Part of the Trump Takeover
Journalist Bari Weiss is now the head of U.S. TV network CBS News. Not being a Trump ideologist makes her perfect for the job.
It is questionable whether Bari Weiss can be described as a useful idiot for Donald Trump. The term "useful idiots" describes people who naively run propaganda for authoritarian regimes and their leaders. In the case of journalist Weiss, it can be assumed that she understands why nepo billionaire and Trump supporter David Ellison made her editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Her move from her portal The Free Press to the top of the renowned TV network, at first glance, is not the most blatant step in the ongoing consolidation of the U.S. media landscape. But it is hard to beat in terms of sheer cynicism.
Weiss made a name for herself as a conservative journalist at the Wall Street Journal, before she was recruited in 2017 by The New York Times. In her articles, she attacked the alleged excesses of the left, criticized the 2017 Women's March against Trump and described intersectionality as a new caste system.
At the time, there was a heated culture war atmosphere at The New York Times. After Weiss was unable to get herself fired as a martyr of freedom of expression, she resigned in 2020, tearfully complaining of an "illiberal environment" at the newspaper and of internal bullying. Of course, this clichéd pose caught the attention of Ulf Poschardt, who recruited her as a columnist for the German newspaper Die Welt in 2021.
Oligarchs at CBS
Now the move to the top of CBS. Founded almost a century ago, the network is one of the flagships of news broadcasting in America. Conservatives and those on the far right accuse CBS of a left-liberal bias. In reality, the network is more centrist and has made an effort to stay out of the culture wars. Until now, that is.
In July, CBS parent company Paramount paid Trump a settlement because of a ridiculous lawsuit — a tribute, so that Trump wouldn't use the Federal Communications Commission to prevent the merger of Paramount and production company Skydance Media. (Trump's FCC boss, Brendan Carr, co-wrote "Project 2025," the infamous far right renovation plan for the U.S., drafted by the Heritage Foundation think tank.)
Skydance belongs to the previously mentioned Ellison. With the merger with Paramount, he becomes the CEO of Paramount Skydance — and with it, he takes control of CBS. Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, an oligarch who founded software company Oracle. He became an early supporter of Trump and is currently ranked as the second-richest person in the world, enjoying using his billions to support far right forces in Israel and the Israeli military.
Money and Propaganda for Israel
Ellison's love for Israel connects him to Weiss. As a student at Columbia University, this free speech advocate led a campaign whose goal was to discredit Arab professors as antisemitic.
Her portal, The Free Press, which is also financed by other Trump-oligarchs such as Marc Andreessen and David Sacks, is now being sold to Paramount for around $150 million and recently took part in a broader pro-Israel propaganda campaign by pointing to preexisting medical conditions of starving children in the Gaza Strip. The Free Press and others sought to downplay the real consequences of Israel's starvation strategy. According to The Guardian, The Free Press was spoon-fed many of their "scoops" by Trump confidants.
In 2016, Weiss explained that she voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. For a while she was considered a "Never Trumper." However, after the 2024 election, she said she was happy about Trump's victory. As a conservative, she is no vulgar MAGA-slinging slur à la Tucker Carlson — but that's just what makes her perfect for Trump and Ellison.
Journalist Patrick Redford sums it up in an article on the Defector portal, writing, "the project — hers and that of her backers — is to establish herself and her cohort not as new-right media, but as the new liberal media, staking out the left-most acceptable position within the new right-wing paradigm."
You cannot just put a MAGA ideologist on a centrist network like CBS. You need to be more cautious. You need someone like Weiss.
It is questionable whether Bari Weiss can be described as a useful idiot for Donald Trump. The term "useful idiots" describes people who naively run propaganda for authoritarian regimes and their leaders. In the case of journalist Weiss, it can be assumed that she understands why nepo billionaire and Trump supporter David Ellison made her editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Her move from her portal The Free Press to the top of the renowned TV network, at first glance, is not the most blatant step in the ongoing consolidation of the U.S. media landscape. But it is hard to beat in terms of sheer cynicism.
Weiss made a name for herself as a conservative journalist at the Wall Street Journal, before she was recruited in 2017 by The New York Times. In her articles, she attacked the alleged excesses of the left, criticized the 2017 Women's March against Trump and described intersectionality as a new caste system.
At the time, there was a heated culture war atmosphere at The New York Times. After Weiss was unable to get herself fired as a martyr of freedom of expression, she resigned in 2020, tearfully complaining of an "illiberal environment" at the newspaper and of internal bullying. Of course, this clichéd pose caught the attention of Ulf Poschardt, who recruited her as a columnist for the German newspaper Die Welt in 2021.
Oligarchs at CBS
Now the move to the top of CBS. Founded almost a century ago, the network is one of the flagships of news broadcasting in America. Conservatives and those on the far right accuse CBS of a left-liberal bias. In reality, the network is more centrist and has made an effort to stay out of the culture wars. Until now, that is.
In July, CBS parent company Paramount paid Trump a settlement because of a ridiculous lawsuit — a tribute, so that Trump wouldn't use the Federal Communications Commission to prevent the merger of Paramount and production company Skydance Media. (Trump's FCC boss, Brendan Carr, co-wrote "Project 2025," the infamous far right renovation plan for the U.S., drafted by the Heritage Foundation think tank.)
Skydance belongs to the previously mentioned Ellison. With the merger with Paramount, he becomes the CEO of Paramount Skydance — and with it, he takes control of CBS. Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, an oligarch who founded software company Oracle. He became an early supporter of Trump and is currently ranked as the second-richest person in the world, enjoying using his billions to support far right forces in Israel and the Israeli military.
Money and Propaganda for Israel
Ellison's love for Israel connects him to Weiss. As a student at Columbia University, this free speech advocate led a campaign whose goal was to discredit Arab professors as antisemitic.
Her portal, The Free Press, which is also financed by other Trump-oligarchs such as Marc Andreessen and David Sacks, is now being sold to Paramount for around $150 million and recently took part in a broader pro-Israel propaganda campaign by pointing to preexisting medical conditions of starving children in the Gaza Strip. The Free Press and others sought to downplay the real consequences of Israel's starvation strategy. According to The Guardian, The Free Press was spoon-fed many of their "scoops" by Trump confidants.
In 2016, Weiss explained that she voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. For a while she was considered a "Never Trumper." However, after the 2024 election, she said she was happy about Trump's victory. As a conservative, she is no vulgar MAGA-slinging slur à la Tucker Carlson — but that's just what makes her perfect for Trump and Ellison.
Journalist Patrick Redford sums it up in an article on the Defector portal, writing, "the project — hers and that of her backers — is to establish herself and her cohort not as new-right media, but as the new liberal media, staking out the left-most acceptable position within the new right-wing paradigm."
You cannot just put a MAGA ideologist on a centrist network like CBS. You need to be more cautious. You need someone like Weiss.
Previous article![]( "The Logic of US Hegemony Is the Real ‘Paper Tiger’")
