Let’s set the scene – President Donald J. Trump, back in full campaign chaos mode, sits down with ABC’s Terry Moran for a hard-hitting interview to explain – sorry, defend – his “historic” first 100 days of his presidency. Cue the fanfare. Cue the fact checks. Cue the migraine. It was all there in Trump’s ABC interview.

What we got was part campaign rally, part alternate reality, all streaming straight into America’s living rooms via prime-time platforming.

Trump, in usual form, rattled off debunked claims like a conspiracy theorist on 1.5x speed: the economy is “booming” (it’s not), immigrants are “invading” (dangerous rhetoric with no factual basis), and his presidency was “the most successful in history” (which depends entirely on whether you define success by lawsuits and indictments).

So let’s talk about how journalism has to evolve if we’re going to survive this administration, let alone another election cycle fueled by spectacle, spin, and political gaslighting.

The Lies That Slipped Through Like Butter on a Hot Mic

But first: the lies. Trump was in classic form, talking over questions, rewriting reality, and spinning so fast he could power a small city. The man dropped disinformation like it was his love language, and even though Terry Moran tried to keep up, there are only so many lies you can shovel before you get buried.

Here are just a few of the gems that somehow made it to air in Trump’s ABC interview without time for a full reality check:

• Eggs are down 87%: Yes, you read that correctly. According to Trump, he personally fixed egg prices. Moran did raise the public’s concern about rising costs, but there was no follow-up when Trump declared that “there were plenty of eggs for Easter.” The eggcitement never stopped.
• Gas prices are lower than ever: Only if we’re measuring from the peak of a global pandemic and ignoring current inflation trends. Trump proudly cited gas at $1.98 a gallon – but didn’t say where. For all we know, that number came from a lonely pump in rural Alabama while folks in California are still paying enough per gallon to consider biking to work in protest.
• The immigration system is “working” and “careful:” This, while brushing aside concerns about due process for deportees. Trump even agreed with Joe Rogan (because who needs constitutional law when you’ve got Spotify?) and agreed “a hundred percent” that we shouldn’t become monsters – right before defending a fast-track deportation pipeline that violates civil rights. The cognitive dissonance? Immaculate.
• DOGE saved America billions: We’re talking about the Department of Government Efficiency, now apparently run by Elon Musk (because who better to eliminate “fraud” than the guy charging $8 for a blue checkmark?). Trump says DOGE found “tremendous waste, fraud, and abuse,” but couldn’t name a single one.

Photoshopgate – The Knuckle Narrative

And then, in a moment that might go down as the most unintentionally hilarious – and terrifying – segment of Trump’s ABC interview, we were treated to Trump vs. Photoshop: The Grudge Match.

Trump brought up Kilmar Abrego García, the Maryland father wrongfully deported to El Salvador, and pointed to an image of his tattooed knuckles. In that image, someone had clearly Photoshopped “M,” “S,” and “13” over the tattoos to suggest gang affiliation. The edits weren’t subtle – they were clearly labels meant to help the viewer interpret the image.

But Trump? He was not having it. What followed was the most intense verbal tennis match since Agassi and Sampras. Trump simply would not let it go. He was visibly frustrated that Moran wouldn’t kiss the ring and confirm the gang affiliation from a Photoshopped JPEG. You could practically see the steam rising from his combover.

And here’s the thing: this wasn’t just a delusion – it was a demand. Trump needed the image to be real. The narrative depended on it. The audience needed a villain, and Photoshop was just a helpful co-conspirator. This moment didn’t just reveal Trump’s relationship to truth, it laid bare the entire strategy: If the lie looks good, feels scary, and serves the story, it must be true.

When Journalism Tries to Contain a Wildfire

To be fair to Terry Moran: he showed up ready to play.

He interrupted, he challenged, he pulled receipts like a seasoned pro. But in 2025, being a journalist isn’t enough. Not when you’re sitting across from Donald Trump. These days, you need to be a political scientist, economist, legal analyst, cultural historian – and, honestly, part-time therapist just to keep up with the emotional and intellectual chaos.

Hell, you probably need an eidetic memory too, just to track the layered lies, reversals, and contradictions that stack up before the first commercial break.

Trump’s ABC interview wasn’t a puff piece – it was a pressure cooker, thanks to his goal being to overwhelm the host, the viewer, and the format itself.

And while Moran held his ground better than most, even he couldn’t plug every leak in the dam without completely derailing the interview. That’s the problem: journalism is still operating on the assumption that facts and logic are enough. But propaganda doesn’t play by those rules.

So no, this wasn’t bad journalism. This was journalism fighting for breath in a Category 5 bullshit storm – armed with a mic, a clock, and no real way to stop the flood.

Why It Matters for Latine Communities

For Latine communities, especially immigrants, this kind of unfiltered propaganda isn’t just frustrating – it’s dangerous.

Trump’s comments on immigration – claiming deportations are done “carefully,” minimizing the lack of due process, and suggesting that “illegal” people deserve a “different standard” – are not just dehumanizing. They’re policy previews.

When left unrefuted, even momentarily, they validate the systems that target our families, our neighbors, and our communities.

And quoting Joe Rogan to justify it? That’s not nuance. It’s gaslighting with a gym membership.

Public-facing interviews like this one shape national narratives. They influence voters who don’t follow politics closely. They give legitimacy to cruelty disguised as efficiency. And when our communities are the ones being criminalized, erased, and used as scapegoats, it’s not just spin – it’s harm.

And ABC gave it an hour-long primetime slot with reruns on Hulu, Disney+, and YouTube.