Trump's war on the media helps keep Moore in play
Two years of attacks on "fake news" media give the Alabama candidate a strategy for countering abuse allegations.
By JASON SCHWARTZ 11/13/2017 04:27 PM EST
Donald Trump is trying to keep his options open on Roy Moore, but the president has already helped him in one significant way: His two-year campaign against the mainstream media — in this case The Washington Post — appears to be the key to Moore’s survival strategy.
Not too long ago, a story that quoted four women by name and at length, with some friends and family members corroborating aspects of their accounts, would have been taken at face value. But now, in Moore’s telling, the Post, which published the allegations on Thursday, is engaging in its own crusade to drive him out of the race.
The portrayal of a mainstream media outlet as a political actor – not just reflecting a liberal bias in choosing stories but actually promoting “fake news” – draws heavily on Trump, according to journalism observers.
“It does seem it’s a strategy out of the Trump playbook, both in terms of attacking the media and responding forcefully to allegations that have been made,” said Tim Franklin, a senior associate dean and professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. “They’re even using the same language in a lot of ways. In his speech on Saturday, Roy Moore called it ‘fake news,’ which is one of the president’s familiar refrains.”
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https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/13/roy-moore-donald-trump-media-strategy-244851
