We strongly support saving AM radio, the case for which centers on its unmatched role as a resilient, nationwide lifeline during natural disasters, particularly when modern cell towers and internet networks fail. 

What’s more, there is the crucially imporant talk and news delivery aspect, as AM has a narrower bandwidth (sufficient for human speech), making it perfectly suited for talk radio, sports broadcasts and community news, uniting large, geographically distant audiences into virtual listening communities. 

In particular, talk radio is a significant force on AM frequencies, serving as a pillar of the conservative media ecosystem. While mainstream news is often viewed as left-leaning, AM talk radio commands a massive, dedicated audience that operates outside of mainstream media, actively countering and critiquing its narratives — providing at least some media balance.

Nonetheless, the primary threat to the survival of AM radio is its elimination from new vehicle dashboards, particularly electric vehicles, as a host of leftist-led automakers have pulled AM radio tuners from their cars because they say the EV batteries can interfere with reception. 

To fix this challenge, manufacturers would need to add costly— but in our view, well worth the cost — shielding to the wiring and motors. Because radio is traditionally consumed heavily while driving, the shift away from AM receivers threatens the commercial viability of more than 4,000 AM stations in the United States.

Happily, President Donald J. Trump is actively championing a major bipartisan effort to save AM radio, primarily by backing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which would require automakers to maintain AM broadcast capabilities as standard equipment in all new motor vehicles.

Reportedly backed by a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and majority support in the House, it aims to preserve free community access and emergency alerts.

This powerful consensus reflects what broadcasters and first responders have long known: AM radio is a trusted lifeline in moments of natural disaster.

Backed by emergency management experts and a broad bipartisan coalition, AM radio remains an essential public safety tool. Let’s keep it!

He is gross, disgusting, loathsome, shady, deceitful, amoral, crooked, cruel, mean, obnoxious, rude, disrespectful, selfish, heartless, uncaring, paranoid, arrogant, abhorrent, dishonest, sleazy, dangerous, repulsive, delusional, reckless, narcissistic, crude, corrupt, arrogant, authoritarian, racist, dangerous, petty, divisive, egotistical, unfit, unqualified, childish, boorish, hypocritical, bombastic, greedy, manipulative, stupid, loud-mouthed, extremist, shameless, vile, vulgar, vain and venal.

And they’re just the first 50 words that pop into my head. They’re all accurate, but there’s one adjective, more than any other, that best describes Trump. 

And, unfortunately, it’s one that gets very little attention in the media. The one word that fits Donald Trump best (and the one he fears the most) is: INCOMPETENT!

Despite bragging about all he’s accomplished, Trump is the least effective of all modern presidents. Almost everything he’s tried to pull off, and trumpeted with great fanfare, has fallen flat on its face. You wouldn’t hire him to organize a two-car funeral.

It started in his first term, with Trump’s bungled response to the COVID pandemic. 

Remember? His administration was slow to recognize the existence of the crisis, despite early warnings from health officials, and slow to set up national testing centers. 

It then put out conflicting information on whether to wear masks or avoid human contact. 

Trump even suggested ingesting bleach as the answer. 

As a result, the economy tanked and God only knows how many more lives were unnecessarily lost.

That set the pattern for the next three years. After Hurricane Maria, FEMA couldn’t even find Puerto Rico on the map to get them the relief they desperately needed. 

Trump’s hastily called Muslim travel ban created chaos at airports and was quickly stopped by the courts. 

Under his shoot-from-the-lip “zero tolerance” policy, thousands of immigrant children were separated from their parents for months without any system in place to track them. 

And with so many Cabinet members bounced and replaced, the Trump White House set a record for the highest senior staff turnover of any modern administration.

But any show of incompetence in Trump’s first term has been dwarfed by embarrassing mistakes so far in his second. He vowed to prosecute former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and former FBI Director James Comey, but failed at all three (even though he’s now taking a second shot at Comey). In what became known as “Signalgate,” his national security team invited a reporter to join a discussion of top-secret military strategy.

In his first 100 days, Trump signed only five bills into law, none of them major – the worst legislative performance of any modern president. And how ‘bout that war in Ukraine, which Trump promised to end “on day one”? It’s still on, but now Ukraine appears to be winning, with no help from Trump.

On “Liberation Day,” Trump announced massive tariffs which triggered such a severe financial and bond market reaction he was forced to reverse course. His next batch of tariffs were shot down by the Supreme Court. He unleashed Elon Musk to “cut waste,” but quickly disbanded “DOGE” after it was criticized for generating at least $21.7 billion in wasteful spending, instead, and forced to hire back thousands of fired federal employees.

Perhaps more than anything else, two items in the news this week underscore Trump’s utter incompetence. The first is his one-man, unnecessary, illegal war in Iran – undertaken without any consultation with Congress, our allies, or, apparently, any military experts (Pete Hegseth doesn’t count). Today, after more than 75 days and all the firepower Trump’s unleashed, it’s hard to see what’s been accomplished. The Iranian regime is still in power, now controls the Strait of Hormuz, and, according to the New York Times, still retains roughly 70 percent of its prewar missile stockpile.

The second is his embarrassing attempt to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Trump announced this as his own pet project, vowing to complete it by May 22 at a cost of $1.8 million. But work is way behind schedule, the cost has soared to more than $13 million and the pool is still leaking 16 million gallons of water a year.

Facts don’t lie. Trump has botched far, far more than the little he’s accomplished. But, don’t complain. In a way, it’s a good thing he’s so incompetent. Had he achieved half of what he set out to do, we’d be in a lot worse shape than we are today.

© 2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

•

Bill Press, a liberal, is host of The BillPressPod, and author of 10 books, including: “From the Left: My Life in the Crossfire.” His email address is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Readers may also follow him on Twitter @billpresspod and on BlueSky @BillPress.bsky.social.)