Media Kingmakers Already Anointing Their 2028 Champion—And It’s Not Who You’d Think
The corporate media has picked its horse in the 2028 Democratic primary, and they’re not even trying to hide it anymore.
Two critical Sunday morning interviews this past weekend exposed the legacy media’s transparent game plan for the next presidential cycle. The contrast was stark, deliberate, and unmistakable.
The Tale of Two Interviews
ABC’s Martha Raddatz welcomed Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro onto “This Week” with all the warmth of a prosecuting attorney. Meanwhile, over at CNN’s “State of the Union,” California Governor Gavin Newsom received the kind of fawning treatment typically reserved for visiting royalty.
Both men have published memoirs. Both are testing the presidential waters. Both spent Sunday morning attacking President Trump’s tariff policies.
But only one got the kid-glove treatment.
Shapiro Gets the Squeeze
Raddatz allowed Shapiro his anti-Trump talking points—naturally. He dutifully described Trump’s supposed surprise at the Supreme Court tariff ruling, painting a picture of a president caught off-guard. “I think he said, ‘we lost?’, as a question, the aide nodded in affirmation,” Shapiro recounted with barely concealed satisfaction.
The Pennsylvania governor checked all the required boxes: condemning Trump’s Section 122 tariff strategy, wringing his hands over imagined “pain for the American people,” and pledging to resist any ICE enforcement surge in his state. “We do not want that kind of chaos in our communities,” he proclaimed, as if removing criminal illegal aliens constitutes “chaos.”
But then Raddatz pivoted. Hard.
She grilled Shapiro about his relationship with Senator John Fetterman, pressing him on whether he’d support the increasingly independent-minded senator’s reelection bid. Shapiro squirmed, offering only that their relationship was “constructive” while refusing to commit support. When cornered, he deflected, calling the reported feud a media fabrication.
The message? Shapiro better get in line with progressive orthodoxy—or else.
Newsom Gets the Red Carpet
Over on CNN, Newsom received a fundamentally different interview. Sure, he got his Trump-bashing opportunities, dismissing the president as “flailing” after the Supreme Court decision.
But then came the softball parade.
Host Dana Bash lobbed questions designed to humanize and elevate Newsom: heartfelt queries about processing his mother’s death, extended discussion of his “lifelong struggle with dyslexia”—which he now considers a “superpower”—and ample opportunity to promote his book’s themes of resilience and personal responsibility.
When Bash attempted—tepidly—to ask the obvious question about a potential 2028 collision with former Vice President Kamala Harris, Newsom brushed it aside with the casual confidence of someone who knows he won’t face follow-up scrutiny.
“That’s fate,” he shrugged. “You only can control what you can control.”
Rather than pressing the issue, Bash simply moved on. Interview over. Mission accomplished.
The Fix Is In
The disparity isn’t subtle. It’s a preview of coming attractions.
Shapiro represents the wrong kind of Democrat for the national media apparatus—too moderate, too willing to work across the aisle, too comfortable in purple Pennsylvania where he actually has to win over voters who don’t reflexively hate Republicans. He’s being sent a message: fall in line or face the consequences.
Newsom represents everything the coastal media elite values: slick presentation, unshakeable progressive credentials, California’s electoral votes, and the willingness to never apologize for left-wing excess. His state may be hemorrhaging residents and businesses, grappling with homelessness and crime, and struggling with fiscal mismanagement—but none of that matters when you’re the chosen one.
What This Means for 2028
These interviews reveal the legacy media’s strategy heading into the next presidential cycle. They will position Newsom as the charismatic, battle-tested leader who stood up to Trump while managing America’s largest state. They’ll minimize his failures and maximize his messaging opportunities.
Meanwhile, any Democrat who doesn’t fit the preferred narrative—whether Shapiro or another moderate—will face skeptical questioning, amplified controversies, and subtle undermining.
The primaries may be years away, but the media primary has already begun. The coronation is underway.
Republicans should take note. The same media apparatus that protected Joe Biden’s obvious decline, that buried the Hunter Biden laptop story, and that spun every Democratic disaster into a Republican crisis is already choosing sides for 2028.
Newsom is their guy. Everything else is just theater.
The Sunday morning shows have spoken. The only question now is whether Democratic voters will dutifully follow the script—or whether they’ll finally recognize media manipulation when they see it.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the latter.
