🔴 Redshift: ABC News Found Liable for Defaming Trump

Good morning. In addition to being TIME Magazine’s 2024 Person of the Year, Donald Trump is making big gains to close out the year. He just beat ABC News for lying about him on air, he has a new business project, and his billionaire former enemies are now playing nice. Let’s dive in.

Mentioned in this edition: George Stephanopoulos, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Eric Trump, Helen Andrews, Jared Kushner, Jordan Peterson, Brett Cooper, Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Rob Schneider, George Soros, and more.

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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

⚖️ ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos settled a defamation lawsuit with President-elect Donald Trump, agreeing to pay $15 million and $1 million in legal fees. The settlement, filed Saturday, includes a donation to a presidential foundation Trump plans to establish and a public statement of regret for Stephanopoulos' inaccurate comments.

→ The lawsuit stemmed from Stephanopoulos falsely claiming Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case, despite a jury ruling he was liable for "sexual abuse." This marks another legal win for Trump, who has recently secured multiple favorable rulings in ongoing cases.

💰 Meta and Amazon donated $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fund. Billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have both found themselves cozying up to the president-elect despite both having previously slammed Trump’s rhetoric and criticized his policies. Bezos now praises the president-elect’s deregulation agenda, calling it “encouraging.”

→ Similarly, Zuckerberg, whose platform banned Trump after the January 6 riot, called Trump a “badass” after his first assassination attempt and recently congratulated him on his presidential victory. These donations appear to be attempts to curry favor with a leader they once vilified but now see as critical to protecting their business interests.

🎤 Kari Lake has been tapped to lead The Voice of America. What is it? It’s America’s state-owned broadcasting arm, created to share the American perspective—and propaganda—around the world. After World War II, it was used as a weapon against communist Russia, with Steve Bannon recently crediting it as a key tool in America’s victory over communism.

→ While many have brushed off this appointment, a Trump-aligned Voice of America could become a major asset for President Trump’s foreign policy goals. I’m working on speaking with Kari Lake next week about her plans for this role.

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Mentioned after the paywall: Eric Trump, Trump Tower, Trump Organization, Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Jared Kushner, Saudi government, Bari Weiss, Chuck Lane, The Free Press, The Washington Post, The Atlantic

WHO WE’RE WATCHING

Jordan Peterson announced he is moving to…

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Mentioned in this section: Jordan Peterson, Mikhaila Peterson, Brett Cooper, Reagan Rohrbach, Matt Gaetz, George Santos, Rob Schneider, Josh Shapiro, Elon Musk