The crackdown in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination | The Listening Post

Summary

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The Listening Post

Episode: “The crackdown in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination”
Date: September 20, 2025
Host: Al Jazeera

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Overview

This episode examines the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a controversial far-right podcaster and political influencer, and the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on perceived left-wing “hate speech.” The podcast delves into how Kirk’s legacy is being weaponized by politicians domestically and abroad, the threats to free expression in the US, and the intensifying media and political battles surrounding the Israel-Gaza war and the Ukraine conflict, all through the lens of media practice and manipulation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Political Fallout of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

• Polarizing Legacy and the Crackdown

  • Kirk’s death sparked deep divides: Supporters mourned; critics seized the moment to challenge his impact and ideology.
  • The Trump administration responds by aggressively clamping down on left-wing voices, branding criticisms as "hate speech" and targeting journalists, academics, and even comedians.
    • Notable Quote:
      "His administration has clamped down on what it deems to be hate speech emanating from the left, a crackdown that has already cost journalists, academics, even a comedian their jobs." – Political Analyst [01:28]

• The Contradiction of Free Speech

  • Kirk was a vocal free speech advocate—especially about defending conservative hate speech from so-called “cancel culture”—but now the posthumous silencing of dissent comes from the right.
    • Quote:
      "So what would Charlie Kirk make of the canceling now coming from the other side?" – Political Analyst [05:22]

• Crackdown Ripple Effects

  • The Washington Post fired its only Black columnist, Karen Attia, for expressing her refusal to mourn Kirk and criticizing the forced public grief. Commentators liken these firings to political "purges."
    • Quote:
      "When we look at these, these firings, and I think we should understand them as purgings." – Journalist [05:58]

• Media’s Role in Shaping the Narrative

  • The episode draws attention to how news organizations, under new ownership and editorial pressures, shape acceptable discourse—for instance, Bezos’ shift at The Washington Post emphasizing “personal liberties and free markets.” [07:05]

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2. Kirk’s Global Impact and Political Weaponization

• Right-Wing Transnational Mobilization

  • Kirk’s death used by far-right leaders in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary (PM Viktor Orban), and especially Israel, to stoke anti-left rhetoric and solidify their own bases.
    • Quote:
      "Far right leaders from D.C. to London to Tel Aviv have all seized on Kirk's death, weaponizing his polarizing legacy for their own political purposes." – Political Analyst [01:52]

• Israel and Netanyahu’s Opportunism

  • Netanyahu publicly aligns himself and the Israeli government with Kirk’s legacy, attempting to co-opt Kirk’s previous pro-Israel statements despite Kirk’s later criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.

    • Quote:
      "He wrote me a letter on May 2 this year. He said, one of my greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances to defend Judeo Christian civilization. The part Netanyahu left out was Kirk's view of America's unrelenting support for Israel had turned." – News Reporter [08:49]

  • Israel’s media campaign included projecting Kirk’s image on Tel Aviv buildings to consolidate right-wing support.

    • Quote:
      "There are pictures of Kirk being projected onto the sides of buildings in Tel Aviv to make sure that the government is identifying itself with Kirk and consolidating its support among Kirk's followers." – Political Commentator [10:09]

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3. The Trump Administration’s Authoritarian Playbook

• Threats and Media Intimidation

  • Trump responds to questions about his crackdown with further threats towards journalists and networks, blending intimidation with a strategy of distraction from broader issues.
    • Quote:
      "We'd probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they'll come after ABC." – Donald Trump [11:06]
  • ABC pulls late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after the President is mocked—seen as an escalation of media intimidation.

• Power Consolidation under MAGA

  • Journalists discuss the sincerity and scale of the authoritarian push, seeing the crackdown not only as “distraction” but as a “rapid expansion of power.”
    • Quote:
      "I disagree with the argument that the mobilization of grief is an attempt to distract America from the real issues. They are sincere in their authoritarianism. It's not a put on. MAGA is already… using this event as a catalyst for a rapid expansion of power." – Journalist [11:52]

• Media’s Struggle to Cover Extremism

  • The press is struggling with how to best cover and contextualize the new wave of extremism and political repression.
    • Quote:
      "If you think we are in perilous times here and the people are scared, you're getting the right impression. There is a tremendous amount of fear right now." – Media Expert [12:19]

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4. Israel’s Invasion of Gaza and Genocide Allegations

• UN Genocide Declaration and Israeli Response

  • The UN formally identifies Israel’s assault on Gaza as genocide; meanwhile, Israeli officials openly celebrate destruction in Gaza, using “genocidal” rhetoric.
    • Quote:
      "Israeli officials have repeatedly made it easy through their own words, and with Palestinians livestreaming the death and destruction around them, there is no doubt about the extent of the execution of genocide in Gaza." – Charlie Kirk (actor) [14:42]

• Media’s Role in Exposing or Amplifying Atrocities

  • Journalists on the ground in Gaza risk their lives to bear witness; their stories, “the last remaining eyes and ears on this genocide,” will outlive them and the events.
    • Quote:
      "For those journalists, there is no safe place to go. The choice comes down to displacement or death." – Political Analyst [25:10]

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5. The Trump Effect on the Russia-Ukraine War and Media Manipulation

• Russian Media’s Adaptation to Trump

  • Russian propaganda rapidly adjusts to Trump’s unpredictability; anytime Trump criticizes Putin, Russian media simply censors those references, presenting an image of two peacemakers.
    • Quote:
      "Whenever Trump says something inconvenient about Putin or Russia, Russian mainstream media would simply cut out any reference to Putin." – Russian Journalist [18:53]
    • Russian state media recasts Trump and Putin as global power-brokers in an updated “Yalta-style” storyline.

• Ukrainian Media’s Perspective

  • Initially optimistic about Trump’s return, Ukrainian media now express fatigue and skepticism—highlighting Trump’s erratic statements and perceived lack of genuine understanding of the conflict.
  • The infamous Oval Office meeting in 2022, where Trump appeared to scold Zelensky, caused shock and anger in Ukrainian journalistic circles.
    • Quote:
      "Journalists that covered it didn't know how to react. So there was a lot of shock, even confusion." – Narrator [22:43]

• Lingering Concerns about US Commitment

  • The Ukrainian media now covers Trump warily, questioning US commitment to Ukraine, especially in light of Trump’s interactions with Putin.
    • Quote:
      "It was a moment when we realized how vulnerable we are right now." – Narrator [23:03]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Free Speech and Crackdown
  "Using a free speech activist's death to crack down on speech may in fact cross the threshold of American discursive stupidity." – Political Commentator [07:36]

• On the Media’s Ownership and Editorial Shifts
  "The Washington Post was purchased several years ago by Jeff Bezos...we have seen a change in the Washington Post's editorial direction in terms of what it allows and really what it amplifies." – News Reporter [07:05]

• On Israeli Propaganda
  "Israeli responses are becoming so boring. You know, they say the same thing every time they're producing the responses by ChatGPT these days..." – Charlie Kirk (actor) [13:30]

• On Ukraine’s Media Response to Trump and Vulnerability "It was a moment when we realized how vulnerable we are right now." – Narrator [23:03]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction, Crackdown after Kirk’s Death: [00:59–03:57]
• Media Repression and Free Speech Contradictions: [05:01–06:53]
• Right-wing International Reaction: [07:52–09:32]
• Netanyahu, Israel, and Media Strategy: [08:49–10:09]
• Trump’s Media Intimidation and MAGA Power Grab: [11:06–12:19]
• Israel-Gaza Genocide and Journalistic Witness: [12:44–15:06; 25:10]
• Trump’s Impact on Russia-Ukraine War, Media Manipulation: [15:06–24:12]

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Conclusion

This episode provides a sobering look at how violence, propaganda, and media suppression fuel cycles of polarization and repression. The assassination of Charlie Kirk becomes not just a story of a single divisive figure, but a lens on the broader weaponization of grief, speech, and media on both sides of the Atlantic. The internationalization of these dynamics—in responses to Gaza and Ukraine—reveals the ongoing struggles over narrative, legitimacy, and power in a rapidly destabilizing media and political landscape.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

This week on True Crime reports, up to 100,000 children go missing in China every year, a number that links back to the 1970s and the one child policy. This story is about one of those children and the mother who spent decades searching for him. Hear the full story on True Crime Reports. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[News Reporter]

This week on the Take, we're marking one year since a pair of devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria with a new digital interactive. Listen and watch stories of survival, recovery and coping with the grief@al jazeera.com earthquakes Again, that's al jazeera.com earthquakes.

[Political Analyst]

Freedom of expression in America put to the test, which is ironic since Charlie Kirk, whose killing has sparked a Trumpian crackdown, called himself a free speech advocate.

[Narrator]

Today we witness in real time how the promise of never again is broken.

[Political Analyst]

The list grows longer. The United nations adds its name to those calling Israel's assault on Gaza a genocide. And voices from across the divide the effect the new Trump administration has had on the war between Russia and Ukraine. It's been just over a week now since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and in death as he was in life, the far right podcaster and MAGA influencer is proving divisive. While Kirk's supporters mourned his death, many Americans chose that moment to critique him and what he represented. Such expressions can be controversial, but they do fall under the protections of the US Constitution. Just not, apparently, in Donald Trump's America. His administration has clamped down on what it deems to be hate speech emanating from the left, a crackdown that has already cost journalists, academics, even a comedian their jobs. Meanwhile, multiple MAGA voices have rushed to blame left wing radicalism for Kirk's murder. That is a story unto itself. But at the time of this recording, there is just too much speculation out there on the killer's motives and not enough proof. So we will leave the drawing of conclusions on that to others. What we do know, far right leaders from D.C. to London to Tel Aviv have all seized on Kirk's death, weaponizing his polarizing legacy for their own political purposes, even if that means dialing up the temperature in what is a volatile time in America. Turning up the heat. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a story that at its core is about political violence, polarization and the burgeoning importance of podcasts in American politics. The victim made his name, for the most part, through podcasts. Both the FBI director in charge of the murder investigation, Cash Patel, and his deputy, Dan Bonjour, did the same.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

This is The Charlie Kirk Show.

[Political Analyst]

And right after Kirk's killing, Vice President J.D. vance paid tribute to him by guest hosting his podcast, sending a clear message to Kirk's audience.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

We need to grieve, but we also need this courage in this moment more than we've ever needed it.

[News Reporter]

Charlie Kirk was very influential, particularly among young conservatives, where we aligned signal the value that this administration placed on that show and the host and his role in connecting them to a number of people.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

We call the shots, not the media, not the oligarchs, not Washington, D.C. charlie.

[Political Commentator]

Kirk was a get out the vote machine. And the administration's response to Kirk's death has been oriented towards the fact that he was so important, not just at a media level, but at an organizational level for the Republican electoral process.

[Political Analyst]

Charlie Kirk initially did that through Turning Point USA, a conservative political movement he founded in 2012 when he was just 18.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

I mean, we're starting chapters nationwide with Turning Point USA.

[Political Analyst]

In 2020, he took to podcasting through Turning Points Live, targeting young Republicans. Kirk racked up huge numbers while attracting reams of criticism from the left over the content he was churning on the stories of the day.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

I mean, Joe Biden is a bumbling, dementia filled, Alzheimer's corrupt tyrant who should honestly be put in prison.

[Political Analyst]

Often, Kirk railed against the cancel culture. He blamed liberals for inflicting on the US Media space, defending the right to free speech even when it was hateful.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

The cancel culture never comes from a mass amount of people. It's always a small, angry, venomous.

[Political Analyst]

Kind.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

Of just group of keyboard warriors.

[Political Analyst]

So what would Charlie Kirk make of the canceling now coming from the other side? The Trump administration and its followers going after Americans, journalists, academics, getting them fired, threatening them with arrest for daring to question Kirk's track record posthumously.

[News Reporter]

We will absolutely target you, go after.

[Political Analyst]

You if you are targeting anyone with hate speech. And what would he make of a news organization like the Washington Post capitulating and firing its only black columnist, Karen Attia.

[Journalist]

When we look at these, these firings, and I think we should understand them as purgings. Karen Attia at the Washington Post, the language that she used to describe the killing of Charlie Kirk, she says she's not going to mourn it. That's her right. And then she did a little bit of sort of media criticism at the performance of almost enforced grief happening right now. And for that she was fired.

[Media Expert]

For people who do not want to see a diversity of reactions around Charlie Kirk's death, the firing of that journalist was its own cause for celebration. Charlie Kirk said many cruel things about women, and he seemed to have a particular level of ire against black women who he saw as beneficiaries of diversity initiatives.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

You had to go steal a white person's slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.

[Media Expert]

And if you are a black woman in America, the massive mourning over his death brought up a lot of rage.

[News Reporter]

This honestly should not come as a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention to the US Media ecosystem. The Washington Post was purchased several years ago by Jeff Bezos, and while Bezos initially said that he wasn't going to have editorial influence, he later said that the paper would emphasize personal liberties and free markets. So we have seen a change in the Washington Post's editorial direction in terms of what it allows and really what it amplifies.

[Political Commentator]

There's only a certain amount of stupidity that American discourse will tolerate. And using a free speech activist's death to crack down on speech may in fact cross the threshold of American discursive stupidity.

[Political Analyst]

Not that the discourse surrounding Kirk's killing is limited to the us Last weekend in London, Kirk was lionized at a huge right wing, anti immigration protest. Far right leaders in France, Germany, the Netherlands all reacted to Kirk's killing, blaming the left for what Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban called an international hate campaign. But the first foreign leader to appear on the US Airwaves on the topic was Benjamin Netanyahu. He wrote me a letter on May 2 this year. He said, one of my greatest joys as a Christian is advocating for Israel and forming alliances to defend Judeo Christian civilization. The part Netanyahu left out was Kirk's view of America's unrelenting support for Israel had turned. And as a result, he came under pressure from Israel's backers to toe the line.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

I have text messages, Meghan, calling me an anti Semite.

[News Reporter]

We know that over time, Kirk had moved away from the position of supporting Israel, specifically in its assault on Gaza and the Palestinian genocide. So it's interesting that Netanyahu would pick up on some old comments that Kirk had made and try to spin them into a support for not only the state of Israel, but also for Benjamin Netanyahu himself.

[Political Analyst]

First, let me say Charlie Kirk was in the tremendous, tremendous friend of Israel.

[News Reporter]

We see another opportunist in a political office just taking advantage of a crisis to really amplify his own message.

[Media Expert]

It is so important that Israel maintains strong, strong support, not only from the White House, but from the American people. And the young left is just absolutely devastated by this war and very, very, very opposed to it. And increasingly the young right was having problems with this war and starting also to criticize it. And so getting the right wing and these social media influencers on the side of Israel is going to be very important for Netanyahu and for Israel.

[Political Commentator]

And Netanyahu knows that Netanyahu, like Trump, has a certain political acumen. So Netanyahu understands that he has to get in line, say the right things about Kirk. And, you know, it's not just public statements. We'll get the news coverage. There are pictures of Kirk being projected onto the sides of buildings in Tel Aviv to make sure that the government is identifying itself with Kirk and consolidating its support among Kirk's followers.

[Political Analyst]

Donald Trump is using this moment to settle some scores as well. When asked by a reporter for ABC News, a network that has already succumbed to legal pressure from Trump, how his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, can target hate speech when so many Republicans call it free speech, like Charlie Kirk did, he chose to threaten the reporter.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

We'd probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they'll come after ABC.

[Political Analyst]

24 hours later, ABC pulled its late night comedy host Jimmy Kimmel off the air indefinitely for mocking the President's reaction to Kirk's murder. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend. This is Donald Trump's formula. Intimidation verging on authoritarianism mixed with elements of distraction. Trump has good reason to divert Americans away from other issues, everything from a faltering economy to the specter of the Epstein files, the existential threat they could pose to his presidency should they be made public.

[Journalist]

I disagree with the argument that the mobilization of grief is an attempt to distract America from the real issues. They are sincere in their authoritarianism. It's not a put on. MAGA is already is using this event as a catalyst for a rapid expansion of power. And I want us as journalists to turn our attention to resisting that expansion of power.

[Media Expert]

But the American media is not also really set up to cover extremism. So that's another problem. And a lot of people inside American journalism are trying to figure out ways to better share what's going on. But it's not easy. If you think that we are in perilous times here and the people are scared, you're getting the right impression. There is a tremendous amount of fear right now.

[Political Analyst]

This week, as the UN formally declared what Palestinians have been saying for so long that Israel is committing a genocide. Israeli forces launched the invasion to seize Gaza City. Israeli cabinet ministers aren't even bothering to hide their intention to raze the city to the ground and empty it of its people. Ryan Cowles is here with more Israel's.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

Response to the charge of genocide has at this point become rather predictable, even formulaic. It says the UN is advancing Hamas propaganda, a charge UN officials are pretty dismissive of. But honestly, the Israeli responses are becoming so boring. You know, they say the same thing every time they're producing the responses by ChatGPT these days, and they spend so much money in the Foreign Ministry on propaganda, you think that they would actually come up with something original. And just as Israeli leaders try to deny they are committing genocide, they also keep offering up more evidence of their own genocidal intent. Throughout the past two years, a noticeable pattern has emerged when speaking in English to Western media. Israeli officials have been careful choosing to use moderate language, but when speaking in Hebrew, the mask falls off. This week, Defense Minister Israel Katz shared this video celebrating the destruction of a university in Gaza. Institutions like these are protected under international humanitarian law, but he called it a source of incitement and terrorism. Minister for National Security Itmar Ben Gvir also shared videos of Israel's systematic destruction of buildings in Gaza City, boasting that Israel is pressing ahead with all our might. Knesset member Itzhak Kreuzer went further, branding Palestinians as Nazis and stating that there is no other way but to destroy and eliminate them. These calls for the erasure of Palestinian people, their homes and institutions, leave little doubt about Israel's goal the annihilation of Palestinian existence. The UN Genocide Convention has two elements to identify a intention and execution. Intention can be harder to prove, but Israeli officials have repeatedly made it easy through their own words, and with Palestinians livestreaming the death and destruction around them, there is no doubt about the extent of the execution of genocide in Gaza.

[Political Analyst]

Thanks, Ryan. Turning now to another war zone and the effect the Trump administration is having on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Trump's second term in office has injected plenty of unpredictability into the mix, unsettling Kiev, allowing Moscow more room for maneuver and forcing the media on both sides to recalibrate. The Trump effect has also provided the Russian military with a boost. While Ukraine is struggling on two fronts, military and diplomatic, the support of it gets from its allies. To get a better feel for where this story is at and where it's going, we spoke with a Russian journalist in exile and a Ukrainian media Scholar. Now, many Ukrainians we tried to interview decline to share screen space with a Russian. But the two voices you will hear have consented to appear together. They unpack how the media in Ukraine and Russia are grappling with Trump. The war he claims to be mediating the plus what Ukrainians and Russians are expecting, even dreading will happen next.

[Russian Journalist]

Propaganda has always been a crucial weapon for Putin, a cornerstone for his authority. And of course, even more so since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2020. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has forced Russian propaganda machine to adapt to make changes to their standard narrative. When the usual picture was that it is the evil west which is trying to ruin and destroy Russia. And this image had to be altered to accommodate a figure like Trump.

[Narrator]

Trump. Donald Trump has been quite a disrupting presence. Before he was re elected, he had really emphasized the prospects for peace.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine totally settled. I'll have it done in 24 hours.

[Narrator]

Ukrainian media were quite optimistic about Trump. Every small tweet of his was reported. His inauguration became a real media event. But nine months have passed and what we see now is fatigue. Trump bombards the world with his social media posts and his random statements, but very little has actually moved a wave.

[Political Analyst]

Of Russian drones and missiles. The attacks came despite Donald Trump this very week, imposing a new deadline even as the Trump administration looks to move the peace process forward.

[Media Expert]

No mention of a ceasefire or severe sanctions.

[Russian Journalist]

We cover this war and Russia from the outside, but for us, it's obvious. It's clear that Putin and the Kremlin have learned how to deal with Trump and his unpredictable predictability. A simple rule that they have adopted is never criticize Trump. I would say that they have learned this rule fully after the NATO summit in June, when Trump found himself quite receptive to some of the European proposals and started to criticize Putin.

[Charlie Kirk (or Actor portraying him)]

Why have you not been able to.

[Political Commentator]

End the Ukraine war?

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

Because it's more difficult than people would have any idea. Vladimir Putin has been more difficult.

[Russian Journalist]

Russian media reacted quite angrily, which we know that doesn't help Russia's case in Washington. So since then, instead of counterattacking Trump, when Trump attacks Putin, Russian propaganda machine came out with a different solution. Whenever Trump says something inconvenient about Putin or Russia, Russian mainstream media would simply cut out any reference to Putin. For example, Trump would often post something online about Russia, Ukraine war. And in these posts, he would often criticize both Zelensky and Putin, and as he often does, but only the quote about Zelensky would make its way to Russian news and Russian propaganda would highlight it, would embrace it, would repeat it. But the stuff about Putin won't be referred to. It will be simply censored. Ultimately, the major propaganda message at home in Russia is that there are two peacemakers who actually really want to end Putin this conflict. And those two men of peace are Putin and Trump. When Putin and Trump met in Alaska in August, Russian media was full of joy and pride. The main message was that Putin cannot and never will be isolated, celebrating the fact that all attempts to isolate Putin have failed, with a natural triumphal follow up later in September in China. Putin's goal in his game with Trump is clear. He already learned. He already knows that he cannot recruit Trump and flip him over and have him as his full scale loyal ally. But he can learn how to master Trump and how to outplay Trump. He can take advantage of the lack of expertise on Ukraine in Trump's team and persuade him in legitimacy of his demands. Ultimately, the major victory for Putin politically and in terms of optics and propaganda, is that he deals with Trump as his peer. And Russian media really pushes that. Putin and Trump are new Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin of our times. They reshape the world and they decide the future of Ukraine and the future of Europe for that matter. That's the story that Russian media keeps pushing foreign.

[Narrator]

Ukrainian journalists have had to find a way to understand and report on someone like Donald Trump. He is an unpredictable man, someone who talks big but doesn't deliver that much, and most importantly, someone who doesn't really understand the true nature of the war. Ukraine. Ukraine has been fighting.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

You know, Ukraine is being just, just wiped out. Look at what's happening to the cities, that there are cities. There's not even a building standing.

[Narrator]

Undeniably, the most shocking political and media moment between Trump and Zelenskyy happened at the meeting at the oval office in February 2022.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

It's an honor to have President Zelensky.

[Narrator]

The whole thing began quite normally and then it just exploded.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

No, no, you've done a lot of talking first.

[Narrator]

Journalists that covered it didn't know how to react. So there was a lot of shock, even confusion.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States. You're either going to make a deal or we're out.

[Narrator]

Once the surprise had worn off, there was a lot of anger. Many Ukrainian journalists felt that the victim of the war was being scolded and made look ungrateful.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

If you didn't have our military equipment.

[Narrator]

There are many people in Ukraine, including many journalists, who have their criticisms of Zelensky. But what happened with Trump really made people think. It was a moment when we realized how vulnerable we are right now. All the anger online was contrasted to some extent with the realization in Ukraine's mainstream media. Trump often lashes out at any criticism. Anything could spark a backlash. So after the initial shock, television coverage soon became more careful. Of course, here in Ukraine, we aren't just watching how Trump deals with our leaders, but also with others, especially Putin and Russia. And what we saw in Alaska was just a confirmation of what we were anxious about.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

Thank you very much, Vladimir.

[Russian Journalist]

Next time in Moscow.

[Donald Trump (or Actor portraying him)]

Oh, that's an interesting one.

[Narrator]

Mainstream outlets, the big Ukrainian television channels, attempted to provide a reserved, neutral coverage, but you could still sense the bitterness, especially when the red carpet was rolled out for Putin. But also the warm handshake, the pat on the shoulder. Those were small gestures, but. But they generated a lot of attention and a lot of criticism. Here in Ukraine, the follow up meeting with Zelensky and the European leaders helped calm some nerves. There were no clashes and it almost felt uneventful, especially compared to the awful meeting in the Oval Office in February. But still, that meeting also reinforced the question that is hanging over all of us. Is Trump committed? And to what extent is he committed to enabling Europe to stay united on Ukraine?

[Political Analyst]

And finally back to Israel's indefensible ground invasion of Gaza City? Thousands more Palestinians have been forced from their homes yet again. And the journalists amongst them have been documenting the story, some on social media, about how dystopian this moment is to be expelled from your home while under fire from airstrikes, gunfire and drones. But there are also some journalists who say they refuse to leave. For those journalists, there is no safe place to go. The choice comes down to displacement or death. And yet some remain the last remaining eyes and ears on this genocide. And their own stories will outlive them and outlive the genocidal acts that Israel is inflicting on Palestinians.