I agree that the media continues to rationalize and sanitize Trump. It's a dangerous habit they have adopted. Trump wants the media to get bogged down in his outrageous smokescreens. He wants us to focus on individual shootings instead of the underlying policy of them. For instance, The Daily Beast is reporting today that the administration is planning to send ICE agents as security for the US contingent to the Winter Olympics. What is that about and what will Italy do about it?
I at least skim a lot of headlines from European news outlets, and it's interesting how they frame these issues a little differently than we do stateside. A few examples, just from Le Monde about Trump and Greenland from the last few weeks:
* "US and Denmark discuss Greenland 'military access' in more conventional talks" (NB: implying the earlier talks were decidedly less conventional)
* "After Trump's retreat over Greenland, Europeans want to believe in their unity"
* "Greenland and Denmark exercise caution, set out 'red lines' after Trump's reversal"
* "Europe relieved but 'vigilant' as Trump eases pressure on Greenland"
* "Trump's desire to avoid military force over Greenland a 'positive' sign, Denmark says"
They're not perfect by a long stretch, but they seem at least a little better at capturing that Trump's current position is always open to revision. Maybe it's that they foreground the other people affected by Trump. It must be nice to live in that world....
I'm not convinced it's quite the sense of horror, and the relief things may not be quite that bad, as JVL describes. At least it's not just that IMO. It's more like we're used to a certain style of politics where what a president or politician says -- certainly what they announce as future policy, actually has some substance and persistence to it. Trump says he's against X at 3 AM on "Truth" Social or in a speech to world leaders with the same commitment to holding on to that position across time, and he changes just as quickly. Politics weren't always so chimerical, and to their great shame, ten years in and so many in the media still haven't made that assumption. Trump may well have ruled out a military invasion of Greenland. But that means precisely nothing because there's absolutely no guarantee he won't change his mind in ten seconds' time, even deny that he ever thought anything other than the new position ten seconds' hence.
Throw in his suing and bullying the media and they're protective of their collective back-sides to a point it keeps them from telling journalistic truth. Reporting what Trump said at a snapshot in time seems safer than labelling it a reversal or an easing of pressure. It's water finding its level in a way. That doesn't make it okay, of course.
Bottom line, though: exactly what causes this matters much less than the fact it happens, and it will doubtless happen again. We deserve and need better, and at this point the fact that's still true really is maddening.
You make a very important point. From the beginning of the Trump/MAGA era, the mainstream media was unprepared to deal with the unprecedented purposeful distortions of facts, history, and reality, broadcasted from it. A decision, fatally flawed, was made to treat the Trump presidency the same as any prior administration when it quickly became clear this was absolutely not the case. I've seen scant evidence since of an acknowledgement of this, let alone a course correction meant to remedy this gross miscalculation on the part of so many who should have done/known better.
"Some media orgs are working in bad faith. Some are playing angles. But on the whole I think there’s less of those things than many people outside of the media imagine."
Prove it. Find a media outlet (including this one) that's not spinning a narrative, that's committed to reporting facts and is not above advocating that people have the right to defend their lives in the face of unbridled government aggression, from a government who tried to murder a coequal branch of government and is run by a multiply convicted fraud who stole and sold government secrets.
You won't find one, because the government wont allow one, and everyone who bows to pressure from the government to not tell the truth, or to give it a glow up, or tell people to practice non-violent resistance while the government is murdering people in the streets, is serving the same ends as the Trump administration.
In some cases, such as this Greenland debacle, other parties figure out correctly that Trump is best confronted with stern, coordinated resistance. In such instances, when Trump backs off or backs down, especially when he uses BS to claim victory when the reality is defeat, the media is probably justified in making the assumption that his climb down is likely for real. He would have a hell of a difficult time, even for him, in turning back to threats on Greenland now. I do wish, however, that reporters had the courage more often to ask follow up questions designed to elicit more clarity, instead of just accepting his initial BS responses. Far too often, they accept "We'll see what happens", and "It'll be interesting", instead of pressing for real answers to their questions.
Its more likely he'll "Back down" just like he did against Maduro earlier, until he is ready to execute another blitzkrieg style attack that the world will simply accept as a fait accompli, the same as they did with Maduro. He's literally been shown that it will work, and rewarded for doing it.
Many ppl in journalism weren’t trained on how to report/deal with bad faith actors. Most of what they e been taught assumes a fundamental level of good faith.
When people are acting in bad faith the rules change.
"Every organization has its own reasons.¹ But in general, I think it’s a coping mechanism born of the reality that the mainstream media was not built to deal with an aspiring authoritarian force. They cannot believe what is happening around them and so, whenever something that feels normal, safe, or sane comes out of Trump’s mouth, they treat it as if that’s the real policy while everything else was just noise." I don't see it as coping. I see it as complicit and transactional with ZERO morals or ethics, in exchange for not getting sued, having their billionaire owners being on the zillionaire grift along with Donnie Diaper, the tech bros applauding as they see their serfs being prepared for their subjugation. They know precisely what it is. They're too much in on the $$$$ take to support the people.
I agree with JVL on media sane-washing and what it represents. I also put forward this is the time of the 'Scottin' phenotype test(after the SDNY asst attorney and their resignation statement). They are "fools/cowards" or combination thereof! Some are knowingly duplicitous and willing to believe that this is a conservative response, it is not!! It is totally 'Vichy' in nature and what remains is nothing-- good thing the universe is still expanding and our sun will nova and some other advanced civilization/species will use the archeological findings as an exemplar of the phenotype!
The media is scared shyte-less of Trump. He sues for the slightest of slights and as we all know he sued CBS and others for things he thought unfair to his re-election, even though he actually won. And worst of all they paid up, all so the media giants could be approved by the FCC, FTC, etc to buy other media giants.
Thank you for reporting on Killjoy’s eyewitness account. The tens of thousands in -20 F yesterday convinced me that we may be alright.
Of course, now there’s been another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, which is entirely predictable…does the cycle of lies and ramp-up of violence get yet another boost? Trump won’t be “happy” until we’re all locked down under the Insurrection Act.
If we copy Minneapolis in a whole bunch of cities at once, a nationwide general strike, we can bring down this regime. That’s what needs to happen. No way we survive three more years of this lawless violence and totalitarianism.
trump has demonstrated time and time again that the words coming out of his mouth are just noise to distract us from his failures...and the press falls for it every time! Was he ever going to attack Greenland..never. Did it distract the press from the Epstein files and from his failing tariffs and disastrous economic policy...yes. Focus people! Report of what matters! trump is attacking democracy every day with his ICE Gestapo. His international bullying is prompting our allies to form alliances and economic partnerships without us. America is becoming a pariah under his authoritarian fantasies. The media needs to live up to it's place as the "fourth branch of government" by combatting misinformation, not falling into the traps that trump sets every time he opens his mouth.
As a resident of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, these are the jack booted savages of the dystopia future I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I hope in the few years I have left, I will see justice served on ICE agents and their puppet masters.
As a resident of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, these are the jack booted savages of the dystopia future I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I hope in the few years I have left, I will see justice served on ICE agents and their puppet masters.
I agree that the media continues to rationalize and sanitize Trump. It's a dangerous habit they have adopted. Trump wants the media to get bogged down in his outrageous smokescreens. He wants us to focus on individual shootings instead of the underlying policy of them. For instance, The Daily Beast is reporting today that the administration is planning to send ICE agents as security for the US contingent to the Winter Olympics. What is that about and what will Italy do about it?
I at least skim a lot of headlines from European news outlets, and it's interesting how they frame these issues a little differently than we do stateside. A few examples, just from Le Monde about Trump and Greenland from the last few weeks:
* "US and Denmark discuss Greenland 'military access' in more conventional talks" (NB: implying the earlier talks were decidedly less conventional)
* "After Trump's retreat over Greenland, Europeans want to believe in their unity"
* "Greenland and Denmark exercise caution, set out 'red lines' after Trump's reversal"
* "Europe relieved but 'vigilant' as Trump eases pressure on Greenland"
* "Trump's desire to avoid military force over Greenland a 'positive' sign, Denmark says"
They're not perfect by a long stretch, but they seem at least a little better at capturing that Trump's current position is always open to revision. Maybe it's that they foreground the other people affected by Trump. It must be nice to live in that world....
I'm not convinced it's quite the sense of horror, and the relief things may not be quite that bad, as JVL describes. At least it's not just that IMO. It's more like we're used to a certain style of politics where what a president or politician says -- certainly what they announce as future policy, actually has some substance and persistence to it. Trump says he's against X at 3 AM on "Truth" Social or in a speech to world leaders with the same commitment to holding on to that position across time, and he changes just as quickly. Politics weren't always so chimerical, and to their great shame, ten years in and so many in the media still haven't made that assumption. Trump may well have ruled out a military invasion of Greenland. But that means precisely nothing because there's absolutely no guarantee he won't change his mind in ten seconds' time, even deny that he ever thought anything other than the new position ten seconds' hence.
Throw in his suing and bullying the media and they're protective of their collective back-sides to a point it keeps them from telling journalistic truth. Reporting what Trump said at a snapshot in time seems safer than labelling it a reversal or an easing of pressure. It's water finding its level in a way. That doesn't make it okay, of course.
Bottom line, though: exactly what causes this matters much less than the fact it happens, and it will doubtless happen again. We deserve and need better, and at this point the fact that's still true really is maddening.
You make a very important point. From the beginning of the Trump/MAGA era, the mainstream media was unprepared to deal with the unprecedented purposeful distortions of facts, history, and reality, broadcasted from it. A decision, fatally flawed, was made to treat the Trump presidency the same as any prior administration when it quickly became clear this was absolutely not the case. I've seen scant evidence since of an acknowledgement of this, let alone a course correction meant to remedy this gross miscalculation on the part of so many who should have done/known better.
"Some media orgs are working in bad faith. Some are playing angles. But on the whole I think there’s less of those things than many people outside of the media imagine."
Prove it. Find a media outlet (including this one) that's not spinning a narrative, that's committed to reporting facts and is not above advocating that people have the right to defend their lives in the face of unbridled government aggression, from a government who tried to murder a coequal branch of government and is run by a multiply convicted fraud who stole and sold government secrets.
You won't find one, because the government wont allow one, and everyone who bows to pressure from the government to not tell the truth, or to give it a glow up, or tell people to practice non-violent resistance while the government is murdering people in the streets, is serving the same ends as the Trump administration.
In some cases, such as this Greenland debacle, other parties figure out correctly that Trump is best confronted with stern, coordinated resistance. In such instances, when Trump backs off or backs down, especially when he uses BS to claim victory when the reality is defeat, the media is probably justified in making the assumption that his climb down is likely for real. He would have a hell of a difficult time, even for him, in turning back to threats on Greenland now. I do wish, however, that reporters had the courage more often to ask follow up questions designed to elicit more clarity, instead of just accepting his initial BS responses. Far too often, they accept "We'll see what happens", and "It'll be interesting", instead of pressing for real answers to their questions.
Its more likely he'll "Back down" just like he did against Maduro earlier, until he is ready to execute another blitzkrieg style attack that the world will simply accept as a fait accompli, the same as they did with Maduro. He's literally been shown that it will work, and rewarded for doing it.
Something I’d add to the fist point:
Many ppl in journalism weren’t trained on how to report/deal with bad faith actors. Most of what they e been taught assumes a fundamental level of good faith.
When people are acting in bad faith the rules change.
Thank you, JVL, for the excellent explanation of why the news media is failing.
"Every organization has its own reasons.¹ But in general, I think it’s a coping mechanism born of the reality that the mainstream media was not built to deal with an aspiring authoritarian force. They cannot believe what is happening around them and so, whenever something that feels normal, safe, or sane comes out of Trump’s mouth, they treat it as if that’s the real policy while everything else was just noise." I don't see it as coping. I see it as complicit and transactional with ZERO morals or ethics, in exchange for not getting sued, having their billionaire owners being on the zillionaire grift along with Donnie Diaper, the tech bros applauding as they see their serfs being prepared for their subjugation. They know precisely what it is. They're too much in on the $$$$ take to support the people.
I agree with JVL on media sane-washing and what it represents. I also put forward this is the time of the 'Scottin' phenotype test(after the SDNY asst attorney and their resignation statement). They are "fools/cowards" or combination thereof! Some are knowingly duplicitous and willing to believe that this is a conservative response, it is not!! It is totally 'Vichy' in nature and what remains is nothing-- good thing the universe is still expanding and our sun will nova and some other advanced civilization/species will use the archeological findings as an exemplar of the phenotype!
The media is scared shyte-less of Trump. He sues for the slightest of slights and as we all know he sued CBS and others for things he thought unfair to his re-election, even though he actually won. And worst of all they paid up, all so the media giants could be approved by the FCC, FTC, etc to buy other media giants.
Thank you for reporting on Killjoy’s eyewitness account. The tens of thousands in -20 F yesterday convinced me that we may be alright.
Of course, now there’s been another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, which is entirely predictable…does the cycle of lies and ramp-up of violence get yet another boost? Trump won’t be “happy” until we’re all locked down under the Insurrection Act.
If we copy Minneapolis in a whole bunch of cities at once, a nationwide general strike, we can bring down this regime. That’s what needs to happen. No way we survive three more years of this lawless violence and totalitarianism.
trump has demonstrated time and time again that the words coming out of his mouth are just noise to distract us from his failures...and the press falls for it every time! Was he ever going to attack Greenland..never. Did it distract the press from the Epstein files and from his failing tariffs and disastrous economic policy...yes. Focus people! Report of what matters! trump is attacking democracy every day with his ICE Gestapo. His international bullying is prompting our allies to form alliances and economic partnerships without us. America is becoming a pariah under his authoritarian fantasies. The media needs to live up to it's place as the "fourth branch of government" by combatting misinformation, not falling into the traps that trump sets every time he opens his mouth.
Will the Bulwark please post a list of MN community organizations for those of us in other states, so we can financially support them?
As a resident of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, these are the jack booted savages of the dystopia future I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I hope in the few years I have left, I will see justice served on ICE agents and their puppet masters.
Intense newsletter today.
As a resident of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, these are the jack booted savages of the dystopia future I never thought I would see in my lifetime. I hope in the few years I have left, I will see justice served on ICE agents and their puppet masters.