March 13, 2025
Over the past couple of nights, the local ABC Eyewitness News 7 evening broadcast has been running a DHS commercial featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In the ad, Noem thanks President Trump for securing the border and encourages anyone here illegally to leave the USA to preserve the possibility of a future return.
“Thank you, President Donald J. Trump, for securing our border and putting America first. President Trump has a clear message: if you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream. If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally: Don’t even think about it. If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”
The problem isn’t the ad itself. It’s not unusual for an administration on any level of government to use mass media to conduct outreach. The problem with this ad is its placement amid news coverage of the Trump Administration, and particularly its immigration policy. Tonight’s ad appeared amid a story about the deportation of Palestinian activist and legal US permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, another one about a deportation protest at Trump Tower, and further coverage of the Administration’s tariff initiatives and the related stock market selloff.
There’s no evidence that we’ve seen that ad buys directly influence how ABC covers the news. But common sense and human nature suggest that the adage, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” may apply here. The Trump administration has aggressively put pressure on news organizations, by suing them or banning access when it found their 1st Amendment protected content objectionable. Eyewitness News is a beloved New York City institution that’s earned a loyal audience over many, many years. We think they’re making a big mistake by running this ad during the evening news broadcast. Maybe they’re pulling their punches and maybe they’re not, but their reputation suffers when viewers need to ask.
