That sort of collective action on the part of the press has been entirely absent when it comes to Trump. Instead, reporters now take for granted the deeply personal nature of everything in Trump’s world, where access and interviews are granted based on the candidate’s whims. Reporters and outlets perceived to have slighted Trump — including National Review, Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins, the Des Moines Register, and, at one point, the New York Times’s Trip Gabriel, among others — are denied access altogether and without explanation. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about its repeated denials of National Review’s requests for press credentials.

The National Press Club on Monday raised concern about the Trump organization’s treatment of journalists and urged it to respect freedom of the press. But the Trump campaign, much of whose success has been dependent on earned media, is unlikely to change its conduct until the press changes its approach to the candidate. And for individual news organizations, it’s business as usual. Even if, you know, it “may not be good for America.”

Trump has created a Manichean world in which there exist, on one hand, embarrassing suck-ups such as Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and, on the other, obvious outcasts like McKay Coppins and National Review. Most credible journalists have decided they don’t want to fall into either camp, but, to preserve their access, they have also decided they don’t want to unduly antagonize Trump. The Breitbart drama has demonstrated that in Trump’s world, even shameless panderers can be cast out at a moment’s notice.