Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) said Thursday that the Trump administration’s posture toward the news media amounts to dictatorial behavior, telling MS NOW that Americans are not watching authoritarianism approach from a distance — they are already inside it.
“Fascism is not on the rise, we are actively living it right now,” Pressley said during an appearance on “On the Line,” according to a clip flagged by Breitbart News.
A ‘dictator’ comparison
The Massachusetts Democrat was responding to a question from host Alicia Menendez about the president’s recent attacks on the press and what congressional Democrats are doing to hold the White House accountable.
Pressley said the administration’s conduct “is consistent with the actions of a dictator,” then ran through a list of grievances. In her telling, the White House is pursuing “an anti-freedom agenda” that seeks to control personal medical decisions and reading material, degrade free speech, and target the free press.
“They don’t want accountability. They don’t want truth. They want propaganda,” she said.
The remarks fit a pattern for Pressley, a third-term congresswoman and former member of the progressive “Squad” who has been among the House Democrats most willing to describe the current political moment in the language of authoritarian collapse rather than democratic backsliding. Her framing on Thursday drew a hard line: the debate over whether the country is sliding toward fascism, she argued, is already settled by events.
A bill for Epstein survivors
Menendez pivoted to Pressley’s work on the House committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein, asking about a first-of-its-kind bill the congresswoman has introduced that would establish a restitution fund for survivors of Epstein’s abuse, including those abused by Ghislaine Maxwell.
Pressley did not detail the mechanics of the legislation in the clip. Instead, she tied the bill’s prospects to the broader electoral fight, saying it is “one of the reasons why it’s so important that we do get the gavel back, so that we can hold this administration accountable.”
She answered “absolutely” when Menendez asked whether she expects to pick up support across the aisle — a notably optimistic read given the partisan friction that has surrounded the Epstein investigation on Capitol Hill.
Where the fight goes next
Pressley’s twin answers — one apocalyptic in tone, one legislative in substance — captured a tension running through House Democratic messaging as the party looks toward the midterms. Members are simultaneously pitching concrete bills and arguing that the institutions needed to pass them are themselves under threat.
Whether a restitution fund for Epstein’s victims can attract Republican co-sponsors remains an open question. Similar proposals in recent sessions have foundered amid disputes over scope, eligibility, and how a fund would be financed. Pressley’s version would be the first of its kind if it advances, extending eligibility to survivors of Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate who was convicted on sex-trafficking charges.
For now, the congresswoman’s message is that the two tracks are linked: no accountability for the administration, in her view, means no accountability for the abuses her bill is meant to address.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/09/24/rep-pressley-fascism-is-not-on-the-rise-we-are-actively-living-it-right-now/