NASA astronaut Anil Menon and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk perform spacewalk to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA). One of the most sobering realities of the past two years is this: As Donald Trump has broken laws and defied the Constitution, he has faced almost no accountability. Not from Congress, not from the Department of Justice and other arms of the government that are supposed to be independent, not from the Supreme Court.
But there’s been one force for accountability that has managed to survive Trump’s threats and manipulation: the free press. When his nominee for health secretary, RFK Jr, lied to the Senate about how his anti-vaccine advocacy was linked to the deaths of 72 children in a measles outbreak, the Guardian found the letters proving his deception. When Pete Hegseth claimed the war in Iran was going smoothly, the Guardian helped uncover the real death toll and the suffering of US troops aboard the USS Lincoln, who faced deprivation at sea for more than 10 months.
When ICE killed Renée Good and Alex Pretti – and Trump claimed they’d attacked ICE agents – the Guardian reported on their nonviolent actions to protect their neighbors. With the press standing in the way of Trump’s free rein, it’s no wonder that he has used his bully pulpit to attack journalists – and the first amendment – more viciously than any previous president. He has banned CNN and other outlets from the White House and Air Force One for reporting he didn’t like.
He has called reporters – especially female reporters of color – “piggy”, “ugly, both inside and out”, “crooked”, “stupid” and “the enemy of the American people”. He has demanded the Federal Communications Commission – a supposedly independent regulator – punish reporters he doesn’t agree with. Trump wants to shut up the free press because he knows an informed citizenry is his worst nightmare.
In one week, this informed citizenry will vote on his political future. Depending on the outcome, we may see more accountability from an emboldened Congress, in which case the Guardian’s reporters will be there to cover any investigations into the Trump administration’s corruption, deceit and abuse of power. No matter the result, the Guardian will never be cowed, never go quiet because a tyrant – or any politician – tells us to.
The Guardian is fortunate to have no billionaire owner and no corporate overlord. Of course, without a wealthy owner, we depend on our readers to keep us strong, to fund our investigations and to pay our journalists and editors for their hard work. **To sustain our fearless journalism, we need $2,000,000 in reader support by the end of the year. We know the economy is in a rut – if you can’t afford to contribute, please keep reading all our reporting for free.
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