The media also exposed the fact that they ignored Eric Swalwell’s story to protect the Democrats

A defining story of the last decade or so has been the erosion of trust in the credibility of legacy media institutions.

Recent survey data from Gallup found that only 28 percent of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the news media to report accurate or complete information. That’s the lowest number in the survey’s history. In contrast, a whopping 70 percent of respondents “have no confidence” or “no confidence at all” in those same institutions. In 1972, that changed, with nearly 70 percent of Americans saying they trusted the news media.

Among Republicans, those numbers are worse. Only 8 percent of those with the right trust the media to report information accurately. That number represents a 62 percent drop even from 2015.

And that drop is very appropriate. The latest example of the party’s blatant bias is reporting on allegations against former California Congressman Eric Swalwell. Swalwell in the last five to seven years has become one of the most prominent voices on the left. He is always angry, committed to whatever talking points are going on at some point, always with a look on his face that seems like he can’t believe he was running away from the limelight, lies, and extreme hypocrisy.

However, all that went down within a week. And in the process it exposed not only the Democratic Party again, but our most willing and helpful partners: the legacy media.

Before you go into Swalwell, it’s important to make a backup. Ever since Donald Trump was first elected in 2016, the media has apparently made a collective decision about news coverage and reporting. Instead of trying to present news or information and let readers or viewers interpret it for themselves, it will put its thumb on the scale. A Pew study, for example, found that by 2025, 55 percent of journalists do not believe that both sides deserve equal coverage. In fact, that number is probably much higher.

Impartiality and impartiality among seemingly impartial journalists has disappeared. This became worse during the COVID-19 crisis. While previous generations of journalists believed their job was to answer powerful people, COVID was very different. The powerful, people like Anthony Fauci, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, or local public health officials, are treated with fear, respect, and reverence. Instead of questioning their statements, decision-making, or instructions, almost all the legacy media encouraged them.

Attorney Eric Swalwell spoke during a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th Congress at the US Capitol on Jan. 25, 2023, Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Holding the powerful accountable led to public accountability. It was your fault for not wearing enough masks, or not wearing the right type of masks, or for wanting your child to go to school and have a class without wearing a mask. It was your fault for not getting the COVID vaccine based on false promises of efficacy and lack of interest in the side effects that have been shown.

Why are they handling this epidemic in this way? Because they don’t see journalism as their main goal or outcome. They are intellectuals first, journalists second. And what their opinions were said and believed during the violence that Fauci and the “health experts” were not to be questioned, no matter how stupid their opinions were, or how quickly they were disproved. Criticizing Fauci, or covering up his failure would be a betrayal of their political party and the messages “In this house” depend on.

There are many more examples of “lost” legacy stories that could hurt Democrats. The Hunter Biden laptop story undoubtedly had an impact on the 2020 election, as the media downplayed, ignored, or in some cases, helped ensure the story was censored online lest it hurt Joe Biden’s campaign. The lab leak’s explanation for the pandemic was called a “racist conspiracy,” before there was conclusive evidence that it might have been the source of the coronavirus.

Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline was dismissed as a right-wing conspiracy, with “cheap lies” becoming one of CNN’s most popular buzzwords before his brutal debate performance. Russiagate was one. And the news this week of Trump’s impeachment first revealed another failure of the media.

Former President Joe Biden speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Mark Schifelbein)

Now we have Swalwell as another shining example.

After years of allegations of inappropriate behavior surfaced, many journalists took to social media to explain that they had been hearing rumors or reports about Swalwell’s actions for a long time and they just…didn’t do anything about them.

One Democratic strategist wrote on X Thursday morning that “…a Politico reporter was working to confirm rumors about Swalwell during his run for President.” He goes on to say, “Two days before the sit-down with this reporter, Swalwell left the race. The power that might have removed him disappeared, if the victims are willing to even go on the record, they never did.”

Another reporter, Bethany Allen, said she heard about Swalwell’s behavior in 2020 at Axios, but because it wasn’t her beat, she just passed it on and didn’t report it. A California-based reporter wrote this, saying “shortly after being elected to Congress in 2013, [Swalwell’s] The women’s behavior was recognized by all levels of local government and the Alameda County Democratic Party.”

The editor-in-chief of the American Prospect, David Dayen, wrote “The truth, which will soon be known to all, is that Swalwell’s conduct with apprentices, young workers, and women supporters has long been an open secret, and yet the group…

There are many other examples of those on the left who admit that Swalwell’s treatment of women was an open secret among Democrats, which could, it seems, penetrate his colleagues in the media. So why did it take until now for it to come out?

However, the main purpose of the legacy media is to help and protect their “side”. That is why most of these people openly admit in the survey that they do not see the need to treat both sides equally. Reporting requires those making allegations to come forward. But apparently others did, and interest in the story grew as Swalwell dropped out of the presidential race. But that is not an acceptable excuse.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during the Hands Off! a day of action against the Trump administration and Elon Musk on April 05, 2025 in Washington, DC (Paul Morigi / Getty Images)

Swalwell was a congressman who sat in the largest state in the country. He started campaigning for governor, and in some polls, he was leading. She was relentlessly anti-Trump and righteous, with funny, laugh-out-loud social media videos, predictable #Believeallwomen hashtags, and was seen as one of the main leaders of the “resistance” appearing on good friend Jimmy Kimmel.

He was prominent enough to merit scrutiny, especially because of the “everyone always knows” messages we see now. They know, they didn’t care much for Swalwell on the left. And those on the left have never been treated the way aggressive journalists are when they harm a member of the opposition. Fauci is still considered a hero because they never cared enough to point out how many lies he told, or the truths they were not. All the Democratic Party allies now talking about how it was obvious that Swalwell had behaved inappropriately were happy to support his election. Until now.

Some look at the 20 percent trust ratings of the major media and wonder how we got here. The real question is why there isn’t less.