The media is not a homogeneous organism.
That is the first thing to know about anything you read regarding “the media.” The New York Times is not the same as The New Republic. MSNBC is not the same as Fox News. Sean Hannity is not the same as Joy Reid. And so on.
Now that we got that out of the way, there is a certain segment of the media, a certain segment of the DC media, that seems to be bound and determined to give us a second Trump presidency. Because Biden is out of the race and Trump is the oldest candidate in the race by 20 years, the focus of these clowns has shifted.
No longer are we getting hyperfocus on Biden’s age and gaffes and a lot of ignoring of Trump’s age, gaffes, and just plain delusions. They are now demanding that Kamala sit down for an interview, claiming that she owes the American voters to do so in order for Americans to understand where she stands on the issue. CUNY journalism professor emeritus is spot on here:
What "press"? The broken and vindictive Times? The newly Murdochian Post? Hedge-fund newspaper husks? Rudderless CNN or NPR? Murdoch's fascist media? No. She can choose many ways to communicate her stands with others outside the old press and with the public directly. The old…
— Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) August 13, 2024
The Harris campaign is likely viewing the part of the media that Jarvis is referring to as a hostile entity, if not an indirect part of the Trump campaign. This is wise, for reasons outlined by Jarvis’s Tweet.
Instead, they are taking their case to voters directly, and behind the scenes, hammering out a platform that will be presented next week. After the convention, Harris promised to sit down for an interview.
This seems reasonable, but the usual suspects in the media are still raging. The thing is, this is a new time for media where the DC press interview isn’t near as important, so Harris doesn’t need to do such an interview. The normally level-headed David Folkenflik of NPR even is demanding Harris bow to their pressure.
Jeff, this just can't be the stance for any journalist who cares about the profession or the nation to take. https://t.co/cQGRbYphIv
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) August 13, 2024
The thing is, the media has demonstrated that they are very interested in gotcha moments, and much less interested in reporting the reality that Donald Trump is losing it, rapidly.
Let’s look at how they’ve covered Trump in just the last few months:
- Constant attempts to make the claim that Trump is a changed man after his assassination attempt. This is the echo of the “Trump has pivoted and become presidential” nonsense that kept popping up over and over again during his presidency.
- They covered his convention speech based on his prepared remarks, hilariously claiming he preached unity, and not that he strayed from that concept and pretty much gave his usual divisive, incoherent babble.
- Didn’t cover his bizarre slurring during his Monday “interview” with Elon Musk (and covering that as an actual interview and not a campaign event).
- Little if any coverage of his strange delusions, such as the idea that Harris “AI’d” the large crowds that gather at her rallies. For God’s sake, you can find attendee videos and photos of these events, they are not hard to find. This is QANON level of delusion, yet no breathless demands are coming from the New York Times editorial board that he step down for the “good of the country.”
- Limited and ineffective fact-checking of his crazy claims about the economy, such as his rants about the economy being worse than the Great Depression and groceries prices rising 300%.
- Shrugs at his strange tangents about boats and sharks and his apparent view that Hannibal Lector is not only a real person but a great fellow.
- Next to nothing about his statement yesterday that once again proves he thinks the American worker makes too much money.
- He keeps telling us, over and over again, that asylum for migrants means that they are coming from asylums, so they are deeply mentally ill, and not the political asylum meaning of the word, yet there is little discussion about this from the WaPos and NY Times of the world.
- Okay, I’m piling on.
If you are Harris, how can you see all of this and not view the mainstream DC media as your adversary? And what does she owe them? Why would she structure her campaign, which is trying to defeat an avowed racist authoritarian who lies constantly and oh by the way, is also a proven rapist, around pleasing this crowd? What will they say if she releases a full platform, and then follows Joe Biden and is interviewed by Howard Stern, Stephen Colbert, or Rachel Scott?
Dear DC media folks who are fussy about this, there are other ways to reach voters these days. You are not the first choice. And it’s becoming more and more apparent that there is one word for what you are doing now:
Pouting.
The last word goes to The Rolling Stones.
