Is Hollywood Self-Censoring to Please Trump?

Tara Palmeri sits down with producer Chris Fenton — dubbed "Hollywood's MAGA whisperer" — to unpack how an entire industry is learning to speak Donald Trump's language. With LA hemorrhaging jobs (50,000 lost in recent years) and production fleeing to the UK, Canada, and 80-plus countries offering national tax incentives, Hollywood is pushing for a federal film incentive to bring shoots back to America. The catch: getting it passed runs through a president who rewards allies and punishes critics. Fenton lays out the economics — state-by-state rebates, why Marvel left Georgia for Britain, and why the real beneficiaries are middle-class "below the line" crews in red states, not the Hollywood elite the public loves to hate. But Tara presses on the harder question lurking underneath the talking points: where does lobbying end and self-censorship begin? She and Fenton spar over whether studios are quietly shelving politically risky projects to avoid angering Trump, the payouts ABC and CBS have made, the firing of late-night hosts, and the broadcast networks afraid of losing their licenses. Fenton concedes the biggest tell of all: a film about Jeffrey Epstein that actually examined Donald Trump's role would "never get a full release" from a major studio. Tara argues it's the biggest corruption story of our time and 80% of the country would watch it — yet Hollywood won't touch it. Along the way: the China problem (why James Bond never has a Chinese villain), Steve Bannon's surprising openness to the idea, Fenton's own story of being shut out of left-leaning platforms, and his new faith-tinged comedy "Bad Counselors." #politics #trump #hollywood Tara Palmeri is one of the most feared and fearless reporters covering power and politics. She has 15 years of experience covering national politics and foreign affairs. She was formerly a White House Correspondent for ABC News where she covered the first Trump administration. She was the chief National Correspondent for POLITICO during the Biden administration. She has been a political analyst for CNBC, CBS and CNN. She started her career as a columnist for the Washington Examiner and then went on to report for the New York Post. She was a foreign correspondent for POLITICO Europe, where she covered international affairs, including Brexit. She hosted the Ringer's political podcast "Somebody's Gotta Win" and wrote a column for Puck. Tara also hosted two acclaimed podcasts on Jeffrey Epstein, "Broken: Jeffrey Epstein" and "Power: The Maxwells." Tara currently hosts the Tara Palmeri Show. 0:00 – Has Hollywood flipped? The new Trump-era dynamic 3:18 – What does a "MAGA translator" actually do? 5:31 – How the federal film incentive works: tax rebates, explained 7:20 – Do the studios just want to wait Trump out? 9:40 – Who wrote the talking points? "Everybody's on board" 11:11 – A charm campaign for Trump's attention — and promoting his own movie 13:14 – Importing foreign actors and trading talent like H-1B visas 16:43 – Tara's take: the quiet suppression campaign across news and entertainment 19:31 – Has Hollywood actually shifted scripts and hiring under Trump 2.0? 21:23 – Escapism vs. censorship: studios afraid to offend Trump 22:53 – Is this a push to make Americans more conservative? 28:04 – Networks afraid of losing their broadcast licenses 31:31 – The everyday Americans hurting beneath the political storm 36:06 – Will the subsidies pass? Midterms and Republican support 37:39 – The faith element in his film and its cross-political appeal For more of her reporting, subscribe to her weekly newsletter, "The Red Letter." https://tarapalmeri.substack.com/ https://www.tarapalmeri.com/subscribe The latest from the 'Red Letter': https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/is-it-time-to-take-the-oligarchy https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/gen-z-guru-rachel-janfaza-on-whether https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/is-big-gretch-cooked To support her mission of independent journalism, consider donating to her GoFundMe account: https://gofund.me/0c46f9a5 Listen to the 'Tara Palmeri Show': Apple https://apple.co/4lWeFuo iHeartRadio https://iheart.com/podcast/273622585/ Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/cdfe747e-54a2-47ae-9ec5-15957642e533/the-tara-palmeri-show Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3kgamV3lbZIGIHW2H0XUTR?si=1ffdbb566a964bc1 Follow Tara: https://www.instagram.com/tarapalmeri/ https://x.com/tarapalmeri https://www.tiktok.com/@tarapalmeri For inquiries, email: [email protected]