The mainstream media is dead in the water. Now they’ve gone into total hysterics.
And MSNBC is in a complete tailspin after what this Trump official just did.
Elon Musk’s simple declaration, “You are the media now,” on X (formerly Twitter) seemed to hit a nerve, drawing sharp rebukes from MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei, who didn’t hold back during a recent high-profile event.
Speaking at the National Press Club’s 2024 Fourth Estate Award Gala, where Axios co-founders VandeHei and Mike Allen were being honored, VandeHei singled out Musk during his acceptance speech.
“Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day — or X today — saying like, ‘We are the media,’ ‘You are the media.’ My message to Elon Musk is: Bull. You are not the media,” VandeHei said emphatically.
“You having a blue checkmark, a Twitter handle, and 300 words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter. … You don’t do that by popping off on Twitter. You don’t do that by having an opinion. You do it by doing the hard work.”
VandeHei’s pointed remarks didn’t go unnoticed. MSNBC’s Morning Joe picked up the clip, with host Joe Scarborough giving it his full endorsement.
“First of all, I’ve got to say, extraordinary content, it needed to be said, it continues to need to be said,” Scarborough said, starting with a slow clap.
He doubled down, adding, “With all of the garbage that’s flying around on social media — lying about reporters, lying about the hard work they do, lying about the hard work editors do, lying about everything up and down about not only their alternative set of facts but their alternative set of facts about what people like you do.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski nodded along as Scarborough railed against what he described as social media’s misinformation and attacks on journalism.
Musk, never one to shy away from criticism, responded with characteristic nonchalance when he caught wind of the exchange.
“Yeah, whatever lmao. You are the media now. And legacy media know it,” Musk posted, standing by his original statement.
Yeah, whatever lmao.
You are the media now.
And legacy media know it. https://t.co/TWemmwMoqd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024
The spat unfolds as MSNBC faces its own uncertainties amid NBCUniversal’s anticipated spinoff of the Left-leaning cable news network.
Meanwhile, observers outside the mainstream media have offered their own takes on the dust-up.
“What I find absolutely astounding about this is not his anger at Musk,” one commenter noted.
“I can understand and even respect that to some degree. What absolutely baffles me is the total lack of introspection or self-reflection as to why the media is so distrusted. Just go back over the past 5-10 years. It’s not hard to figure out. Maybe you should start going about gaining readers’ trust and turning out a quality product first.”
John Daniel Davidson of The Federalist weighed in, too, arguing that VandeHei’s critique misses the bigger picture.
“What the Axios CEO doesn’t seem to understand or accept is that X is the media now because of all the lying. If the corporate press hadn’t spent decades lying and misleading the public in really obvious, craven, and destructive ways, we wouldn’t be here. But they did, so we are.”
As legacy media battles for relevance in a rapidly shifting landscape, Musk’s provocative statements and the backlash they ignite show just how deep the divide has become.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
