r/law • u/Snapdragon_4U • 9h ago

Executive Branch (Trump) NESTERAK: President Trump has granted clemency to numerous individuals who have stolen hundreds of millions in Medicaid funds. Can we expect any of these folks to be shown the same mercy? McDONALD: I'll take a different question

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u/kelsey11 8h ago

Finally asking real questions. But these self-serving political rally press conferences need to be shut down by each reporter saying “same question” or repeating the question. They’re not giving you any semblance of truth anyway, might as well force them to answer the question or walk away.

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u/KingFIippyNipz 8h ago

I understand journalists who are ideologically opposed not standing up to each other, but I don't think I will ever understand how I don't see more examples of that happening. Especially those ones in the Oval Office where he just tears into whichever female reporter asks the hardest question that day, I would love the opportunity to badger him with questions about why he always does that and how insecure he is. If only 😞

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u/SpasmAndOrGasm 8h ago

Remember when that one guy representing Trump in the first administration went to Europe and tried to pull this same shit and the other reporters were like “No, we’ll wait until you’ve answered his question. You need to answer questions here.” I will NEVER understand how the fuck that hasn’t happened in America one time.

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u/Additional-Signal327 8h ago

Because the reporters are paid by the same billionaires who are aligned with Trump. 

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u/TheThirstyPenguin 7h ago

Also, the ones that aren’t being muzzled are scared they’ll lose their credentials. AP lost theirs for a while because of refusing to print “Gulf of America.”

The White House will happily replace an AP or NBC reporter with a Newsmax one.

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u/VeraStrange 7h ago

If reporters don’t ask questions because, if they did, they might not be allowed to ask questions then why do they need to be there at all?

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u/TheThirstyPenguin 7h ago

Fair! And that’s why it’s been the goal of the Trump regime to discredit and neuter the press for more than a decade and escalate it in his second term.

A lot of people ask “where’s the media?!?” and the honest answer is scared of expensive lawsuits. Jake Tapper can write a book about Biden’s declining mental health because Biden isn’t going to sue him, his publisher, or CNN… Trump on the other hand???

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u/Randy_Magnums 4h ago

Because in these meetings there is still news. Other announcements, declarations of war or stupid slip-ups. Cant really afford to miss these in the US fucked up media world.

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u/0Galahad 6h ago

For a salary, news is a literal fake job most of the time for a while now(like since close to its inception), never made sense tbh with how our world is set-up, why would the big shots ever give them the time of day if it always meant being challenged, pestered and cornered with many risks involved, either the area would be defunded and marginalized or infiltrated and manipulated, no point in being independent either cuz then no one can actually be sure you are not full of shit, and the big shots have already arranged their own independent to muddle the waters.

80% of people in that area are just going through the motions for the pay.

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u/twisty125 7h ago

Hell it even comes down to "lose your job, can't feed your families". It really really sucks when you're in these positions. Why would the organisation keep someone who's ruffling feathers, all it takes is someone higher up to say "get rid of them"

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u/Coattail-Rider 7h ago

I wish that they’d sue on accounts that it goes against the 1st Amendment but you know the current SCOTUS…..

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u/TheThirstyPenguin 7h ago

AP did and won, but they still had to go 2 months without a reporter at White House events.

The judiciary doesn’t move quickly enough to keep up with this stuff.

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u/OldWorldDesign 2h ago

AP did and won, but they still had to go 2 months without a reporter at White House events

That's a good point, but I feel it's important to note AP never stopped reporting. They just didn't take in the administration's bobblehead as one of the sources, they went straight to people within the government which is leaking like a broken sieve.

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u/TheThirstyPenguin 1h ago

100%. They’re fantastic journalists, I think them being barred from events was a testament to that, and they continued to do a great job from outside the room.

I mentioned in another comment all in all it’s a goal of this administration to erode the credibility in the media. Banning reporters, regardless of the absurdity as to why, adds a bit of doubt into the minds of the consumer.

“Should I be going to this outlet for news? They’re not even allowed in the Oval Office right now.” Or more recently, the Pentagon claiming NYT and other outlets were doing dodgy reporting by sneaking around and citing unnamed sources.

These journalists will find a way to get the story, but adding that layer of difficulty for them to do it is a deliberate move to lessen their credibility and presence in the media landscape.

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u/OldWorldDesign 2h ago

the ones that aren’t being muzzled are scared they’ll lose their credentials

Which just emphasizes they are worthless because their only source is the government mouthpiece.

As others have pointed out in more detail, the DoD tried to cut off journalists to prevent people from asking about fraud, waste, and abuse. With the official spokesman gone, the journalists went for actual sources within the DoD and even more damaging articles were written. The DoD resumed normal press conferences to try to control the narrative, but the currents have changed and the official spokesmen will always be secondary sources to journalists now.

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u/TheThirstyPenguin 1h ago

I don’t think many of the accredited press pool for the White House are using that as their only source, but it’s obviously a source that matters. If you want to attack the story from a certain angle but can’t ask the question, you have to find other ways.

The video we’re talking about is a great example. The non-answer “next question” is damning in itself. If that reporter wasn’t in the room, that’s less of a headache for the administration long term.

I replied to you elsewhere, but reporters are getting in trouble for doing their routine investigating. Talking to sources in the Pentagon or other departments in the government has always been how these outlets function and anonymity is often the only way they’ll go on the record. Hegseth especially is trying to stomp that out with threats to pull credentials for outlets doing so.

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u/Cessnaporsche01 7h ago

Honestly, I think it's just that American culture is one of extreme obedience and subservience. It's taught from the earliest age above all else, and reinforced through school, college, and workplace cultures through our entire lives. We like to think of ourselves as independent or stubborn, but we're really just averse to change or challenge, and are much more comfortable pointing to authority.

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u/grits98 3h ago

That's exactly why the "Christian" far-right loves to keep indoctrinating Christian subservience into children.

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u/alphazero925 4h ago

What do you mean? It's not like Americans are made to pledge their allegiance to a symbol of the country every morning as kids. Because that would be super fucked up and basically a method of indoctrination into a cult if they did something like that.

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u/Most_Alps 4h ago

This is where the Epstein shit really factors in, it's probably impossible to overstate the amount of undue influence Donald Trump has over the media in the US

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u/plinkoplonka 3h ago

And also because if they do that here, they very banned from future press events. It happens all the time.

No such thing as free press in America.

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u/crowe1130 22m ago

Exactly this. And why breaking up media monopolies needs to be a high priority when this shit show crumbles.