Veteran journalist Katie Couric isn’t backing down from her critiques of President Donald Trump, even as the administration’s targeting of outspoken critics has intensified throughout 2025. The former NBC and CBS anchor, who has emerged as one of the media’s most vocal Trump critics, recently doubled down on her commitment to speaking freely despite being labeled a “has-been” by the president himself.
“Donald Trump has called me a ‘has-been,'” Couric told The Daily Beast in an interview on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, “but I’m just happy to be a ‘has-been’ who can speak her mind. I mean, honey, I’ve been in the tabloids for years…. they’ve accused me of having a threesome with Matt Lauer. There’s a lot I can handle.”
Speaking with the Beast, Couric said she now works as an independent journalist, free from corporate leaders who might try to shape her coverage of current events. She described the experience as incredibly freeing. Currently, she runs her own venture, Katie Couric Media, which she co-launched in 2017. She has pledged to continue speaking out against what she sees as the erosion of numerous societal norms during Trump’s second term as president.
The former NBC reporter recounted an incident in which Richard Grenell, chosen by Trump to lead his revamp of the Kennedy Center, criticized her after she described the administration’s treatment of the renowned institution as a disgrace. In one post on Instagram, the Kennedy Center’s official account stated that the venue is for everyone, including Ms. Couric.
“I just thought, wow, they’re really thin-skinned — I’m obviously getting to somebody in that institution,” Couric told the Daily Beast.
Couric’s defiant stance comes amid an escalating pattern of the Trump administration using federal law enforcement agencies to pursue political opponents. The most dramatic example emerged in late August when FBI agents conducted an early-morning search of the home of former National Security Adviser John Bolton, another prominent Trump critic. The search, part of an investigation into alleged leaks of sensitive national security information, marked what legal experts described as a dangerous escalation in the use of law enforcement against political opposition.
Bolton held the high-profile position of national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 before his relationship with Trump deteriorated. The president claimed he fired Bolton, while the adviser said he offered to resign. Since then, Bolton has harshly criticized Trump, alleging that he placed personal political interests over national security. By Thursday, October 16, 2025, a federal grand jury had indicted Bolton, with Attorney General Pam Bondi declaring that no one is above the law.
The Justice Department’s aggressive posture represents a pattern that has unfolded throughout Trump’s second term. The administration has launched what critics call retaliatory investigations against those who investigated Trump, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff.
The pattern of targeting critics has drawn comparisons to authoritarian tactics throughout history. Legal experts and former government officials have warned that the same apparatus can be wielded against anyone who opposes the administration, from judges who rule against policies to journalists who expose corruption to ordinary citizens who post criticism on social media.
For Couric and other media figures, the choice remains clear: continue speaking out despite the risks or stay silent in the face of mounting pressure. The veteran journalist’s response to being called a “has-been” signals her intention to maintain her critical voice, regardless of the consequences, joining a growing list of public figures who refuse to be intimidated by the administration’s aggressive tactics against dissent.
