(Searching Twitter for the latest story…)
@TheFix: “Donald Trump is purposely freezing out the mainstream media. That should scare you.”
(Sigh…)
(Skip…)
@kira_lerner: “Trump was asked multiple times to simply condemn anti-semitism. He condemned CNN, NYT, and BBC, but couldn’t condemn anti-semitism.”
(Sigh... Okay, one more)
In regard to model Emily Ratajkowski receiving praise for condemning a New York Times journalist for calling the First Lady a “hooker”…
@slate: “Emily Ratajkowski defending Melania Trump is not what we need right now.”
The last time I checked, I don’t believe Donald J. Trump is one of those social justice warriors who pounds his chest ranting about institutional racism or income inequality. The billionaire real estate mogul is anything but, and, not to mention, he is probably the equivalent of the old, drunk uncle who steals the microphone at a packed wedding reception.
Trump set his own anti-political standard in the years leading up to his presidential campaign, but mostly throughout the primary debates when he most famously hollered “We don’t have time for political correctness!”
Many thought that may have just been his short-term ploy to strong-arm establishment Republicans and wake them up. There’s no actual way he could survive an entire campaign in front of today’s media with that demeanor. They would brand him the next Adolf Hitler (whoops…) the second he walks off the stage.
The 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, was technically the Trumpian candidate on Xanax (a few of them), before the actual Trump arrival. Romney was a Harvard dual JD/MBA graduate and a competent financial brain from his Boston-based investment group, Bain Capital. He was the perceived pro-business, anti-politician candidate before Trump made it his dogma, however, a right-of-center and more calculated type.
Despite that, Romney’s misstep came when a hidden camera video recorded a private benefit speech where he said that basically 47% of Americans are dependent on the government and hardly pay taxes. This proved damaging to his campaign as the mainstream media had a field day hoisting Romney up as the out-of-touch, rich, racist, misogynist, apathetic candidate as Obama practically began measuring the carpet in the Oval Office for his second term.
Think about that for a second.
Romney made an off-the-cuff comment at a private dinner, citing a subtle, insulting (but not totally awful) statistic. THAT sunk his campaign. If Donald Trump said that, his press secretary would hold an emergency conference to praise our President’s newly found tax intellect. It would have ZERO bearing on public perception of Trump.
But that’s the point. Mitt Romney has his standard and Donald Trump has his own as well. Romney would never get away with making fun of a disabled journalist or even a quarter of the things Trump says. In my young life, the media has consistently analyzed and dissected every single word uttered from a Republican candidate during elections. Many, as a result, are more careful. The problem here is that Trump had never cared what came out of his mouth, had no intention of caring, and the media believed that tirelessly ridiculing him for his every word was going to bring him down. Then, the unthinkable happened; he still got elected.
And just an update, journalists still have no idea how to cover Donald Trump without driving themselves bonkers.
While news bounces around that Trump’s National Security Advisor mislead the Administration about his conversations with Russia during the election, journalists are obsessing and over-interpreting his tone with a Jewish reporter after asking how he will respond to anti-Semitism.
I understand combatting racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, etc. is important, but this guy is going to turn journalists and viewers into alcoholics with all these pressers and it will ultimately distract us from things that are potentially crucial to this country’s security.
Any day of the week, you could flip on the television and watch left-wing journalists and analysts lose their minds talking about Trump’s latest remark and I can’t help but chuckle. If people don’t relax and just report the news now, people will lose their minds. Whether or not the President lasts his entire term, it is four YEARS, not four weeks.
