNN, Politico and MS NOW went to court seeking the restoration of their White House access.
‘Why should I have to give access to such people?’
Trump has increasingly linked access not simply to whether reporting is accurate, but also to how negative he believes it is.
In the same statement, he complained that «Virtually every story about me… is negative» and asked, «Why should I have to give ‘access’ to such people?»
‘The Oval Office… should not be defiled by Third Rate Clowns’
Trump’s criticism became more personal while discussing who should be allowed into the president’s workspace.
Read more: Trump’s $10Bn defamation lawsuit against BBC set for 2027 trial
The Oval Office, he wrote, should be treated with «Decorum, Respect, and Dignity» rather than being «defiled by Third Rate Clowns» who, in his view, deliberately distort their reporting.
He also singled out individual newspapers days earlier, telling reporters, «The New York Times is so fake. The Washington Post is disgusting.»
‘I don’t think a court should allow fake news… day after day’
Trump has also questioned what protection courts should give to reporting he considers false.
Asked about the First Amendment implications of restricting reporters, he said, «I don’t think that a court should allow fake news to be written day after day after day.»
He added that someone should have the right to keep journalists away «if they’re going to write false stories all the time.»
Read more: Donald Trump announces $15Bn defamation lawsuit against New York Times
‘They never write a good story’
Trump repeatedly points to the tone of his coverage as evidence that major news organisations are unfair to him.
During the same Oval Office exchange, he said, «they never write a good story,» and complained that a country could allow people to write «purposely negative stories.»
He then drew a distinction between an outlet’s right to publish and its access to him: journalists could write what they wanted, he said, but that did not mean he had to admit them to the White House.
‘I think we’re repressive also’
One of the more unexpected exchanges came when Trump was asked what signal his treatment of reporters might send before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit, given China’s restrictions on journalism.
Trump initially replied: «I think we’re repressive also.»
He immediately clarified the remark, saying the United States did not repress reporters but instead had a problem with «fake news.»
‘Radical, woke propaganda disguised as news’
Trump’s dispute with the press has extended beyond White House correspondents.
In May 2025, he ordered the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop federal funding for NPR and PBS.
The White House accused the organisations of «radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news’» and argued that taxpayers should not subsidise outlets that the administration deemed biased.
Read more: Trump threatens legal action against BBC over edited Panorama clip
The executive order itself stated that neither organisation provided a «fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events.» NPR and PBS disputed the administration’s characterisation and challenged its authority to cut the funding.
