Trump’s Critical Media Battle Intensifies, Former Campaign Aide Warns

By Jim Mishler | Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates stated that President Donald Trump is now waging a critical battle with many large media outlets. Gates told Newsmax’s “Newsline” on Wednesday that some media outlets have unfairly and untruthfully sought to undermine Trump. “And so he’s going to continue to fight and believes this is a virtuous fight,” he said.

Gates acknowledged this is new territory for a president to be at odds in this fashion with so many media outlets but insisted Trump has no choice. “I think the president believes he has to fight this fight, right, because nobody has been able to do it. Nobody has even taken on … the left-wing media.”

The former Trump campaign aide emphasized that Trump isn’t just fighting for his policies but for the truth. “And this matters,” Gates added. “I mean, because the messaging, as we’re seeing, if you take something like the Epstein files, there is fake information, there is information that the Democrats are going to try to weaponize, and it’s not accurate. And that’s getting out to the mainstream American public.”

Gates asserted that unless media figures abandon their assaults on Trump and the truth, the president remains with only one option: continuing to take his story directly to the nation through rallies and by actively posting on social media. “And that’s exactly what the president’s fighting against,” he said. “He’s fighting against the left-wing media’s attempts to distort, manipulate, and use news in a way that is nefarious or not honest.”

Gates noted that national conservative leaders have historically failed to push back against left-leaning media reporting but claimed this has changed with Trump. “The Republican Party historically has not really taken on or really not fought well,” he stated. “Now you’re actually seeing a president who, honestly, has been firsthand a victim.”

A McLaughlin & Associates poll released Tuesday indicated that Trump’s messaging is critically important and that to ensure Americans get the truth, he will need to avoid “big media,” increase social media messaging, and hold in-person rallies nationwide.