Tonight, I come to you with a simple message: we cannot normalize what is happening in this country, and especially not in the media.
As a reporter, my job is to inform you with the facts, truthfully and without partisanship. But that mission means very little if the facts themselves are treated as routine when they are anything but. Journalism has a responsibility not only to report what is happening, but to recognize when what is happening is extraordinary and dangerous. When we normalize the erosion of democratic norms, the weaponization of power, and the silencing of dissent, we allow those things to grow.
Before I go further, I want to pause to ask something important. If you value independent, fact-driven journalism that refuses to flinch or look away, I ask you to subscribe and support this work. Independent reporting exists because of people like you, not because of billionaires. Your support allows me, and others like me, to keep doing this work freely, without pressure to soften or sanitize the truth.
Let’s look at what has happened this week.
Across the country, military troops have been deployed on American soil. The White House has attempted to send the National Guard into Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, claiming it is for public safety. Federal courts have pushed back. In Portland, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, herself a Trump appointee, wrote something that should stop all of us in our tracks:
“This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power, to the detriment of this nation.”
That line, “a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,” is one we should all sit with. Because what Judge Immergut described is not theoretical. It is where we are heading.
A president is openly trying to use the U.S. military against his own people. Think about that. Federal power that was meant to defend the nation is being aimed inward, at cities, at protesters, and at citizens exercising their rights. The courts have stepped in, yes, but the fact that we are even here, debating whether military troops can or should be sent into American cities, is proof enough that we are far from normal.
Now, let’s turn to Chicago.
In the last few days, federal immigration agents have launched what they are calling “Operation Midway Blitz,” targeting undocumented immigrants in the city. Behind that sterile name lies something much more alarming. Agents used Black Hawk helicopters to surround apartment buildings in the middle of the night. They broke down doors. They zip-tied children. They used chemical agents, including tear gas, on American citizens. They detained families, including U.S. citizens, without warrants and with no transparency.
And yet, if you turned on the television or checked the front pages of most national outlets, you likely saw very little. There has been a disturbing silence in much of the mainstream press about what is unfolding in Chicago. Reporters on the ground are documenting raids that resemble military operations, and yet many large media companies are ignoring the story entirely or burying it under lighter news.
There appears to be an unofficial blackout around the ICE raids, as if acknowledging them too directly would be politically inconvenient or too disturbing for audiences.
That is not journalism. That is complicity.
When armored agents zip-tie children and deploy chemical agents in American neighborhoods, it is not just a “local story.” It is a national crisis that demands national attention. Silence from major news organizations does not protect the public. It protects those in power who want these actions to continue unchecked.
Local leaders and community groups are calling it what it is: a militarized operation against civilians. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has already ordered an investigation into the use of what he called “military-style tactics” on children. Residents are terrified. Community organizers say that people are afraid to go to work, to go to school, or even to open their doors. This is not normal. It is not acceptable in any democracy that claims to value human rights and the rule of law.
At the same time, the rhetoric coming from the White House is escalating to dangerous levels. Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, is now calling Trump-appointed judges insurrectionists. The same officials who refuse to condemn the people who attacked the Capitol on January 6, who refuse to call those who tried to end democracy insurrectionists, are now using that word to attack their own judges.
That is not just hypocrisy. It is an intentional rewriting of language, a deliberate effort to distort meaning and create confusion. When words lose meaning, truth becomes harder to see. When truth becomes harder to see, democracy itself begins to crumble.
We are at an inflection point in this country and in our media. It is okay for journalists to acknowledge that this is not a normal time. It is not partisan to tell the truth about what we are witnessing. It is not biased to say that the use of military force against citizens, or the labeling of judges as enemies, crosses every line of democratic governance.
For months, people have told me they just want to go back to the pre-2015 era of what they call “normal politics.” I understand that. I want that too. But if we ever want to get back to a place where the news cycle is not 24/7 chaos, where policy debates are not treated as wars, and where truth is not a battlefield, it starts with how we report right now.
We cannot normalize this moment. We cannot treat it as just another headline. And as long as I have a platform, I promise you this: I will continue to report with honesty, transparency, and courage. I will tell you the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be.
Because that is what journalism is supposed to be.
And if you believe that matters, if you believe truth still has value in this country, then I ask you once more to subscribe and support independent journalism. Your support ensures that truth can still stand, even when power wants to silence it.
