Veteran journalist Katie Couric admitted on her podcast “Next Question with Katie Couric” Thursday that she no longer attempts to maintain impartiality when reporting on former President Donald Trump. The admission came during a conversation with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, who mentioned that Trump had installed a photograph of an autopen — rather than an official portrait of President Joe Biden — in a display honoring past presidents.
The Daily Caller first reported on September 2 that Trump planned to feature the autopen image as part of a “Presidential Wall of Fame” at the White House, a tongue-in-cheek move widely interpreted as a jab at Biden’s presidency.
Couric, reacting to the revelation, expressed visible frustration and disbelief. On her podcast, she denounced Trump’s decision and his broader behavior, acknowledging that her ability — and willingness — to remain neutral in her coverage of him has faded over time.
Her remarks marked a striking moment of candor from a journalist long known for her composure and professionalism, signaling just how deeply Trump continues to divide opinion even among members of the press who once prided themselves on objectivity.
“I’m sorry, I’ve kind of gone beyond trying to be impartial here, Jonathan, because his behavior is so beyond the pale,” Katie Couric admitted during her podcast, Next Question with Katie Couric.
Referring to former President Donald Trump’s decision to hang a photo of an autopen in place of an official portrait of President Joe Biden, Couric said, “This autopen — so he places presidential portraits along the hallway leading to the Oval Office, and the one he puts up of Joe Biden is an autopen.”
“I mean, it’s so sophomoric, but it’s also just so creepy, right?” she continued. “I mean, what? What is that?”
Couric went on to reflect on her ongoing struggle to cover Trump objectively, a topic she had previously addressed on the Jan. 28 episode of her show. “People say they don’t want to know, but my job is to tell them what’s happening,” she said. “And if it’s fact-based reporting, then to pro-MAGA people, it seems biased. And it’s a real conundrum.”
“And sometimes you just have to say, ‘To hell with it, I’m just going to do the best I can.’ But it’s tricky.”
In another episode released on Nov. 21, Couric expressed her continued disbelief over how Americans chose to re-elect Trump, despite what she described as his “behavior and actions.”
She’s not the only media figure to publicly acknowledge bias within the press. CNN anchor Abby Phillip similarly admitted on The Breakfast Club on Oct. 28 that her network leans left, placing its political stance “somewhere between Fox News and MSNBC.”
Public confidence in the media continues to erode as well. According to a Gallup survey published Oct. 2, only 28 percent of Americans said they trust newspapers, television, and radio to report “fully, accurately, and fairly,” down from 31 percent in 2024.
By contrast, 34 percent said they have no trust at all in the media, while another 36 percent said they have “not very much” confidence. Republican trust reached a new low, plunging to just 8 percent — the first time it has ever fallen into single digits.
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