In adopting the language of the president and his fringe media allies, the traditional press corps risks alienating those conservative and Independent voters who truly don’t know who to trust anymore. They’re not going to be drawn to your side or read great journalism just because it’s labeled “real” — if anything, that code word now gives people pause because it’s dripping with politics.

Once the president labeled the press “fake,” any time the media declares the opposite, they’re no longer seen as defending a free, honest press but as entering the political realm as political actors who are directly opposing the president and his feisty base.

Plus, the entire debate over “Real” and “Fake” news is a smokescreen: While we discuss which news outlets to trust or decry, the president was working behind the scenes to remake the judiciary in the far right wing’s image, to gut Obamacare from within and to rush through a massive tax cut that independent analysts say tilts towards the wealthiest Americans (like the president and his cabinet).