“Russia hacked the election!" The left-wing media’s mantra echoed endlessly during Trump’s first term, as captured in an MRC video montage that kicked off Jesse Kelly’s interview with MRC President David Bozell last night on The First. The clip mocked the media’s frenzy, with pundits from CNN to MSNBC chanting, “Definitively, Russia hacked the election!” and leaning on the FBI, CIA, NSA, and James Clapper as their unimpeachable sources. Now, with Tulsi Gabbard revealing the Trump-Russia collusion narrative as a scheme orchestrated behind closed doors with Obama at the helm, the media’s sudden silence speaks volumes.
On I’m Right with Jesse Kelly, Bozell dissected this media-driven hoax, and why the press fell in line so eagerly.
Kelly kicked things off by asking why the media so readily pushed the Russia narrative. Bozell responded incisively, explaining, “For the left, the ends justify the means. It’s a core principle they live by.” He highlighted how the Obama administration, desperate to preserve its legacy, weaponized government tools against Trump, a businessman who dared to upend their eight-year reign. Bozell noted, “When you live in the executive order era, the presidency becomes infinitely more important,” driving the left to “do some unruly things” to trip up Trump. The media, he added, spent “over 2,000 minutes” peddling this hoax, making “baseless accusations time and time again.”
When Kelly pressed on how media figures like Jake Tapper could push a lie and still sleep at night, Bozell’s response was keen: “I don’t think they think that they’re the good guy in this story, and I don’t think that even crosses their mind.” He painted a vivid picture of journalists consumed by “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” fueled by elite caviar and wine cocktail parties and a desperate need to stay in Obama’s orbit. “They were addicted to being close to President Obama,” Bozell said, explaining their glowing coverage and refusal to cover their own complicity now, as it would mean admitting “their own culpability in this whole deal.”
Kelly shifted to the media’s declining influence, asking if their lies were costing them power. Bozell confirmed, “CNN lost 50% of its audience from the 2020 election night to the 2024 election night.” Yet, he noted, liberal outlets like The New York Times remain top-ranked on news aggregators like Google and Apple. “These networks have embedded themselves into the big tech apparatus,” he said, ensuring their narratives reach millions despite trust in media plummeting to “the low 30s” per Gallup polls.
Kelly pressed further, asking if the media’s integration with tech giants was a deliberate strategy to maintain influence. Bozell nodded, explaining, “They’re all working together. Google is going to hold up the New York Times. Microsoft is going to hold up Yahoo.” He highlighted how this collusion keeps liberal narratives dominant, even as nearly half the country — 44% — has “no trust in any media whatsoever.” Bozell saw opportunity here, noting that the media’s overreach has fueled demand for honest reporting, giving platforms like The First a chance to break through with the truth. “People are dying for a bare presentation of the news,” he concluded, “so it’s a terrific opportunity for the center-right ecosystem to shine.”
David Bozell serves as President of the Media Research Center and ForAmerica, a leading issue advocacy organization dedicated to defending constitutional rights.
Jesse Kelly is a conservative radio host and political commentator, known for hosting the nationally syndicated “The Jesse Kelly Show” radio program and “I'm Right with Jesse Kelly” on The First TV.