Trump Says Media Has No Credibility After Landslide Election Win
Trump claims his presidential victory proves the press lacks credibility and urges outlets to regain public respect.
WASHINGTON D.C. — LEDE Donald Trump declared the American media has lost all credibility, arguing that his presidential election victory proves the press failed to sway voters. Trump said he won the White House “IN A LANDSLIDE” despite what he called “only bad Press and Fake News.” Trump framed his win as evidence that critical coverage carried no weight. Trump said he wants news organizations to regain lost respect.
VERBATIM Here is the full post on [truthsocial]: “With only bad Press and Fake News, I won the Presidential Election IN A LANDSLIDE. Therefore, the Media has NO CREDIBILITY! If it did, that Historic Win would not have been possible. I want them to gain the Respect which they have so sadly lost, and help, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump” Posted July 11, 2026 at 4:54 PM ET.
This is the first message released by Trump today, July 11, 2026. On average, Trump produces about 17 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
NARRATIVE The message tied the president’s electoral success directly to a broader argument about the news industry. Trump asserted that a “Historic Win” would not have been possible if the media held genuine credibility with voters. He offered no polling data or vote totals in the post to support the landslide characterization. The claim renews a long-running theme in his public messaging about press coverage.
The stakes center on the relationship between the presidency and the news organizations that cover it. News outlets stand to lose standing if the public accepts the president’s framing that critical reporting reflects bias rather than fact. Reporters and editors who cover the administration face continued pressure over their credibility. Voters who rely on the press for information sit at the center of the dispute.
Trump has repeatedly attacked mainstream coverage as “Fake News” since his first term, making the theme a fixture of his political identity. He used the label throughout his 2016 and 2020 campaigns and carried it into his current term. The pattern has shaped how his supporters and critics interpret news about his administration. The latest post extends that record rather than breaking new ground.
For the average US reader, the exchange touches how information about government reaches the public each day. When a sitting president tells tens of millions of followers that news outlets lack credibility, it can influence which sources people trust for reports on the economy, health, and national security. That trust shapes decisions from voting to personal finance.
Has this happened before? Yes, this has happened before. Trump has posted similar attacks on the press throughout his political career, and disputes between presidents and the news media stretch back generations. His messaging on the subject has been a consistent feature of his time in public life.
The next move rests with news organizations and their audiences, who will decide how to respond to the president’s framing. No formal decision, hearing, or deadline tied to the post has been announced.
BUTTON Friction between a president and the press isn’t the first time an American leader has clashed with the newspapers of the day. Thomas Jefferson, who served as the third president from 1801 to 1809, wrote in 1807 that “nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper,” even though he had once championed a free press (see britannica.com). John Adams signed the Sedition Act of 1798, a law that led to the prosecution of several newspaper editors before it expired in 1801 (see britannica.com). Those early battles ended without silencing the press, and the papers that Adams targeted outlasted his single term in office.
In the last 30 days, 11 of 510 Trump posts focused on media bias.
Source: Zenger real-time database of all Truth Social posts.
Note: Chart generated on July 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM ET
Source: Zenger analysis
Note: Table generated by https://zenger.news on July 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM ET