President-elect Donald Trump said Monday that he feels he has an “obligation to be open and available” to the press — and insisted he is “not looking for retribution” despite what his harshest critics say.
In another sign that his second non-consecutive term will depart dramatically from the first, Trump, 78, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he has “an obligation to the American public, and to our country itself, to be open and available to the press.”
“I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly, or even badly beyond comprehension,” he added of his apparently magnanimous turn.
“I am always looking to give a second and even third chance, but never willing to give a fourth chance — that is where I hold the line.”
However, the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president warned that his openness “will end” if he is “not treated fairly” by the press corps.
Trump’s first four years in the White House were marked by fierce battles with left-of-center journalists and outlets — with CNN’s Jim Acosta memorably losing his credentials following a particularly heated exchange — and misleading or out-of-context coverage of some of his public remarks.
As the Republican nominee, Trump continued to lean into the combative relationship — particularly in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign after he was falsely accused of wanting to “execute” former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney.
Vice President Kamala Harris fed that narrative, invoking media reports to claim that Trump was a “fascist” leader on a par with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
“In just the past week, Donald Trump has repeatedly called his fellow Americans the enemy from within, and even said that he would use the United States military to go after American citizens,” Harris, 60, said in remarks at her Naval Observatory residence on Oct. 23.
“Let’s be clear about who he considers to be the enemy from within. Anyone who refuses to bend a knee or dares to criticize him would qualify, in his mind, as the enemy within — like judges, like journalists, like non-partisan election officials.”
Trump campaign staff went on to bar Politico, Axios and Puck News from its election night watch party event.
Axios has since reported that there could be a shake up of the 49 seats allotted for the White House briefings in the new year, with more Trump-friendly outlets given more access.
But the president-elect disagreed with the characterization, telling Fox News Digital: “In order to Make America Great Again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair and open media or press.”
“We’re off to a good start, and I will be open and free as to further developments as they take place, [and] that includes media relationships,” he said, noting that he “obviously” has “the upper hand at this moment.”
Trump also extended his gratitude to the “many reporters, journalists, shows and new media sources, of which there are many, who were truthful, honest and professional over the years of both my presidency and candidacies.”
In a November 2018 exchange that went viral, Acosta refused to relinquish a shared microphone during a tense press conference at the White House, brushing aside a young female aide as he peppered the president with questions about a migrant caravan.
In February 2019, Trump also branded the New York Times the “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” for their coverage of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of potential links between his 2016 campaign and Russian officials.
“The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today,” he said at the time. “Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control.”
“Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!” he added.
The president-elect also revealed that he had patched things up with some of his fiercest detractors, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and his co-host/wife, Mika Brzezinski, during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago last Friday.
“I received a call from Joe Scarborough requesting a meeting for him and Mika, and I agreed that it would be a good thing if such meeting took place,” he recounted, calling the face-to-face meeting “extremely cordial.”
“We talked about various cabinet members — both announced and to be announced. As expected, they like some very much, but not all,” he said. “The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future.
“Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication,” Trump added. “In many ways, it’s too bad that it wasn’t done long ago.”
The couple also apparently told Trump he ran a “great and flawless campaign, one for the history books,” according to his retelling of the conversation.
