The left-wing media specializes in fearmongering the public about President Trump’s policy decisions, but NewsNation’s On Balance with Leland Vittert displayed the opposite on Wednesday night. Vittert had powerful words to describe the reflection of the media over the last six months and stuck with a theme of the liberal media needing to be “taken with an enormous grain of salt.”
With no surprise, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill has brought backlash from the left-wing media. Vittert highlighted that the media will talk about “doomsday scenarios” but pointed out the media’s tactic patterns of misleading the public in the last six months and summarized:
For example, think of all the things we've been told since President Trump's second term started. Most of the American media told you that Trump would govern like Nazi dictator. He hasn’t. We didn't tell you that. We told you what he was doing and why. You were told your 401k would go down the drain because of tariffs. We didn't tell you that. We told you to wait and see because Trump offense takes out maximalist positions and then retreats... Most of the media told you an attack on Iran would start World War 3. I didn't tell you that. I told you the opposite. We told you the world would be a safer place in the Ayatollah would sue for peace. We were told air travel is not safe. Planes were going to fall from the sky. You couldn't travel on planes this summer. And guess what? Everything's just fine. You're going to get to your July 4th barbecue without a problem.
The sequence of events that Vittert laid out proved that there are differences between the media stating the facts and the media jumping to false conclusions.
Vittert brought it home when he stated:
I could keep going, of course. And that is so important to think about right now as we watch the House vote on this, the things you are being told about the bill by both sides, but especially by alarmists in the media need to be taken with an enormous grain of salt. We don't engage in that here. That's why you watch us. So the lesson is clear. You join us every night to hear how the world is, not how you want the world to be. We don’t deal in the talking points of either side, both sides get challenged. We don't cheerlead. We do doomsday. We cover the news fairly as we're doing tonight about Trump's big, beautiful mega bill. And our track record, if you go back and watch is pretty good when we get it wrong, we tell you. But America doesn't think we're getting it wrong.
There is truth to be said about media channels that tell it how it is versus media platforms that choose what they want the public to think. This segment served a purpose for the American people to take a step back and look at channels stating the facts, not blowing up decisions out of proportion.
Click here for the transcripts.
NewsNation’s On Balance with Leland Vittert
7/2/25
9:30 p.m. EasternLELAND VITTERT: And this brings us perfectly to where we are at because we are halfway through the year. So let's look back at what's happened versus what we've been told what happened. And that is so important right now because you're hearing the bill is about to be passed. And you're hearing these doomsday scenarios from so many about people losing health care, hospitals closing, on and on. We're going to tell you something different as we have, which is wait and see. Because there's a lot of wiggle room here.
For example, think of all the things we've been told since President Trump's second term started. Most of the American media told you that Trump would govern like Nazi dictator. He hasn’t. We didn't tell you that. We told you what he was doing and why.
You were told your 401k would go down the drain because of tariffs. We didn't tell you that. We told you to wait and see because Trump offense takes out maximalist positions and then retreats. Today, the stock market closed at record highs following President Trump's announcement of the trade deal with Vietnam.
Most of the media told you an attack on Iran would start World War 3. I didn't tell you that. I told you the opposite. We told you the world would be a safer place in the Ayatollah would sue for peace.
We were told air travel is not safe. Planes were going to fall from the sky. You couldn't travel on planes this summer. And guess what? Everything's just fine. You're going to get to your July 4th barbecue without a problem.
I could keep going, of course. And that is so important to think about right now as we watch the House vote on this, the things you are being told about the bill by both sides, but especially by alarmists in the media need to be taken with an enormous grain of salt. We don't engage in that here. That's why you watch us.
So the lesson is clear. You join us every night to hear how the world is, not how you want the world to be. We don’t deal in the talking points of either side, both sides get challenged. We don't cheerlead. We do doomsday. We cover the news fairly as we're doing tonight about Trump's big, beautiful mega bill. And our track record, if you go back and watch is pretty good when we get it wrong, we tell you. But America doesn't think we're getting it wrong.
(…)
