Tell Media: Cover Donald Trump's Intimidation Honestly

Donald Trump has a long, documented history of intimidating public officials, judges, prosecutors, election workers, and their families—using threats, harassment, and inflammatory rhetoric to pressure them into submission. These actions are not “political theater” or “hardball tactics.” They are deliberate intimidation campaigns that undermine the rule of law and put real people in danger.

Too often, major media outlets soften, sanitize, or normalize this behavior—framing it as controversy, personality, or partisan conflict instead of what it is: an attack on democratic institutions and the independence of public service. When the press fails to name intimidation plainly, it misleads the public and enables further abuse of power.

We call on news organizations to cover Trump’s intimidation campaigns honestly and explicitly—using accurate language, centering the harm to democratic institutions and individuals, and refusing to normalize threats against public officials. Democracy depends on a free press willing to tell the truth, even when it is uncomfortable or politically inconvenient.