But the decision not to air his speech — which, aside from Trump’s not-guilty plea, was the most newsworthy thing that happened all day — would resonate much more had CNN and MSNBC not fallen for Trump’s self-promotional political theater all day long.
Now, I’m going to yell something from the balcony of my beautifully appointed glass house: I fell for it too! I was glued to the television all day, waiting for … something to happen. Instead, I was served up warmed-over political punditry and shots of sad protesters, who I am sure are very good people on both sides. I didn’t learn anything other than Trump flew his private plane to Miami, took a motorcade to the courthouse, appeared in court (no cameras), then visited a restaurant where he was treated as a hero by his supporters (who were unkind to journalists.) …
The surrender by a former president to federal authorities is a vast and historic event. And yet, it felt like just another day of programming. Why? Because over the past six or seven years, it seems like everything Trump did earned a media freakout. And if everything he does is an 11 on a scale of one to ten, his indictment over hiding state secrets feels like a typical news day.
[There is no such thing as dispassionate news coverage on any of the cable nets. It’s always amped up to 11 on one network or another. Why do we wonder at polls that show media credibility at all-time lows? Give Chris Licht credit for a proper diagnosis at CNN, even if he couldn’t save the patient. — Ed]
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