Donald Trump tells the world he intends to be an authoritarian. So why won’t journalists repeat it?

Trump is a fascist. But the mainstream political press doesn’t want to say it. They want to act like 2024 is just another election year.

With their obsession with horse-race coverage, political reporters tend to judge what Trump says or does by whether his words and actions will help him politically. By doing so, the press is saying that Trump’s racism, corruption, criminality, and insane abuses of power matter only so far as his electability.

There are exceptions: major news organizations, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, have done some important stories about Trump’s dictatorial plans for a second term. But those investigative stories are drowned out by the chorus of horse-race stories — sometimes published on the same days and by the same news organizations behind more substantial coverage.

The media is sleepwalking.

I’ve often wondered how the press, both in Germany and around the world, failed to see Hitler for the monster that he was before he gained power. After Trump, I think I understand.

  • PorradaVFR
    32•6 months ago

    They know perfectly well but prefer the revenue to fulfilling their journalistic responsibility and acting ethically.

    When news is a product to market and not a social responsibility this is the result. They’re selling a narrative and horse race delivers profits - also their delusion that kissing the ass of the guy that calls them the enemy might save them could be a factor.

    Shameful how their response has been to cower and equivocate and not report objectively and clearly.