Even before the start of his second term, the notoriously litigious Donald Trump is leaning hard into his promise to exact revenge on his critics. Just days after winning a defamation suit against ABC News, he filed another lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and is threatening legal action against even more outlets.
Will journalists cower under his pressure?
Richard Tofel, a veteran journalist and the former president of ProPublica, joined KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024 to discuss what’s ahead.
Listen here:
“It’s important not to get carried away here. We have in this country, at least to this moment, the strongest press protections under the law of any country in the world,” he said. “I think at least to this moment, Trump's ability to intimidate the press has been a bit overrated.”
Tofel said he was shocked by ABC News agreeing to settle a defamation suit brought by Trump because they seemed more likely to win the case if it went to trial. However, smaller outlets with less money could have a bigger problem if Trump sued them.
“This is why I was very concerned about the ABC result. The major news organizations need to, and heretofore have, stood up to him,” he said. “He filed a suit, for instance, against Bloomberg that he later admitted he did – even though he didn't think he would win – just to cost the reporter money. But he did ultimately lose the case. Bloomberg forced him to defend it and proved that its story was true.”
Tofel said it’s possible ABC News’ attorneys found a legal problem that would have complicated their defense, causing them to settle. If that’s the case, Tofel said he wants the Walt Disney Company, which owns the network, to publicly explain what happened.
“There is an alternative hypothesis here that the Disney Company, one of the richest companies in the country, has just capitulated, for no particularly good reason, to the president of the United States,” he said. “That would be enormously concerning.”
Listen to the full episode above to hear from Art Sackler, president of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, about Trump’s plans to privatize the USPS, and catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 every weekday at 2:30 p.m.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok