Former President Joe Biden used his farewell address to warn about an “oligarchy” around President Donald Trump, and the media have responded by teaching such concerns as if they are an objective fact. Case in point: CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter joined Tuesday morning’s CNN News Central to react to Monday’s inauguration and dubbed it “the inauguration of the oligarchs.” Stelter also feared that Trump’s relationship with tech CEOs will lead the latter to “quelch dissent” on their platforms and make it harder to protest Trump.
Host Sara Sidner began by wondering, “What message do you see this sending? There are only a few seats that weren't for Congress members because it was inside, and here you see Bezos, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk standing there at the inauguration.”
Stelter immediately channeled his inner Biden, “This was the inauguration of the oligarchs. It was a turning point in American history to have these men, these tech CEOs, all almost front and center with Trump, and not just at the ceremony.”
That might be a bit melodramatic, but Stelter added, “Now that Trump is in office, the question becomes, what's he going to want from these CEOs? And what are they going to want from him? What are the transactions going to be?”
Sidner then brought up the idea that Trump and the CEOs might collude to curtail Trump’s critics, “Do you see this as the potential for pay to play, where Trump can pressure them, and they can help him out with other things, i.e., the messaging on their apps?”
Stelter replied, “One hundred percent. We have to see what they do. Meta and Google right now are being sued by the U.S. government for violating antitrust laws. For example, Mark Zuckerberg would like— this is one of those cases to go away.”
He also worried, “I'm also really curious to see if we get to a point where Trump tries to pressure these companies to quelch dissent.”
Continuing in his doom-mongering, Stelter continued:
You know, right now Trump is promising to end censorship, right? That's one of his executive orders. No more censorship by the government. But let's imagine that there are controversies that arise in the coming days, weeks, and months, maybe about immigration. Is Trump going to want these platforms to quiet some of the critics, to quelch dissent, to stop protests? You know, the thing about these platforms, they're so powerful, they shape what we think and what we do. They can also shape what we don't do. I've already seen columnists warning and worrying that maybe it's going to be harder to organize protests if these apps don't make it so easy.
That’s quite the concern. It would be quite bad if social media companies ban users from sharing information harmful to a certain politician, but last time it happened, Stelter chose to focus on the “so-called scandal” of the allegations and not the censorship itself because the party affiliations were swapped.
Here is a transcript for the January 21 show:
CNN News Central
1/21/2025
9:50 AM ET
SARA SIDNER: What message do you see this sending? There are only a few seats that weren't for Congress members because it was inside, and here you see Bezos, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk standing there at the inauguration.
BRIAN STELTER: This was the inauguration of the oligarchs. It was a turning point in American history to have these men, these tech CEOs, all almost front and center with Trump, and not just at the ceremony.
We're also showing scenes from the weekend at some of these parties, some of these galas where Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos and others were hanging out, talking shop. We know Elon Musk is the tech CEO closest to Trump personally, but these other moguls are trying to make sure they are cozy, cozying up to the incoming president as well.
And I think we should take stock of this and say, why are these men so rich? Why do they have so much power? It's kind of because of us. We're the users. We're the ones using their platforms. We're the ones buying ads and products on their platforms. So that is where the power comes from. But now, now that Trump is in office, the question becomes, what's he going to want from these CEOs? And what are they going to want from him? What are the transactions going to be?
SIDNER: Do you see this as the potential for pay to play, where Trump can pressure them, and they can help him out with other things, i.e., the messaging on their apps?
STELTER: One hundred percent. We have to see what they do. Meta and Google right now are being sued by the U.S. government for violating antitrust laws. For example, Mark Zuckerberg would like— this is one of those cases to go away.
Meta has lots of other business before the government, and so does Google, and so does other companies, especially in the realm of A.I., where all of them are investing heavily into A.I. I'm also really curious to see if we get to a point where Trump tries to pressure these companies to quelch dissent. I can't get that word out, quelch descent.
You know, right now Trump is promising to end censorship, right? That's one of his executive orders. No more censorship by the government. But let's imagine that there are controversies that arise in the coming days, weeks, and months, maybe about immigration. Is Trump going to want these platforms to quiet some of the critics, to quelch dissent, to stop protests? You know, the thing about these platforms, they're so powerful, they shape what we think and what we do. They can also shape what we don't do. I've already seen columnists warning and worrying that maybe it's going to be harder to organize protests if these apps don't make it so easy.
