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Celerity

(43,330 posts) Thu Dec 1, 2022, 12:39 AM Dec 2022

How The Media Screwed Up The Midterms And Trump's Nazi Dinner

The press in America wants one thing when it comes to covering politics. And it isn't balance.

https://thebanter.substack.com/p/how-the-media-screwed-up-the-midterms

Two weeks ago, Donald Trump announced his third run for the White House. I had very little doubt he would run again. Trump craves the power and attention running will bring as well as the money. He also believes being a candidate will shield him from his mountain of legal troubles. I’m a little more dubious about that last part but we’ll see. The question I have personally been waiting to have answered was not, “Will Trump run again?” but rather, “Will the press retain a shred of dignity when he does?” The answer, it turns out, is a big fat, “No.” This does not bode well for the future of democracy.

Republicans (and only Republicans) are good for ratings, apparently

Back in March, a recording was leaked of CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani discussing the need to hire Republican talking heads because they were going to sweep the midterms. There are two curious things about this: the first is that, as far as I know, none of those Republicans have been replaced with Democrats now that the red wave has smashed into a blue wall. If hiring was based solely on the outcome of the midterms, logic demands CBS (and other networks) hire more Democrats. The second is that cable news did not rush out to hire Democrats in 2018 ahead of a historic blue wave. Instead, they spent months downplaying what was extremely obvious: Republicans were about to have a very bad election.

There were many signs that indicated that the red wave was an illusion this time around and that Republicans were about to have another very bad night. Despite this, the press clung to the red wave narrative until about 7 PM EST, and then they were apparently shocked that Democrats curb-stomped the GOP in most parts of the country. There was very little introspection and even fewer apologies. Media infallibility mode, activated. Fortunately, Donald Trump declared his candidacy soon after allowing the press to move on from what can only be described as a monumental failure. But if you think they’ve learned anything from the debacle, think again. Over the last two weeks, we’ve had an ugly preview of how the press is going to behave for the next two years, and it’s not going to be pretty. It started with, of all things, a wedding.

Dude, where’s my invitation?

If you haven’t been following the drama around Joe Biden’s granddaughter’s wedding, I envy your blissful ignorance and apologize in advance for ruining it. This kind of petty whining from the press is exactly why a fascist movement is thriving in the United States. Until this nonsense started, I had no idea Hunter Biden had kids, much less 5 of them, much less adult ones. Why? Because, frankly, I don’t care. As long as they’re not involved in politics or work in the White House, literally nothing they do concerns me. Not even if one of them, Naomi, decides to have her wedding at the White House. Over the years, there have been over a dozen weddings at the White House. I didn’t know that because, again, I don’t care. I promise you, the overwhelming majority of the country didn’t know, either because they also do not care. Nobody cared until the White House press corps wasn’t invited. Then they threw a temper tantrum.

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