Just the other day, during a presser on the Supreme Court tariff decision, President Trump was taking questions from the White House press pool about the decision. At one point, he pointed, and then as one person started speaking, the president said, "Not you. I don't talk to CNN. You're fake news." He then called on another person, seated nearby.
New, President Trump's verbal filter doesn't always work, but in this case, he's correct; CNN has, for some time now, been nothing so much as the Anti-Trump, Anti-Republican Network, and they grow more blatant about it every day. In one recent piece, CNN's Erin Burnett tweeted a breathless video featuring her colleague, Brianna Keilar, bemoaning the fact that Department of Homeland Security agents were arresting (gasp) American citizens! Well, yes, Erin, if you interfere with federal law enforcement doing their jobs, you're going to get arrested.
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, took to his own X account to call her out.
Erin, you’re not a real journalist. If you did five minutes of actual fact-checking, you would know we have charged more than 100 individuals in Los Angeles, and the majority have been convicted. We’re happy to provide you with a list if you care about facts as much as you care… https://t.co/M2FMaseX1M
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) February 21, 2026
The post continues:
We’re happy to provide you with a list if you care about facts as much as you care about propaganda.
Also, despite the histrionics in your reporting, U.S. citizens are not immune from prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 111 for impeding or assaulting agents. DHS agents investigate and arrest criminals every day, regardless of citizenship.
The number of arrests is unprecedented because we have never experienced this level of obstruction of federal law enforcement operations. We will not be deterred in enforcing the rule of law.
This reporting by CNN isn't news. It isn't reporting. It's propagandizing.
Read More: The Worst News Outlets of the Week - Who Dominated in Dysfunctional Coverage?
What's worse, it's propagandizing posing as reporting.
Look, bias in journalism isn't necessarily wrong if it's opinion journalism. My own biases are well-known, and while I do at times cover straight news pieces with the Joe Friday approach - "Just the facts, ma'am", I am an advocate; I comment on news stories and events and generally include my own thoughts. I am an advocate for conservative causes, for liberty, for the rule of law, and I am very open about that. Most of us here at RedState do likewise.
But too much of the legacy media tries to pass off opinion as unbiased journalism. That's what the CNN piece here is doing, and she apparently couldn't be arsed to get her facts right before releasing this. CNN has, since its inception, tried to pass itself off as a dispassionate news reporting outlet. More and more, every day, we see that it is anything but that.
Fortunately for viewers and readers, the Trump administration and the president himself don't flinch away from calling the legacy media out when they engage in this kind of corral litter. Let's hope that's a trend that catches on with the GOP in general.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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