Josh Hawley's smug, tone-deaf presentation of himself as a defender of the constitution should scare everyone. He is the proverbial "smarter than Trump" would-be autocrat who could wreak real harm if he had access to the levers of power. Hopefully his embrace of the MAGA clowns will doom him to the backbench, and the media will know better than to ignore another pol's anti-democracy ranting.
one more question for your list: What if main stream reporters more often called out the right wing media as mouthpieces for radical extremists and truly investigated their $$ backers?
Such a sad state of affairs. Everything in this piece is spot on. To me the most troubling and what is now a reality that can’t be denied is “What if Trump's erratic personality disorders hadn't become the third rail of American politics?”
You warned us, you warned them, Eric. Parts of the media are totally complicit in this! I hope some of them finally realize that this is no game — they're playing with actual lives.
The demographic makeup of newsrooms has to be shaping this. Women, people of color, and other minority groups saw Trump for who he was—but a lot of newsrooms don’t reflect our diversity as a country. Instead, our institutions seem to just comply with or even try to normalize his violations of social norms at every step of the way.
Even yesterday, James Comey was saying Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted.
I looked at 6 major newspapers' front pages this morning including the New York Times and The Washington Post. Not one headline is calling for Trump to resign or to be removed from office today, NOT ONE! While of course there are articles and op-ed pieces discussing it, where is the the big block letters reading GET OUT! There's your man shot on 5th avenue moment folks and it's true. Donald Trump can and will get away with anything. I don't want to hear that two weeks is not enough time, there should at least be an attempt to invoke the 25th amendment or impeach him for a second time and then remove him from office. What possible damage could Trump do in two weeks? Well look what he just did in one day. If there is no accountability for what happened yesterday from this president and his enablers in Congress who have coddled this psychopath for four years than the scene yesterday will be the first shot of this country's march to authoritarianism.
Trump's pronounced body-shoulder twitches look a lot like tardive dyskinesia. We've all seen them on YouTube. I cannot recall ANY media commentary on this. Thanks for all the great work you've done, Eric.
“ Today’s anti-government rhetoric is more ubiquitous and disturbing than in the past. One reason is that the fringe groups seem to have become more a part of the fabric of society, thanks in large part to advances in communications that allow them to spread their rhetoric instantaneously to a potential audience of millions. Another reason is that verbal attacks on federal employees are seeping into every crevice of society. Members of Congress have chosen the same vicious language as the NRA to belittle federal employees working in law enforcement, land management and tax collection.”
That excerpt is from a July 1995 story called “Raging Rhetoric” in the magazine “Government Executive” written in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. As I keep pointing out the extremism did not start with Trump , it started in the 90s. The media has chosen to ignore that fact, preferring to portray Republicans before Trump as rational mainstream actors.
I remember how shocked I was by nasty remarks made by Republicans in Congress about government agencies in the hearings they held in the time leading up to the OKC bombing. They demonized federal agents. I was even more shocked that the media seemed to be afraid to challenge their extremism. I also remember how, after Oklahoma City, they toned it down, fearing they would be blamed for inciting domestic terrorism. GHW Bush resigned from the NRA because they were calling federal agents jack-booted thugs.
After 9-11 the media conveniently forgot about the danger of domestic right wing extremism and terrorism even though Republicans were clearly become more radical. When they pressured the Obama administration to rescind the report about domestic terrorism the media was outraged for a day or two then moved on. The DHS quietly disbanded their unit that was investigating domestic terrorism with little attention on the danger of ignoring this very real threat. I view caving to that pressure Obama’s greatest failure.
Andrea Mitchell is reporting that the DC police tried to force reporters to Now that the media has had so many of their close colleagues personally experience the very real danger of right wing extremism they will finally give that threat the sustained attention it deserves.
Thank you for always standing in the TRUTH because we don't get that from the press very few can speak the word truth and know what it means. Please continue the good fight for truth.
Thank you so much for this insightful and perfectly written piece. I've been saying this for years, though not half as well. No matter what Trump has done, the media has obligingly reported glowingly on everything, as if it was newsworthy. Especially when it was something terrible. Fox News led the fray, the rest of the corporate-bought media followed.
This is why we need to have not only the Fairness Doctrine or something like it (way to go with that repeal and making Rupert Murdoch a citizen, Reagan!), we need to have accountability. No more corporate-bought media, but media devoted to reporting the facts, not skewing it to what they want people to hear.
What happened was so predictable.
Not too long ago, one media entity reported on "armed protesters." Ironically, that was a more left-leaning one! And armed protesters are not protesters. They're terrorists. But the reporting is purposely skewed. BLM is "radical" according to the media, terrorists are "armed protesters" and small groups of people who were funded by wealthy right-wingers to "protest" lockdowns due to a pandemic are vitally important for live coverage.
Dismantling our democracy, calls for violence from the person in our highest office - things like that are ignored in favor of sensationalist "if it bleeds, it leads" crap. Because sensationalism makes money.
Reporting the truth is far less exciting. Our politics - with the sensationalist news media reporting on it 24/7 - are now the electronic babysitter for a nation of adults with too-short attention spans.
This is the Democrats chance to show their legal muscle and make sure those responsible suffer the most severe consequences. Trump told his people to do this, just like Manson told his followers to kill in order or start a race war. Manson didn’t kill, Trump didn’t lead the mob to the Capital, but his constant lies and mental manipulation directly caused this insanity. Shame on every republican that carried a torch behind Trump. Democrats need to prosecute those involved at the highest level of this administration. Trump says he will run again in 2024. Republicans better make sure that never happens again.
It seems there is a lot more competition in the media field, and so folks do things to keep their job. Look at Joe and Mika. They claimed they knew Trump would be fine, family was voting for him. What phonies... a Me-Too couple that ended up happily ever after. Sucked up to Trump, hated on Hillary, until it went sideways, and Joe and Trump's massive ego's collided. Haven't heard one mea culpa from them.... Maureen Dowd another fraud... knew Donald slammed Obama then Hillary. Maggie Haberman, queen of the puff pieces.... how many books.... so many people wanted the "Useful Idiot", not just Putin. Sadly, our Media also wanted the "useful idiot" as well. Comedians are openly honest about appreciating the folks that give them material... not the media
And Pence is apparently not answering his phone from Pelosi and Schumer seeking an answer on whether he would invoke the 25th Amendment for the critically required immediate removal of Trump for office. Is Pence sleeping after the long night? The US cannot risk even another hour with Trump in charge.
First, as to The Washington Post's editorial page, I wish to know what photos or videos Hugh Hewitt and Marc Thiessen have of Fred Hiatt, the editor, because they have got to include barnyard animals. That's another reason that I have neither respect nor patience for that editorial: That page has enabled treason.
Second, since The New York Times's executive editor will tell you that no one there ever makes a mistake, I wouldn't hold my breath on accountability there.
Josh Hawley's smug, tone-deaf presentation of himself as a defender of the constitution should scare everyone. He is the proverbial "smarter than Trump" would-be autocrat who could wreak real harm if he had access to the levers of power. Hopefully his embrace of the MAGA clowns will doom him to the backbench, and the media will know better than to ignore another pol's anti-democracy ranting.
one more question for your list: What if main stream reporters more often called out the right wing media as mouthpieces for radical extremists and truly investigated their $$ backers?
Such a sad state of affairs. Everything in this piece is spot on. To me the most troubling and what is now a reality that can’t be denied is “What if Trump's erratic personality disorders hadn't become the third rail of American politics?”
You warned us, you warned them, Eric. Parts of the media are totally complicit in this! I hope some of them finally realize that this is no game — they're playing with actual lives.
The demographic makeup of newsrooms has to be shaping this. Women, people of color, and other minority groups saw Trump for who he was—but a lot of newsrooms don’t reflect our diversity as a country. Instead, our institutions seem to just comply with or even try to normalize his violations of social norms at every step of the way.
Even yesterday, James Comey was saying Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted.
I looked at 6 major newspapers' front pages this morning including the New York Times and The Washington Post. Not one headline is calling for Trump to resign or to be removed from office today, NOT ONE! While of course there are articles and op-ed pieces discussing it, where is the the big block letters reading GET OUT! There's your man shot on 5th avenue moment folks and it's true. Donald Trump can and will get away with anything. I don't want to hear that two weeks is not enough time, there should at least be an attempt to invoke the 25th amendment or impeach him for a second time and then remove him from office. What possible damage could Trump do in two weeks? Well look what he just did in one day. If there is no accountability for what happened yesterday from this president and his enablers in Congress who have coddled this psychopath for four years than the scene yesterday will be the first shot of this country's march to authoritarianism.
Trump's pronounced body-shoulder twitches look a lot like tardive dyskinesia. We've all seen them on YouTube. I cannot recall ANY media commentary on this. Thanks for all the great work you've done, Eric.
Thanks Eric. Maybe yesterday’s tragic and humiliating events will bring journalists, heck everyone around.
My question? Who is in charge of our country right now? Pence? Because it isn’t trump.
“ Today’s anti-government rhetoric is more ubiquitous and disturbing than in the past. One reason is that the fringe groups seem to have become more a part of the fabric of society, thanks in large part to advances in communications that allow them to spread their rhetoric instantaneously to a potential audience of millions. Another reason is that verbal attacks on federal employees are seeping into every crevice of society. Members of Congress have chosen the same vicious language as the NRA to belittle federal employees working in law enforcement, land management and tax collection.”
That excerpt is from a July 1995 story called “Raging Rhetoric” in the magazine “Government Executive” written in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. As I keep pointing out the extremism did not start with Trump , it started in the 90s. The media has chosen to ignore that fact, preferring to portray Republicans before Trump as rational mainstream actors.
I remember how shocked I was by nasty remarks made by Republicans in Congress about government agencies in the hearings they held in the time leading up to the OKC bombing. They demonized federal agents. I was even more shocked that the media seemed to be afraid to challenge their extremism. I also remember how, after Oklahoma City, they toned it down, fearing they would be blamed for inciting domestic terrorism. GHW Bush resigned from the NRA because they were calling federal agents jack-booted thugs.
After 9-11 the media conveniently forgot about the danger of domestic right wing extremism and terrorism even though Republicans were clearly become more radical. When they pressured the Obama administration to rescind the report about domestic terrorism the media was outraged for a day or two then moved on. The DHS quietly disbanded their unit that was investigating domestic terrorism with little attention on the danger of ignoring this very real threat. I view caving to that pressure Obama’s greatest failure.
Andrea Mitchell is reporting that the DC police tried to force reporters to Now that the media has had so many of their close colleagues personally experience the very real danger of right wing extremism they will finally give that threat the sustained attention it deserves.
Thank you for always standing in the TRUTH because we don't get that from the press very few can speak the word truth and know what it means. Please continue the good fight for truth.
Thank you so much for this insightful and perfectly written piece. I've been saying this for years, though not half as well. No matter what Trump has done, the media has obligingly reported glowingly on everything, as if it was newsworthy. Especially when it was something terrible. Fox News led the fray, the rest of the corporate-bought media followed.
This is why we need to have not only the Fairness Doctrine or something like it (way to go with that repeal and making Rupert Murdoch a citizen, Reagan!), we need to have accountability. No more corporate-bought media, but media devoted to reporting the facts, not skewing it to what they want people to hear.
What happened was so predictable.
Not too long ago, one media entity reported on "armed protesters." Ironically, that was a more left-leaning one! And armed protesters are not protesters. They're terrorists. But the reporting is purposely skewed. BLM is "radical" according to the media, terrorists are "armed protesters" and small groups of people who were funded by wealthy right-wingers to "protest" lockdowns due to a pandemic are vitally important for live coverage.
Dismantling our democracy, calls for violence from the person in our highest office - things like that are ignored in favor of sensationalist "if it bleeds, it leads" crap. Because sensationalism makes money.
Reporting the truth is far less exciting. Our politics - with the sensationalist news media reporting on it 24/7 - are now the electronic babysitter for a nation of adults with too-short attention spans.
This is the Democrats chance to show their legal muscle and make sure those responsible suffer the most severe consequences. Trump told his people to do this, just like Manson told his followers to kill in order or start a race war. Manson didn’t kill, Trump didn’t lead the mob to the Capital, but his constant lies and mental manipulation directly caused this insanity. Shame on every republican that carried a torch behind Trump. Democrats need to prosecute those involved at the highest level of this administration. Trump says he will run again in 2024. Republicans better make sure that never happens again.
It seems there is a lot more competition in the media field, and so folks do things to keep their job. Look at Joe and Mika. They claimed they knew Trump would be fine, family was voting for him. What phonies... a Me-Too couple that ended up happily ever after. Sucked up to Trump, hated on Hillary, until it went sideways, and Joe and Trump's massive ego's collided. Haven't heard one mea culpa from them.... Maureen Dowd another fraud... knew Donald slammed Obama then Hillary. Maggie Haberman, queen of the puff pieces.... how many books.... so many people wanted the "Useful Idiot", not just Putin. Sadly, our Media also wanted the "useful idiot" as well. Comedians are openly honest about appreciating the folks that give them material... not the media
And Pence is apparently not answering his phone from Pelosi and Schumer seeking an answer on whether he would invoke the 25th Amendment for the critically required immediate removal of Trump for office. Is Pence sleeping after the long night? The US cannot risk even another hour with Trump in charge.
Some pointed advice from someone who has seen where this leads. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/7/2006533/-You-Don-t-Heal-a-Nation-By-Forgetting-About-Fascism-You-Heal-a-Nation-by-Punishing-Fascism-Swiftly
First, as to The Washington Post's editorial page, I wish to know what photos or videos Hugh Hewitt and Marc Thiessen have of Fred Hiatt, the editor, because they have got to include barnyard animals. That's another reason that I have neither respect nor patience for that editorial: That page has enabled treason.
Second, since The New York Times's executive editor will tell you that no one there ever makes a mistake, I wouldn't hold my breath on accountability there.