Democratic power lawyer Marc Elias appeared on Deadline: White House with host Nicolle Wallace, where he accused Donald Trump of attempting to intimidate Democrats and influence media coverage. An absurd allegation, delivered on a network that has opposed and criticized Trump nonstop since 2015.
Elias laid out his claim in a single, uninterrupted statement—asserting Trump’s alleged intent while simultaneously declaring Barack Obama immune from consequences:
“Trump came to office… he went to the Department of Justice and gave a speech and called me a communist who was trying to destroy America. And he said that because he was trying to intimidate me.
And he has gone after people like my former law firm, like people like Mark Zaid. Not just because he’s trying to shut us up, but because he’s trying to make an example to shut other people up.
And so… Barack Obama is gonna be fine. Like, he’s not gonna get prosecuted for anything.
But what Donald Trump is hoping is that people will read this news, will hear this information. And maybe they’ll just be a little more quiet, maybe they will speak out just a little less loudly, maybe they won’t cover a story quite as aggressively as they would have.
And so as we head towards 2026, Nicolle, it becomes even more important for people like Basil, and Eddie, and me and you, and the Andrew Weismans and everybody else who you have on regularly to continue speaking loudly and clearly.”
Elias presents no evidence. He simply tells viewers what Trump is “hoping,” what Trump is “trying” to do, and what Trump supposedly intends—assertions delivered as fact and left completely unchallenged.
Most striking is the casual certainty Elias offers about Obama. In the middle of an intimidation narrative, he assures viewers that Obama “is gonna be fine” and “not gonna get prosecuted for anything,” without explanation or legal reasoning.
Also revealing is the closing rallying cry. By urging “people like Basil… and me and you… and the Andrew Weismans and everybody else who you have on regularly” to “continue speaking loudly and clearly,” Elias openly acknowledges a recurring, aligned group of political operatives and media figures. He is encouraging message discipline and volume heading into the 2026 election cycle. That is not intimidation. It is coordination, stated plainly on friendly television.
Trump → investigated endlessly, guilt assumed
Obama → declared safe, examination portrayed as illegitimate and dangerous
Democrats and their allies—often with Elias’s direct legal involvement—pursued investigations, endless lawsuits, FBI raids, impeachments, and relentless media campaigns against Trump. Guilt was treated as a given from the start, and Democrats openly worked to send Donald Trump to prison to prevent his reelection. That is intimidation by the state.
Yet when Trump calls Elias “a communist who was trying to destroy America,” Elias suddenly claims victimhood and calls it “intimidation.”
There is no intimidation here—only a well-connected Democratic lawyer asserting motive, immunity, and intent on friendly television, without evidence, without challenge, and without opposition.
When Democrats investigate Republicans, it’s justice.
When Republicans investigate Democrats, it’s intimidation.
And when it comes to Barack Obama, viewers are told not to ask questions at all.
The media does not investigate or tell the truth about Barack Obama or Democrats—it protects them.