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THE MEGA MONEY IN HATING & LOVING TRUMP

You ever wonder why The NY Times always blasts Trump? If Trump was to cure world hunger, they’d likely run an article entitled, “Trump serves toxic food to the world.”

You ever wonder why Ben Shapiro went from calling Trump the “biggest loser” in 2016, to now praising his nearly every move?

BIAS SELLS

Years ago, a few days after releasing my first film on immigration, ‘THEY COME TO AMERICA’, I found myself sitting at a banquet table in D.C. I was new to the political scene — my Fox News appearances had just started.

I was at a fundraiser put on by the immigration lobbying group, NUMBERS USA. Sitting at my table was Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The speaker on stage was announcing me — I was about to give a speech. Not thinking I could hear him, Grassley asked the girl next to him who I was and why hadn’t he heard of my film. She answered, “It’s an unbiased documentary — it gives the real story, so it pisses everyone off — he’s new — he didn’t know any better — he’s a guy without a side.”

Not having a side meant I didn’t have the conservative or liberal movements cheering me on. The Left didn’t like it that my film didn’t show empathy for the illegals. The Right didn’t like it when I said they were guilty for hiring undocumented workers. This was my first lesson in news — bias sells.

ONE-SIDED NEWS

The bias in news, especially online, has never been worse than it is today. It is one reason why the country is largely divided. I don’t see it getting better with time, and the reason ties to money. There is a fortune to be made in selling biased, one-sided news.

It’s a huge paradox: while the American people claim to crave unbiased reporting, their wallets tell a different story—subscriptions to openly partisan outlets are soaring, driving massive profits for media companies that lean hard into bias. So the question becomes this: News consumers — do they truly want objectivity or do they truly desire comfort reporting (a.k.a. the stuff that makes them feel good).

From liberal giants like The New York Times to new era conservative outlets like The Daily Wire, the data shows bias isn’t just thriving—it’s a cash cow.

THE NY TIMES

Hating on Trump is a sport — the better you are at the sport, the more money you make.

When Trump took office in 2016, The Times struck gold by turning anti-Trump sentiment into a thriving business model —especially with a left-leaning audience desperate for every damning story, true or slanted, to fuel their disdain. Today, I defy you to find ONE ARTICLE on The NY Times website that offers a compliment or a single nice word about Trump and his administration. It’s impossible, you’ll never find it. Hating on Trump is huge money!

Subscription data tells the tale: The Times digital-only subscribers jumped from 1.9 million in 2016 to 6.7 million by 2020, and soared to 11.09 million by 2024 when Trump was the nominee. The Times has capitalized on Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) like no other.

The Times Revenue 
It’s climbed from $1.555 billion in 2016 to $2.426 billion in 2023, with digital subscriptions and newsletters like “The Morning”—a daily fix of Trump critique—raking in over $1 billion annually by 2024. The NYT’s anti-Trump articles routinely draw over 10,000 reader comments online. On Saturday, the top two stories on the website slammed Trump and Musk. The comments that followed were an ocean of hatred towards the current administration. Meanwhile, the top article (shown above) suggests that Trump doesn’t care about veterans. It is so insanely false, but the readers don’t care.

AWARDS
The Times won a Pulitzer for their fake Russia collusion coverage, so what’s the incentive to tell the unbiased truth when money, audiences, and subscriptions all skyrocket from the biased lies. But the bigger problem is this: The Times is not alone — every left leaning outlet is copying the biased model.

HATE TRUMP MANIA
Ever since Trump beat Hillary, liberal news outlets have championed against him for the sake of taking a piece of the pie. The Left never hated Reagan or the Bushes like they do Trump — not even close.

Starting on the day Trump walked down the escalator — to the moment he lost a stolen election in 2020, his value in print has been through the roof. Then it shot up to the moon after the J6 drama, his many legal battles, his announcement of running again, his near assassination, and his victory in 2024. The 24/7 routine of hating on Trump has made many a fortune, and it will continue to do so.

The far-left Axios, Washington Post, and the radical Atlantic are just three among many lefty outlets that have turned biased reporting against Trump into a lucrative subscription model, proving that a liberal audience will pay top dollar for content that aligns with their TDS.

Example: Axios, launched Axios Pro in January 2022, and by year-end it reportedly had more than 3,000 subscribers paying $599 annually for individual newsletters (or $2,499 for all-access), generating approximately $2 million just on newsletters. But that was peanuts compared to what happened next.

Cox Enterprises bought Axios for $525 million in August 2022, valuing it at over 5x its projected $100 million 2022 revenue. I defy you to find a nice article about Trump on Axios.

TRUMP MONEY: IT’S ON BOTH SIDES

As much as hating on Trump draws in the money, so does loving Trump — even when it’s fake love. Example: Ben Shapiro and his outlet, The Daily Wire.

The Daily Wire
Co-founded by Ben Shapiro, it has grown into a right-leaning media powerhouse, boasting revenue exceeding $200 million and over 1 million subscribers by late 2022, per reports in Forbes. It also values itself over $1 billion according to recent reports. It’s got a large pro-Trump audience, but to be honest — I think subscribers are blinded by the noise.

Today, Shapiro and crew will kiss Trump’s ring and sing his praises. But, back in 2016, long before Shapiro was one of the biggest names in podcasting, he was a vocal Trump critic — calling him a “liar” and a “spoiled brat” and refusing to vote for him. It’s not like he wanted Senator Ted Cruz, but then reluctantly folded into the Trump camp when the Texas politician fell short. Not at all, he hated on Trump the entire election season!

But Trump won in 2016 — and so The Daily Wire’s empire faced competitive pressures from loyal Trump outlets like Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, and the DML NEWS APP (download for free from the Google Play Store, and the Apple App Store).

Shapiro saw his influence wane amid a crowded conservative media landscape. Thus, Shapiro smartly shifted gears by supporting Trump full throttle in 2020 against Biden. But it was all an act — was it not?

During the 2024 primary season, Ben turned on Trump again by backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president, touting him on “The Ben Shapiro Show.” But when DeSantis flopped— Ben was quick to change gears and embrace Trump with fervor, declaring he’d “walk over broken glass” to vote for Trump, and co-hosting a March 2024 fundraiser for him. How could he not — too much money was at stake this time.

There is no doubt in my mind that it’s all about protecting the billion-dollar valuation and subscription model that makes The Daily Wire a cash cow. How many people would be tuning in if Shapiro was still making an argument for DeSanits?

There are countless stories like Ben’s story. 
Fox News is at the top of the list. Today, they love Trump because he brings in the eyeballs — but how much did they love him on election night 2020 when they called Arizona for Biden early? Or how about when they ran anti-Trump commercials in 2020 — almost as if they knew he was positioned to lose.

Megyn Kelly
She has always been a centrist at heart. Second, she couldn’t stand the sight of Trump in 2016 — remember what she did to him at the debate? In turn, Trump destroyed her reputation with Fox viewers. So she went on to work at the liberal NBC network. And when that didn’t work out because lefty viewers demand lefty hosts — she decided to try podcasting. She teamed up with an ex-Fox executive who helped build Glen Beck’s “The Blaze” — he taught her real fast where the money is. Today, the moderate centrist is selling a right-wing narrative — she is all in for Trump every day. To me, she sounds a bit fake at times — I’ve known her too long, her right-wing routine doesn’t come off as real. That said, I have no problem with her pro-Trump message, but folks, follow the money — her show in now #1. You can find her on Sirius XM, which of course is subscription based.

Speaking of Glen Beck and The Blaze (subscription)…
Beck once dunked his face in a bowl of Cheetos to make fun of Trump’s orange tinted skin. But the moment Beck reportedly lost a ton of subscribers with that stunt, Trump suddenly became the next man to walk on water. Gotta always protect the subscriptions.

As for me, I’ve been steadily biased in my reporting. I do not regret my bias, nor do I regret giving my first pro-Trump speech in 2014 while in Michigan. I was in a room packed with hundreds of Tea Party members — I told them that Trump would be the best chance for America to defeat Hillary despite some of his personal imperfections at the time. The entire room laughed at me, but I stuck to my narrative. I bet they all own MAGA hats today.

To find success in the recurring subscription model, long term, I think you want subscribers who believe in you whether the news is good or bad. Thus, my bias is a bit different. I am biased in the way of telling the truth — I never bend who I am. Meaning, when I disagree with Trump, my honesty will always prevails. This approach has cost me subscribers, but it has also helped me build the most loyal following of all time — my subscribers never leave. My subs know I will not deny or ignore the difference between right and wrong. Example: I am disappointed that Trump has not yet issued an executive order for mandatory e-Verify. I say it every week on my podcast without apology. Have you heard a host on Fox, Megyn, or Beck voice the same disappointment? Probably not.

AN INTERESTING NEW MODEL
You ever hear of Puck News? I didn’t until recently, so when the offer to ad partner with them for today’s publication came in I decided to take a look. It’s a very interesting business model for delivering the news. Puck was founded in 2021 and its news coverage aims to cover the 'four centers of power' in the United States: Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Washington, D.C. and Wall Street.

In 2021, the company reportedly received $7 million in funding, and yes it’s a subscription based model. Reportedly, they have tens of thousands of paying subscribers, but they also give you a free 7-day trial — so they believe in what they do. What I find super interesting and unique is this: Puck journalists are allegedly given equity in the company and receive bonuses based on the number of subscribers their articles produce. Translation: They have skin in the game!

I like this model because I believe it forces a reporter / writer to be honest with their audience at all times. Instead of bending who they are and what they believe in — or falsely representing themselves by always reporting in the direction of an organization’s ideology — the Puck writer, I assume, must remain honest at all times when presenting who they are and what they believe in. Give Puck a look today, and I will see you tomorrow on the 47 Report. Here you go…

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