Today, Saturday morning, I received some good news in the mail from The Guardian. A judge threw out a $250 million case against them from Donald Trump’s media company.
The suit goes back to March, 2023, when The Guardian revealed that a federal criminal investigation was examining Trump Media, owners of “Truth Social,” the president’s media platform. The issue was its acceptance of $8 million of loans from suspected Russian ties. Those loans “helped keep the company afloat long enough for Trump to take it public last year, when he netted an additional paper fortune of about $4.6 billion.”
Trump Media sued The Guardian for defamation and $250 million in damages, complaining in its suit that “The Guardian harbors bias against [Trump Media] and frequently publishes articles critical of Donald Trump.” I didn’t know that publishing articles critical of a politician was deserving of a lawsuit. Did you?
Kudos to The Guardian for not caving to the powers that can hire teams of (value-free) lawyers to sue whomever they want, whenever they want. Especially the defenseless.
Bravo to The Guardian for not groveling at the feet of powerful politicians that want nothing more than to intimidate and bankrupt the press, so that all criticism ceases. We know all too well the big-name media titans who have gotten on their knees to curry favor with this fascist government. They have made moral fools of themselves.
We are reminded of the warnings from historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, who laid out “Twenty Lessons on Fighting Tyranny from the Twentieth Century.” Among them for all media leaders and readers to consider are these: #1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked.
Sadly, big-time media has so acted before our very eyes. Let us not forget it. Let us seek out media with a conscience. Big media, like big corporations everywhere, readily sells its conscience for power access.
#11. Investigate. Spend more time with long articles….Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you.
#20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.
Speaking of courageous media, there are others besides The Guardian standing up and speaking truth to power. To name just a few, there is Mary Trump, cousin of the president. She tells the story of the tech industry giants and CEOs from Google, Amazon, Meta and Lockheed Martin defense contractors, who wrote multi-million-dollar donations for Trump’s “gaudy ballroom.”
These “moguls hold over $279 billion in federal contracts” and over half of those in attendance were facing federal investigations for everything from violating labor laws to protecting the environment. Trump being “the billionaires’ puppet,” these corporations are sure to receive still more lucrative contracts while investigations are certain to be dropped. “Donald has always been for sale,” she reminds us.**
Another journalist worthy of praise is Gil Duran, who has been following closely the rise of a peculiar phenomenon from Silicon Valley which is working feverishly to replace democracy with a religion of billionaires, by billionaires and for billionaires. Buying up the media is a big part of their strategy.
Another prophetic voice in the media worthy of trust is that of Thom Hartmann, whose regular column is excellent. His new book, The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink tells the story behind the story of the current administration: How the system itself created a figure like Donald Trump: From his brutal childhood to Roy Cohn’s mentorship in shamelessness, from a corrupted Republican Party to billionaire puppet masters, Trump was manufactured by the very institutions meant to protect us.
The bottom line? “Political cowardice and corporate greed created the perfect storm threatening our species survival.”
The media is indispensable to democracy. The destruction of it is indispensable to fascism.
To be continued.
* Georgia Warren, “How the Guardian beat Trump Media in Court,” The Guardian, November 29, 2025.
** Mary L. Trump, “The Grift Goes On,” The Good In Us, November 13, 2025.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner Image: Concept art for the fever-dream ballroom that Trump wants to build in place of the now-destroyed East Wing. Photo from the White House website.
Queries for Contemplation
How do you control and discern your media choices and choose wisely?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society.
Religion USA: Religion and Culture by way of TIME Magazine.
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jen Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
“Warriors for Ecological and Economic Justice,” in Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Times.
Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation.
6 thoughts on “Trump vs. The Media: A Guardian Victory & Lessons For Media Who Grovel”
Mary Trump is a niece of DT not cousin. I am pleased for all your thoughts.
Karin
I’m also a supporter of PBS and the Spirit of Love, Wisdom, Truth, Peace, Justice, Healing, Transformation, Creativity, Beauty, Joy, and Compassion… PRESENT in Its many forms and manifestations within, through, and among Us in the Sacred Process/Divine Flow of the Eternal Present Moment of Our Evolving LOVING DIVERSE ONENESS of Our Humanity, Sacred Mother Earth, and All physical/nonphysical spiritual beings and dimensions of Our Co-Creation COSMOS….
Since January, I have had to control and limit the news I take in, as too much negativity makes it hard for me to appreciate the goodness in God’s world and to hold onto hope and trust in the future. I’ve stopped watching MSNBC even though I believe its analysis of the global situation is generally deep and truthful. As a writer and playwright who often writes from an understanding of what’s happening in our world and how to move us in a better direction, I do need to know what’s going on, however. Otherwise, I can’t help. I’ve had monthly subscriptions to the New York Times and PBS for years. I read The Times and listen to NPR. This summer, I upped my monthly donation to PBS and begun monthly donations to NPR and The Guardian even though I can read or listen for free. These are my sources for information, along with updates from my partner David a la MSNBC and a few well-chosen podcasts like Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner. To navigate these times, I need every spiritual practice I can get–both Buddhist and Christian. I hope you will understand if sometimes I need to take a few days break from your essays, Matthew. Sometimes, the Via Negativa is just too much for me.
Since January, I have had to control and limit the news I take in, as too much negativity makes it hard for me to appreciate the goodness in God’s world and to hold onto hope and trust in the future. I’ve stopped watching MSNBC even though I believe its analysis of the global situation is generally deep and truthful. As a writer and playwright who often writes from an understanding of what’s happening in our world and how to move us in a better direction, I do need to know what’s going on, however. Otherwise, I can’t help. I’ve had monthly subscriptions to the New York Times and PBS for years. I read The Times and listen to NPR. This summer, I upped my monthly donation to PBS and begun monthly donations to NPR and The Guardian even though I can read or listen for free. These are my sources for information, along with updates from my partner David a la MSNBC and a few well-chosen podcasts like Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner. To navigate these times, I need every spiritual practice I can get–both Buddhist and Christian. I hope you will understand if sometimes I need to take a few days break from your essays, Matthew. Sometimes, the Via Negativa is just too much for me.
I typically do not watch the news and rely on Stephen Colbert to expose the most ridiculous/harmful events of the day. I do look at headlines but rely on free sources like The Guardian, The Contrarian (founded in January by rebels from the main media sources like the Washington Post), and the Phoenix for the state of Florida. It is telling that one can subscribe but it is not required as these are publishing, not for money primarily, but for the common weal. I support PBS with a small monthly donation to my local station, and I do subscribe to the Christian Science Monitor because it is even-handed and reports in depth. I also get regular reports from organizations I support as to what needs to be done in terms of signing petitions or communicating with members of Congress. I usually just skim all of these sources because, as Michelle points out, it is too easy to get bogged down in the negative. I think it is safe to conclude that there is no depravity too extreme for this current administration to indulge in, so the details do not matter unless I can help in some way. In this advent season especially, it is essential for me to keep hope and peace and love in the forefront.
Hello Matthew –
I look forward to and enjoy your emails and thank you for continuing to wrestle with Trump, other evil politicians, and their cronies.
I do want to point out a small error in today’s email: Mary Trump is Donald Trump’s niece, not cousin. She is the daughter of Donald Trump’s deceased brother.
Thank you –