President Donald Trump has railed against CBS News host Margaret Brennan, following her contested remarks which allegedly implied a connection between free speech and the Holocaust. Trump labeled her show as “Deface the Nation” and questioned her professional competence.
In an extensive conversation with The Spectator’s Ben Domenech on February 27, 2025, Trump discussed the February dialogue between Brennan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Brennan had attempted to associate Vice President JD Vance’s supportive statements on free speech at the Munich Security Conference with the Holocaust.
Discussing the widely circulated exchange, Trump said, “I call it ‘Deface the Nation.’ Brennan is like anybody on the street that you could take and say, ‘Go in and ask a few questions.’ That was so bad, I don’t get how you hire some of these people.”
The controversy started when Brennan interviewed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 16, 2025. Brennan criticized Vice President Vance’s Munich speech, where he defended free speech and criticized government censorship across Europe.
According to The Hill, Brennan argued that Vance was speaking in a country where free speech was used to execute a genocide. She referenced his meeting with the leader of a political party with far-right views and historical ties to extremist groups, and contended that the context was significant. Brennan claimed that the censorship Vance critiqued was specifically aimed at right-wing speech.
Rubio promptly disputed Brennan’s historical interpretation.
Rubio disagreed with Brennan’s portrayal, clarifying that free speech was not the cause of the genocide. He pointed out that the Holocaust was carried out by an authoritarian Nazi regime which targeted Jews and minorities. Rubio stressed that free speech did not exist in Nazi Germany, as there was no political opposition and the Nazis were the sole ruling party. He concluded that Brennan’s depiction was historically incorrect.
Historians widely concur with Rubio’s statement that free speech did not exist in Nazi Germany. The Nazi regime rapidly suppressed freedom of speech and the press after seizing power, shutting down anti-Nazi newspapers, requiring journalists to be licensed by the government, and arresting Germans who criticized the regime.
Vice President Vance also reacted to Brennan’s comments, expressing disbelief at her characterization.
Vance questioned if the media genuinely believed that the Holocaust was caused by free speech, expressing his amazement at such an assertion.
According to CBS News, Vance “stunned European leaders in Munich with a speech in which he painted a picture of European politics infected by media censorship and political correctness.”
Vance also reportedly met the leader of Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right political party with controversial views, during his European visit. This meeting was referenced by Brennan in her interview with Rubio.
This is not Brennan’s first friction with Trump administration officials. The CBS host has had confrontations with several Republicans, including Secretary Rubio, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Vice President Vance on various issues ranging from immigration to presidential statements.
According to reports, CBS News did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Trump’s criticism of Brennan. The network has received considerable backlash from conservatives and historians over Brennan’s comments about free speech in Nazi Germany.
In Brennan’s defense, it was noted that she implied free speech had a role in Nazi Germany, but she phrased it as “free speech being weaponized” rather than directly blaming free speech for the Holocaust.
The criticism from Trump comes as he reportedly ramps up pressure on CBS with a massive discovery demand as part of a lawsuit against “60 Minutes,” another CBS News program. The details of this legal action were not specified in the sources.
This exchange underscores ongoing frictions between the Trump administration and mainstream media, especially over interpretations of history and free speech issues. It also emphasizes the administration’s commitment to promoting free speech domestically and internationally, as demonstrated by Vance’s Munich speech.
Since assuming the role of moderator for “Face the Nation” in 2018, Brennan has increasingly found herself in the limelight due to these contentious exchanges with Trump administration officials. These incidents often go viral on social media, drawing criticism and support depending on political affiliations.
