The media’s feelings are hurt, and they aren’t happy to be on the receiving end of criticism despite getting some really good advice these days. But they’re plugging their collective ears and aren’t listening… at all. If the fact that Donald Trump is the president hasn’t made them perk up and take notice that they’ve willfully ignored a vast swath of the American public, then it’s probably hopeless to think they’ll ever recover.

And this explains why when chief strategist to the president Steve Bannon offered them some unsolicited advice recently, they viewed it as an “attack.” That’s  because, well, they refuse to listen. They only hear: Steve Bannon says the “media should keep its mouth shut.” Full stop.

But here’s what he said in full:

“The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile.”

But can they? They can’t even make it through a short quote. He’s only repeating what the American public has been saying in that they are tired of the media speaking on their behalf, telling them what to believe, and only giving them half of the story. It’s time to listen to America’s voice rather than dictate what you think it should sound like. 

Bannon further stated, “I want you to quote this. The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”

And it appears they never will, as Vanity Fair cries, “No, Steve Bannon, the media won’t ‘keep its mouth shut.’” So, there!

CNN displayed that same attitude in a Friday segment featuring Ben Shapiro who, though no fan of Trump or Bannon, said the administration is right about the media. But when he explained to Carol Castello that she and her cohorts are ignoring the most important part of Bannon’s quote, she… ignored the most important part and instead defended the crowd size watching CNN. Of course, when Trump defends crowd size, he's petty. See what’s happening here? Ears plugged.

Watch below: