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Trump and the media: shooting the messengers

Trump rages at serious journalists who gave up on him before he began—reflecting a divided America whose two tribes have given up listening to each other

by Sam Tanenhaus / February 10, 2017 / Leave a comment
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Published in March 2017 issue of Prospect Magazine

©Scott Olson/Getty Images

The new American revolution, which began on 8th November 2016, when 63m people voted for Donald Trump, has been gaining momentum, as the Republican Party rallies round him, with even diehard sceptics falling in line. But there are also growing signs of resistance—from the Democratic Party, from many among the 66m who voted for his rival and, most strikingly, from the “mainstream media,” or MSM.

This last development is the most remarkable. For nearly a century, American journalism has prided itself, however fancifully, on its Olympian neutrality. No longer. A week before Trump’s inauguration, the Washington Post’s respected media columnist Margaret Sullivan warned that “A hellscape of lies and distorted reality awaits journalists covering President Trump.” She went on: “Trump will punish journalists for doing their jobs… Journalists are in for the fight of their lives. And they are going to have to be better than ever before, just to do their jobs.”

She wasn’t exaggerating. As President-Elect, Trump had waited a full two months after the election to hold his first press conference, a raw spume of blurtings. He dismissed intelligence findings that Vladimir Putin meddled in the election as “fake news… phoney stuff. It didn’t happen.” All the evidence suggests it did happen, and there is pressure on the Senate to investigate. Trump also urged Congressional Republicans to promote the new and better healthcare coverage he has insisted his administration will deliver in place of “Obamacare.” In fact, no such new plan exis…

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Comments

  1. Guy Y.
    February 18, 2017 at 09:22
    I particularly agree with the observation that Trump will be hit hardest by a disenfranchised person inside his own camp. What scares me is that he will realise this in time and he is going to become more paranoid about those around him as his term in office develops. A paranoid "leader of the free world" is the last thing this world needs.
  2. NR_BUCHSBAUM
    February 22, 2017 at 14:47
    Your commentator is like most of his colleagues; he only speaks with and socializes with those with whom he agrees; that is how the MSM missed what was happening in middle America. While he calls Margaret Sullivan an esteemed journalist, in today's Washington Post, she described Sweden as a long time ally of the USA---anyone who is supposed to deal in facts, that is, a journalist, should know that Sweden is neutral and has not been involved in a fighting war since Napoleonic times. Sweden during World Ward II leaned in Nazi Germany's direction, selling it high grade iron ore which it used in manufacturing ball bearings to kill Allied soldiers and shipping it to Germany through occupied Norway's port of Narvik. Nowadays, Sweden is one of the largest exporters of arms and munitions to dictatorships around the world. But Sweden is politically correct in being pro-Palestinian and anti-Semitic.

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About this author

Sam Tanenhaus
Sam Tanenhaus is Prospect's US Writer-at-Large
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