Liberal media tries to curry favor with Trump
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Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough reveal their Mar-a-Lago visit on yesterday's show. Screenshot: MSNBC
Progressive media outlets are trying to curry favor with President-elect Trump, ruffling the feathers of their audiences.
Why it matters: Resistance media benefitted enormously from outrage engagement during Trump's first term, but the dynamics are different now.
- Frustrated by the mainstream media's coverage of President Biden's age and its false sense of optimism behind Vice President Harris' campaign, viewers are more skeptical today of the media's resistance posturing.
Driving the news: "Morning Joe" co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reestablished diplomatic relations with their Florida neighbor after years of taunting him, per Axios' Mike Allen.
- The hour-plus meeting at Mar-a-Lago, revealed on yesterday's MSNBC show, was "cordial," according to Trump, who spoke about it on Fox News.
- After revealing the meeting, the hosts were attacked online for "normalizing" the former president.
Zoom out: MSNBC isn't the only outlet trying to repair relations with Trump amid broader mainstream media trust issues coming out of the election.
- Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong told Fox News Thursday he's making changes to ensure "the views of all" in his paper.
- The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos congratulated Trump on his win, shortly after his paper reportedly lost 250,000 subscriptions due to his decision to yank the paper's endorsement of Harris.
- Social media influencers are leaning into the MAGA madness in an effort to curry favor with brands, per The Cut.
What we're watching: The biggest winner of Trump's second election is Fox News.
- Despite a historic defamation lawsuit and the ousting of its top anchor last year, Fox has continued to grow its cable news dominance in 2024.
- In selecting two Fox News personalities for Cabinet positions, Trump has signaled that he will continue to rely on Fox News as his cable mouthpiece.
