Happy Monday. CES is getting underway, Versant is standing up on its own, and the "CBS Evening News" is relaunching again. But let's pick up where we left off in Sunday's special edition, with the latest on Venezuela... |
Origins of 'Donroe Doctrine' |
"They now call it the 'Donroe Doctrine.'"
While justifying the US military operation in Venezuela, President Trump referenced a phrase that describes his vision for dominating the Western Hemisphere. And like so many of Trump's talking points, this one has its roots in right-wing media.
The New York Post, one of his favorite publications, seems to have coined "Donroe Doctrine." The paper put the words on the cover almost exactly one year ago today, on January 8, 2025, when Trump's ambitions for Greenland were in the news:
|
Courtesy The New York Post |
Post reporter Caitlin Doornbos didn't use the phrase in her cover story, but she quoted a source saying Trump was "laying out the early framework of the 'Trump Doctrine.'"
"Donroe" is a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which you probably learned about in high school history class. CNN's Zachary B. Wolf has all the background here in a column titled "Trump wants to redraw the map of the Western Hemisphere."
"The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we've superseded it by a lot, by a real lot," Trump said at his Saturday press conference, before citing the "Donroe Doctrine."
The phrase didn't get much pickup when the Post put it on the cover. But knowing Trump's news-scanning habits, he likely saw it right away.
"Donroe Doctrine" began to circulate more widely last fall, with headlines in the FT, the NYT and other outlets. And it came up on Fox News the day before the strike: Griff Jenkins invoked the phrase on "Fox & Friends," one of Trump's favorite shows, Friday morning.
Trump's corollary "basically says we assert the right to go into any country whose internal troubles are creating a threat to us in the region. And that's a pretty broad mandate," David Sanger said on CNN's "Inside Politics" yesterday.
Trump said it again last night when he gaggled with reporters on Air Force One, arguing the Venezuela action differs from US interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan because "it's in our area. The Donroe Doctrine."
So who came up with the pithy phrase at the Post? A spokesperson was not forthcoming. Post editor Keith Poole likes to say "all our headlines are a collective effort..."
>> Speaking of Trump's Post relationship, he hopped on the phone with Post reporters both on Saturday and Sunday. The president sure seems to enjoy being his own spokesman at a time like this. Some of his comments have been nothing short of shocking, especially about potential US action in other countries...
|
This morning's banner headline atop The Washington Post says it well: "Uncertainty clouds U.S. plan to 'run' Venezuela."
Answers are in short supply right now, but journalists are asking all the right questions, including directly to Trump. CNN alum Barbara Starr frames the matter this way: US servicemembers "deserve answers."
"The tactical success of the mission is still in search of a strategy," Starr wrote over the weekend. "Why exactly did the US do this? What is the ultimate goal? How will the US know when its achieved success? And how long will the US have to potentially stay in Venezuela to ensure it all works? The shadow of failed regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan still looms large — especially with oil still a major issue once again. It’s all important questions for the world looking for answers. But it's vital for the wounded troops who deserve to know exactly why they are called into action."
|
The Trump administration is trying to control its Venezuela message by funneling info through the White House. Pentagon beat reporters tell me they're not getting answers from military spokespeople. Press officers are regularly referring questions to the WH.
"Historically," Idrees Ali of Reuters wrote Saturday, "the Pentagon would have held a briefing by now to answer questions... This Pentagon has been silent." AP reporter (and CNN alum) Konstantin Toropin said the post-strike silence from Pentagon officials was "staggering."
|
Reporters still seek info about casualties on the ground |
A Reliable reader in Canada wrote in last night to say, "One thing I have noted across platforms is the absolute lack of coverage of Venezuelan casualties in this 'military assisted law enforcement action' or whatever they're calling it."
Reporters are trying. To that point, Zeteo politics reporter Prem Thakker wrote on Bluesky last night that he "reached out to the White House and the Pentagon to ask what they know about the death toll of their strikes in Venezuela. The White House referred us to the Pentagon. And the Pentagon referred us to the White House."
Some information has come out from Caracas and Havana, however. "The Cuban government, in a post on Facebook on Sunday, said 32 of its citizens were killed during the operation," per CNN's Patrick Oppmann...
|
Media mettle on full display |
>> Shoutout to the WABC and WCBS news helicopter pilots who expertly tracked Maduro's transfer from Brooklyn to Manhattan for today's court appearance. CNN is in rolling live coverage of the court appearance now.
>> Semafor's Max Tani crystallized what I was trying to say in Sunday's edition: "Politicians and brands may turn to friendly creators to get their messages out. But when real news happens, they still rely on real journalism."
>> "For newsrooms, this story is a woolen sweater: there are thousands of threads to pull on," CJR's Jem Bartholomew wrote this morning. "So far, I have largely found the media’s coverage to be quality and informative."
>> The Washington Post just published a "we texted 1,000 Americans" poll about the US actions in Venezuela.
>> View from the left: "By framing this brazen act of aggression in euphemistic terms, the media is falling in line with Trump," Adam Johnson argued in this column for The Intercept.
>> View from the right: Breitbart is featuring a page full of "the most iconic videos of Venezuelans celebrating."
>> "Watching Fox News and folks seem giddy with dreams of global intervention," NYT's Lulu Garcia-Navarro tweeted. "Cuba! Colombia! Iran! The GOP hawks are back. Almost as if they never left."
|
Comcast's cable channel spinoff is complete, and as of this morning, Versant is a separate, publicly traded company. "We enter the market with the scale, strategy and leadership to grow and evolve our business model," CEO Mark Lazarus said in the press release. The stock fell immediately after opening, and at 10:20 a.m. ET it was trading down about 13%... |
Dokoupil's first weekday 'Evening News' |
Tony Dokoupil will be anchoring the "CBS Evening News" from NYC tonight since his road trip has been postponed due to the Venezuela news.
Over the holidays, Dokoupil, Bari Weiss and the CBS crew drummed up lots of social media interest in the relaunch by posting a video about trust and unveiling "five simple principles" that will guide the newscast. (One of the five is "We love America.") My main reaction to all the fuss: It's entirely predictable that a perennially third-place newscast is trying some new things to get attention!
>> But the attention comes at a price. "There is blood in the water," an anonymous CBS journalist told Jeremy Barr of Weiss' stewardship.
|
The Consumer Electronics Show is getting underway in Vegas. "The show floor officially opens on Tuesday," but "companies have already started making announcements," The Verge notes at its conference roundup page. Deadline's Dade Hayes says organizers have "upped the show’s entertainment factor" this year...
|
Walz won't run again as right-wing media frenzy grows |
Breaking just now via Jeff Zeleny: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ends reelection bid amid welfare fraud scandal."
There's the genuine fraud scandal, and then there's the social media frenzy from amateur investigators, with emphasis on amateur. CNN's Zoe Sottile has more on that here.
The frenzy has "rippled into at least seven other states," NBC's David Ingram and Tyler Kingkade report, "as conservative journalists and right-wing influencers have embraced the idea that they should investigate state-subsidized child care centers, especially those run by local people of Somali descent." The videos "have sparked a national debate about the tactics of right-wing media figures..."
>> Conspiracy world: Over the weekend, Trump shared a video amplifying the baseless theory that Walz "had been part of a conspiracy to kill Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman last year."
|
Grok's 'undressing' scandal keeps getting worse |
xAI’s Grok "is removing clothing from pictures of people without their consent" en masse, The Verge’s Elissa Welle wrote. The result: "X has been flooded with imagery of women and children appearing pregnant, skirtless, wearing a bikini, or in other sexualized situations."
The backlash has been fierce, as BI's Henry Chandonnet and Brent D. Griffiths reported. "Ministers in France have reported X to prosecutors and regulators over the disturbing images," A.J. Vicens and Raphael Satter reported for Reuters. In India, Lakshmi Priya wrote for The News Minute that the scandal shows the "casual dehumanization of women."
>> Meanwhile, X just celebrated the "highest engagement start-of-the-year in X's history." And Elon Musk dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, later tweeting: "2026 is going to be amazing!"
|
>> NPR's Steve Inskeep started January with a hopeful note: "Public radio may be stronger in 2026." (Differ We Must)
>> Stephen Starr noted that Trump's NPR/PBS cuts "have fueled 'rage-giving' to US rural public radio," but asked, "Will it be enough?" (The Guardian)
>> Variety's team offered some 2026 media predictions, including that Netflix will win the Warner Bros. war and Josh D'Amaro will be the next Disney CEO. (Variety)
>> Deadline's team forecast ten big stories for 2026. (Deadline)
>> Lucia Moses said "podcasts face a major test in 2026: Can they make it big on TV screens?" (Business Insider)
|
>> It was "a rough year for journalists in 2025," The AP's David Bauder wrote, asserting "it's hard to think of a darker time for journalists." (AP)
>> Paul Farhi asserted that "the Trump-book bubble has burst." (The Atlantic)
>> Highly recommended: Hannah Natanson's essay titled "I am The Post's 'federal government whisperer.' It's been brutal." (WaPo)
>> Katie Rosman's New Year's scoop: "New York Magazine Put Mamdani’s Team on Its Cover. One Aide Was Erased." (NYT)
>> Ashley Wong went "behind the scenes of MrBeast's $5 million reality competition" on Prime Video. (WSJ)
|
>> "One Battle After Another was named best picture at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night." (THR)
>> Jimmy Kimmel thanked Trump during his acceptance speech for best talk show, joking that without the president, "we would be going home empty-handed tonight." (LateNighter)
>> "Avatar: Fire and Ash" has become "the fourth James Cameron movie to earn more than $1 billion at the global box office." (Deadline)
>> This morning, Netflix "set the premiere date and released a trailer for its previously unannounced documentary that followed the making of the final season of 'Stranger Things.'" It'll come out next Monday. (Variety)
|
|
|
|
® © 2026 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
1050 Techwood Drive NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
