Mainstream Media Misses Trump, And They Want Him To Win
The Most Obvious Answer Is Usually The Answer
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Have you heard the news? It is one of the top political stories in America, and it has been ever since November of 2020.
Donald Trump may possibly maybe could be it is said rumored expected should could will is going to announce his decision to run for president again soon. It is such an important issue that the release date of the rumored announcement has been hotter than speculation about when the next iPhone comes out.
The mainstream media is obsessed with when Trump could announce another bid for the presidency, and it speaks volumes about what the media desires so much: They want him back.
Trump as a major party nominee and as president makes life comparatively easy for the leading press. He is an utterly uncomplicated man who speaks in short sentences more unsophisticated than the average kindergartner. Unlike other political leaders of either party, Trump talks about what is directly in front of him at any given moment and makes it clear if the person or object makes him happy or sad or mad.
There is no nuance involved, and when dutifully transcribing his every utterance, members of the media don’t have to do much else — the product sells itself because his cultists believe it is the word of God and rational people are aghast to see such nonsense elevated to the highest levels of government.
By contrast, when the press has to cover a Democratic leader, like President Biden now and President Obama before, they have to get into the weeds. They have to explain to the public the mechanisms behind aid to Ukraine and what it means to the overall security of Europe and the world, or they have to discuss the intracicies of health insurance and how complex policy affects millions of families dealing with all manner of illnesses and afflictions. It’s not easy!
With Trump, it’s a 24-7 cavalcade of stuff about the wall or nuking hurricanes or praising Nazis. Even better, the press can hold on to the details of the craziest stuff and package it into a book later, making a bestseller. It isn’t like under President Obama, where NBC’s Chuck Todd had to weave a nonsensical narrative about Obama being inscrutable into a book laughably titled “The Stranger.”
So now we get breathless speculation about Trump’s announcement date, because it stirs up the same emotions amongst most of the press that the impending arrival of Christmas Day does among children. He is a gift to them and to the laziest impulses of the press.
His presidency was “the good old days” to them, and they don’t have to hold their breath and virtually roll their eyes like an NPR correspondent recently did at the prospect of having to cover ANOTHER speech about democracy from Biden.
I am a firm believer in Occam’s Razor, the principle that the most obvious explanation is usually the best explanation for behavior. There are serious concerns about the corporatization of news, and how conservative ownership of the news is frequently reflected in news coverage (they love to worry about the businesses, not the workers), but I feel like something simpler is at play here when it comes to the mainstream media and Trump coverage.
Trump is easier for them to cover. They make more money with Trump. Given a choice between phoning it in under Trump or having to do some work with a Democrat like Biden, they would much rather have to work under Trump. Sure, he may rouse the rabble with talk about the press being the “enemy of the people” and issue empty threats about “opening up” libel laws, but at the end of the day they can attract eyeballs, get book deals, and boost their own egos by releasing Trump-centric material in a way they simply can’t with Biden.
So at the end of the day, they miss Donald Trump and want him to win, because it means the most to their personal bottom lines.
Helping Trump to re-ascend also has the fringe benefit of pleasing conservative media bosses and enjoying access to Republican leaders for more gossipy stories and “scoops.” It’s wins all around.
The media misses Donald Trump and they want him to win. It is staring directly into our collective faces and it is time to acknowledge it and act accordingly.
— Oliver
Follow me, Oliver Willis, on Twitter @owillis
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About to head into the fourth straight year of rubbing Kal’s head and it is good every time.
I hardly ever watch TV news, but I was glued to it after the 2020 election and up until Biden’s inauguration. I’m sure their ratings were through the roof.
It's like 1972 all over again. National Lampoon: Nixon wins! Four more years of Nixon jokes. (They were wrong, but that's another story.)