Rainn Wilson is offering his thoughts on contemporary journalism. MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle explained her beliefs that the Trump administration is making a "concerted effort to destroy the media" and that Elon Musk's X wants "people to leave traditional media" in the April 17 episode of Wilson's podcast Soul Boom. The Office star then offered his two cents.
"This is where I would push back. I see this kind of insight and passion being directed at the current administration, and the lack of this kind of insight and passion being directed at the previous administration," the actor opined in the episode titled "Why Everyone's Turning Off the News." Wilson clarified that he meant "left-leaning news media organizations" rather than Ruhle specifically.
"[They] were kind of like, 'La, la, la, la, la, Everything's fine. Look, the economy's great. La, la, la.
Immigration's not that much of a problem,' and really, being Cleopatra, Queen of Denial," he said. The American media properly pressured the Biden administration on immigration topics, Ruhle said, but conceded that Republicans are "willing to talk about some of the unpleasant things that people feel" about the subject. "When people say those things out loud, they're immediately called xenophobic or racist.
And we have to make space for how people feel," she said. Wilson agreed. "Most people, a large majority of people who have a problem with the current immigration crisis, and have for the last five or 10 years, are not racist," Wilson speculated.
"But are often kind of tarred as racist by the liberal left." Rainn Wilson attends the Variety Spirituality and Faith in Entertainment Breakfast in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2024. John Sciulli/Variety via Getty Americans' skepticism toward immigrants comes from people not being able to "make ends meet" despite their hard work, Ruhle said.
"We need to give space to sort of hear those people, hear what their needs are, and instead, a lot of those people have felt like when they voice their opinions, they're treated like they're xenophobic, and they're racist, and they're anti-immigrant, and I don't think they are," she said. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Wilson noted that many of his show's guests have decried their "toxic relationship to social media" and "the mental health connection to screens and news" while talking with him.
"Half our guests have said, 'I don't watch the news anymore, and my life is so much better,'" he said. "'I turn it off, I took Apple News off my phone, I don't even subscribe, I don't go on social media, and I don't read news articles, and I'm raising bees and growing poppies and washing my dishes and meditating and my life is so much better and richer for it.'" Disconnecting from contemporary news can only be achieved by privileged people, Ruhle countered.
"I think you said the most important thing: 'richer,'" she said. "That's a very rich thing to say, because people of privilege can afford to tune out." The journalist went on to relate a comment she received from an acquaintance who said, "Listen, the two-party system doesn't work…. Let's have Elon Musk go in there, let's shake it up, and let's see how things work out."
Wilson questioned the implications of that idea. "But who's gonna be hurt?" he asked.
"Who's gonna suffer? When the social safety net is dismantled, who's gonna suffer? Tech bros and Wall Street traders?
No. Actors in their fancy burned-down houses? No."
Listen to the full clip from the episode above.
