Opinion

BROADCAST BIAS: Networks spin Trump’s Xi meeting as weakness despite strategic gain

ABC reliably cast Trump in a negative light while CBS's Dokoupil challenged narratives Chinese news won't mention

By Tim Graham Fox News

Published May 16, 2026 7:00am EDT

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President Donald Trump flew to China to make nice with communist leader Xi Jinping this week. It didn’t sound like the Cold War, or the recent trade wars. The word "détente" was in the air, so for anti-communists who didn’t love President Richard Nixon in China or President Jimmy Carter kissing Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev on the cheek, it wasn’t the best look.

Trump called Xi a "great leader," which sounded more like the Chamber of Commerce than the Victims of Communism Museum. The word "communist" is typically missing from broadcast network coverage of China, which began bemoaning "capitalist" China decades ago under Deng Xiaoping.

The worst network in Beijing, unsurprisingly, was ABC News, which reliably casts Trump in the most negative light. The China trip was hampered by the war in Iran, which Trump is supposedly losing. White House correspondent Mary Bruce, who often sounded positive or defensive notes about President Joe Biden, hit the theme.

"The president had envisioned that he would arrive here today victorious in Iran," she........

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