Exposing Legacy Media’s “Blue MAGA” Hoax

Journalists tried to gaslight Democrats for calling out clearly biased coverage. Now we have proof that we were right.

Since 2016, Donald Trump and his MAGA cult have targeted media and journalists with violence. Reporters have been dealing with real threats, real harassment, real danger. And yet, somehow, in the middle of all that volatility, when Democrats like me raised basic questions about skewed, sensational, or ethically questionable coverage of Joe Biden last year, many in the media responded not with self-reflection but with one of the most idiotic false equivalences ever deployed in modern political discourse: the claim that fair, reasoned criticism from Democrats made us “blue MAGA.”

It wasn’t a clever phrase, or a snide insult. It was a way to flatten all critique – lumping thoughtful concerns about journalistic integrity together with an authoritarian movement willing to endanger reporters. The comparison was offensive, yes, but more importantly, it was absurdly, embarrassingly wrong.

And now we have the receipts.

One of the stories Democrats pushed back on most fiercely was an explosive New York magazine story by Olivia Nuzzi, which at the time seemed oddly framed and suspiciously sourced but made major allegations about President Biden and his staffers. The article was vicious beyond the ordinary journalistic jabs. As always, were told to shut up and stop “attacking” the press. Then the truth spilled out: Nuzzi was in a personal relationship with RFK Jr., a direct Biden rival, while covering the campaign. She wasn’t just involved – she was advising him, withholding damaging information, blurring every ethical line the profession is supposed to uphold. Democrats didn’t know the full details at the time, but we recognized the imbalance, the slant, the off-key tone. We were right. And yet, a cabal of very online journalists smeared us for noticing.

The same pattern is visible in the career of former Politico reporter Rachael Bade. Democrats had long criticized her reporting as biased, pro-Republican, and more narrative-driven than fact-driven. Despite her role as a journalist she even appeared to lobby for a Jim Jordan type figure to be placed on the Jan. 6 committee. Again, we were brushed off as hysterical partisans. And now? Surprise! Bade is hosting a show with disgraced former Press Secretary Sean Spicer – the Trump mouthpiece who spent his tenure lying to the American public (and reporters like Bade) on a daily basis.

This isn’t a surprising twist – it’s an expected reveal. It clarifies what Democrats were picking up on all along: the ideological drift, the incentives shaping certain kinds of coverage, the professional pipelines that lead some reporters toward the conservative infotainment ecosystem. We weren’t imagining bias. We were identifying it. The trend is clear as we watch more and more media figures try to launch independent careers, where they blatantly lean into the biases they used to deny as way to build audience.

Cynically, the media collapsed legitimate criticism into the same category as MAGA’s violent assault on the free press because it was easier than examining their own internal failures. But Democrats were never attacking journalism. We were trying to defend it. We were pushing for ethical reporting, transparent sourcing, and coverage that didn’t reward chaos for clicks. Meanwhile, Trump was literally endangering reporters and trying to create a chill that would silence serious journalism.

It’s time to correct the record.

Democrats didn’t undermine the press. We held reporters to their own stated standards. We asked for basic accountability. Despite the absurd “blue MAGA” label, we didn’t behave like unhinged Trump supporters. We behaved like people who still believe journalism matters enough to demand it be done right. And now that the truth is out, it’s clear who was overreacting and who was paying attention.

If the corporate media wants to rebuild trust, they can start by apologizing to us for all of the gaslighting.