Trump and the far-right media have a plan

This morning, the President of the United States woke up and declared war on journalists, the media, and our free press. Before heading off to his private golf course, shielded from the headlines and the country he’s tearing apart, Donald J. Trump started the day in his gilded palace at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by enablers, getting ready for another leisurely day at a course he owns, and we pay him to use.

But before he left in his motorcade of flashing lights and taxpayer-funded security, he took a few minutes to further destroy the integrity of our free press and shared this:

Feb 07, 2026, 7:25 AM Truth Social, Donald J. Trump:

But true to the propaganda that comes out of the White House these days, what Trump is saying is the complete opposite of what this proposed merger actually means. Even Trump himself voiced his criticism against it in November, saying, “If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy.” Which raises the question: was there some sort of payoff and a guarantee that it wouldn’t directly or indirectly allow left-leaning mergers to happen? Or is this administration simply ready to take the next big leap in the authoritarian playbook because they think we won’t notice, until it’s too late?

Because this isn’t about media competition. It’s about concentrating a dangerous percentage of the market under one company, crushing dissent, silencing truth, and handing control of the national narrative to a single far-right corporation already aligned with his regime.

If the deal goes through, Nexstar would take control of Tegna, a company that already owns 64 local news stations in 51 markets across the country. Nexstar already owns or operates over 200 stations in 116 markets, along with national outlets like NewsNation, The CW, and The Hill. Together, this merger would give a single company reach to more than 80% of all local television markets in the United States.

That would decimate competition and create a monopoly. Right now, the FCC has a cap, a rule that says no single company can reach more than 39% of U.S. households through its broadcast stations. That cap exists for a reason: to protect local journalism, ensure diversity of coverage, and prevent one political or corporate interest from controlling what Americans see and hear. This merger would give them even more power to shape the news we see on our local TV station, where so many Americans come to understand what is happening in the world and in their own communities. This is especially concerning in the places where people’s trust stops with their local anchors, not extending to national networks or social media.

Under this merger, many of their stations would fall under Nexstar’s conservative-leaning umbrella. Nexstar has a history of aligning with Trump’s messaging. When the White House was angry about Jimmy Kimmel, Nexstar and Sinclair pulled Kimmel’s show from dozens of local affiliates, only to reinstate it later after public backlash (it works!). They’ve also been building up NewsNation to appear neutral on the surface, while slowly platforming more and more far-right voices.

This is about stripping away the last remaining guardrails in local media and replacing them with a single, state-aligned voice. And Trump knows exactly what he’s doing by pushing this through; replacing trusted anchors with talking points crafted to serve him. If approved, this merger would solidify the media wing of the authoritarian machine. And once it’s done, it will be nearly impossible to undo.

There is a Senate hearing this week. And that’s why he posted about it now, because he’s trying to tip the scales with intimidation and pressure. We need to make sure our senators know that we see exactly what this is, and we do not approve of this merger. And the timing is on our side right now to push back. Because behind closed doors, Republican senators are panicking. According to private polling reported by Axios, many of them are starting to realize they might not be able to hold their seats in 2026. Not just in swing states, but in places like Alaska, Iowa, and Ohio. Even Texas could be in play. They know what’s coming, and they know Trump is a liability. That’s why the pressure we apply right now matters.

This is exactly how authoritarian regimes operate. In Russia, this kind of media consolidation is the blueprint. Under Vladimir Putin, independent outlets were slowly swallowed up by state-friendly corporations, journalists were forced off the air, and dissenting voices were either jailed, exiled, or silenced. The government didn’t start by shutting everything down all at once. They started by installing allies at the top of media conglomerates, quietly buying out regional stations, and then using state regulators to threaten, fine, and dismantle any outlet that refused to play along. By the early 2000s, nearly all major television networks in Russia were fully controlled by the Kremlin or its allies. News became nothing more than a tool to reinforce power, bury the truth, and confuse the public. This is how they erased the truth about Ukraine. This is how they convinced their own citizens that resistance was betrayal. And now we’re watching the same playbook unfold here, through Truth Social posts, billionaire deals, and government-backed corporate takeovers, all broadcast from a Florida golf course while the world watches.

Russian influence and the Russian way of governing continue to grow here in the United States. Because we just learned, thanks to reporting by The Guardian, that last spring the NSA intercepted a phone call between a foreign intelligence source and someone close to Donald Trump. The call was flagged as highly sensitive. NSA officials prepared to distribute the report through the standard internal process, but Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stepped in, took a physical copy, and hand-delivered it to Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Then she instructed the NSA not to publish or share it with anyone else. That report has now been buried for eight months.

A whistleblower filed a formal complaint, saying Gabbard blocked the report from reaching Congress. And under federal law, when a whistleblower files that kind of complaint, it should reach Congress within 21 days. Instead, Gabbard’s office appears to have delayed it for months, then finally sent members of the “gang of eight”, Senators and House leaders privy to classified information from the executive branch, a heavily redacted version for review.

And here’s what makes it even more alarming: Gabbard assigned one of her own top political advisers, Dennis Kirk, to the intelligence watchdog office, the very office that’s supposed to investigate her. That same adviser helped write Project 2025, the Trump regime’s blueprint for dismantling democratic institutions. Gabbard has denied any wrongdoing and blames it on Biden-era intelligence officials. This is not how oversight works in a democracy. This is how it works in Russia.

And this all leaves me asking, what kind of country have we become where any of this is just another day in America? We have masked men rounding up immigrants in the streets, hand-picked loyalists burying intelligence reports, and the president himself calling the free press “the enemy” while pushing to put a single far-right company in 80 percent of our local news markets. And somehow, life still goes on around it.

Last night I went out to dinner. And as I sat there listening to the conversations around me, about job loss and the endless search for something new, soaring healthcare costs, impossible childcare decisions, working multiple full-time jobs just to stay afloat, getting by with less and less, I kept thinking about how this past year has broken so many people in so many ways. But not once did I hear anyone say what’s actually causing it. Not once.

It was all just spoken like it was inevitable. Like this is just how life is now. But it’s not. Trump’s tariffs have driven up prices. His policies have triggered job losses. His entire authoritarian playbook is about consolidating wealth at the very top, keeping his enablers rich while so many are pushed into survival mode. Because people struggling to survive are easier to scare. Easier to divide. Easier to control. And that’s the plan.

It’s happening fast, but also just slow enough that people aren’t connecting the dots. And that’s exactly how it happened in the 1930s in Germany. Dachau opened in March 1933, just weeks after Hitler became chancellor. But those early camps were for political prisoners, dissidents, communists, anyone who pushed back. It took eight years to get from Dachau to the gas chambers. Eight years of dehumanizing specific groups, of propaganda, police violence, and the control of information. Eight years of people looking the other way and of loyalists being placed where watchdogs used to be. The systematic extermination, the Final Solution, didn’t begin until 1941. Each step normalized the next.

We are in the early years of that timeline now. The dehumanization of immigrants, purging of independent watchdogs, placement of loyalists in positions meant to check power, attacks on a free press, the use of law enforcement as a political weapon, and the normalization of cruelty. None of this is the end of the story. But every historian who studies this period will tell you that we are deep into the opening act of the story. But we still have time to stop it. That’s why we have to be honest about where we are. Our job is to call it out loudly and repeatedly.

And I know, it can feel overwhelming. Because the truth is, we don’t have the tools right now to end this in one clean move. We don’t have a lever to pull. The only thing that would stop it all in its tracks would be a full national shutdown. If enough people stopped working, stopped shopping, stopped complying, and filled the streets every single day, this regime would crumble under its own weight. They can arrest people, but they can’t arrest everyone. Local law enforcement would start to flip. So would some of the politicians still propping him up, not because they care, but because they’d realize the ship is sinking and they’d want off.

But until that happens, our job is to slow everything down. Every delay matters. Every legal ruling that follows the law instead of the regime buys us more time. We’re seeing that now with judges who are still ruling based on facts and precedent, even if the decisions get appealed later. It’s still causing friction.

And so is protest. I know it can feel small, but it’s not. Every time you refuse to be silent, online, in your community, and in your spending, it matters. When you show up with a sign, when you support independent media, when you shop local, when you speak out, you’re slowing them down. You’re reminding other people that they’re not alone. You’re sending a message to those in power that we still see what they’re doing, and we’re not okay with it.

If we weren’t doing all of that, if there was no resistance at all, we would be in a much darker place. Everything we’ve done, and everything we continue to do, has made a huge impact. We know this because Trump is lashing out. His administration is burying whistleblower reports, trying to merge media empires, and rewriting laws at breakneck speed, because public pressure is working. We know this because they’re scared of the truth getting out. And they should be.

Because we are ready for the fight ahead. We are not going quiet. I’m still working nonstop to make sure the truth overshadows the lies. And I understand the importance of reaching people where they are, which is why I’m grateful to share that my daily posts are now available as a podcast. You can hear each one in my voice, on all major platforms, just by searching Heather Delaney Reese on your favorite listening app.

To those of you who’ve supported this work through paid memberships: thank you. You are the reason this is possible. Because of you, I’ve been able to expand how these messages are shared, and still keep every word completely free from paywalls. That’s not easy, but it matters. We have to make sure the truth is accessible to everyone, including the people who don’t even know they need to hear it yet.

We have important work ahead, and we are going to need each other to get through the midterms. What helps me is to have an action plan. For now, I’m focused on supporting independent media and journalists, while refusing to support companies that continue to back Trump and his enablers. I remind myself daily that nothing is perfect, but every choice still counts. Even when the options aren’t ideal, every single decision I make adds. I’m also talking about the terrible things happening in this country every chance I get, online and off. I’m encouraging as many people as I can, especially women, to prepare now for the restrictions we know are coming. If you’ve changed your name since birth, make a plan to get your paperwork in order. Have your documents ready. Create a paper trail that connects all of the names you have used. Because this regime is counting on confusion, silence, and voter suppression, and we’re not giving them any of it. They’re counting on being able to limit who can vote, delay registration, and intimidate people into staying home. But we’re not letting that happen.

And through all of it, I’m still choosing joy, meaning, and community. Because they don’t get to take that from us. No matter how much power they hoard or how much fear they try to spread, they cannot take away who we are. That stand, right there, is what gives me hope for America. Because that’s what it truly means to be American: to resist with purpose, to protect what’s good, and to never let them rewrite who we are. And you should feel that hope too.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

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This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.