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Coincidences and Consequences

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They couldn’t abide him.  And they made no secret of it. The “they” here is the so-called “mainstream” media - aka in reality the liberal media. “Him” of course is Donald Trump. That would now be President-elect Donald Trump. A president-elect who won his race in a landslide, winning both the Electoral College and, in a first for a GOP candidate since 2004, the national popular vote as well. But how could this be, you ask? After all, everywhere Americans looked in this election the media was out there trashing Trump. From the New York Times to the Washington Post to the studios of MSNBC, CNN, the broadcast studios and more, the disdain for Trump was constant. It was not to be escaped. And if that anti-Trumpism was not displayed, then various outlets would call out their colleagues for doing their duty. Over there at the Associated Press was this:  “During a Wisconsin rally the last weekend of September, Trump talked of danger from criminals allowed in the country illegally. “They will walk into your kitchen, they’ll cut your throat,” he said. The New Republic writer Michael Tomasky was surprised not to find the quote in The New York Times’ and Washington Post’s coverage, although The Times noted that Trump vilified undocumented immigrants, and there were other media references to what Trump himself called a dark speech.” In other words, Tomasky was saying the Times and Post had fallen down on their lefty media obligations to trash Trump. Back there in the stone age of December, 2023 - on the edge of the new 2024 election year - was this headline from NPR:  As 2024 approaches, the media is faced with the question of how to cover Donald Trump NPR answered its own question by quoting The Atlantic’s Brian Klass as saying:  There is nobody in my field who thinks that Donald Trump is not a threat to democracy. Ahhh yes. Trump as a “threat to democracy.” This type of group liberal “media think” was not a stand-alone by one Establishment media journalist. In 2021 the New York Times columnist Ross Douthat headlined:  Can the Press Prevent a Trump Restoration? Wrote Douthat (bold print for emphasis supplied): “There is a school of thought that holds that if Donald Trump sweeps back into power in 2024, or else loses narrowly but then plunges the United States into the kind of constitutional crisis he sought in 2020, the officially nonpartisan news media will have been an accessory to Trumpism. It will have failed to adequately emphasize Trump’s threat to American democracy, chosen a disastrous evenhandedness over moral clarity and covered President Biden (or perhaps Vice President Kamala Harris) like a normal politician instead of the republic’s last best hope.” Got that? If Trump were to win in 2024:  ….the officially nonpartisan news media will have been an accessory to Trumpism. It will have failed to adequately emphasize Trump’s threat to American democracy…. For his part, Douthat argued: "I think this point of view is very wrong. Indeed, I think it’s this view of the press’s role that actually empowers demagogues, feeds polarization and makes crises in our system much more likely." In the Washington Post, lefty columnist Dana Milbank posited this all the way back in 2021: “We need a skeptical, independent press. But how about being partisans for democracy? The country is in an existential struggle between self-governance and an authoritarian alternative. And we in the news media, collectively, have given equal, if not slightly more favorable, treatment to the authoritarians. ….Too many journalists are caught in a mindless neutrality between democracy and its saboteurs, between fact and fiction. It’s time to take a stand.” There was more of this out there in the so-called “mainstream media.” Oh so much more.  Over in his recent column, NewsBusters own Rich Noyes recently headlined this just before the election:  TV Hits Trump With 85% Negative News vs. 78% Positive Press for Harris The result of all this anti-Trump coverage? An American voting public that had to face the real, everyday consequences of the left-wing Biden-Harris administration’s policies that, among other things, inflated  the price of everything from a dozen eggs to a gallon of gas. And facing this reality as the mainstream American media trashed not Biden and Harris but Trump, day-in-and-day-out. To say the least, Americans didn’t buy all the liberal anti-Trump media propaganda. In fact, it is safe to say many resented it. And, amusingly, trapped in a liberal bubble of their own making, the media didn’t get it - and so they kept pouring on their anti-Trump coverage. Ironically adding fuel to Trump’s campaign. The result? To the astonishment of the lib media, in an election that recalled President Richard Nixon’s description of a “great silent majority”, Americans headed to the polls this last week and overwhelmingly voted for Trump. And not only Trump, but for a GOP held Senate and, as this is written, potentially a GOP House as well. The real question for the”mainstream”  media now?  As America heads into the next four years of a Trump presidency, will the media get that if they spend the next four years piling on Trump for everything from his domestic and foreign policies to his haircut style or golf clothes - they will be continuing a war on ….themselves and their own credibility. In short, with no small amount of irony, what the mainstream liberal media has accomplished with its constant negative coverage of Trump is….re-electing him. In a landslide. Will they learn from this backfire? Don’t bet the ranch.

On Friday morning's CNN Newsroom, host Jim Acosta opened with a hysteronics-filled segment fretting over President-elect Donald Trump planning a "radical, ultranationalist agenda" and commiserated with Democrat Congressman Brendan Boyle (PA). With the words "INSIDE TRUMP'S RADICAL PLANS" displayed on screen in red letters, Acosta's tease was comical: "Donald Trump's radical ultranationalist agenda beginning to take shape this morning -- mass deportations, tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy and a new missile defense shield with the help of former NFL player Herschel Walker. We'll have the details in a moment."     The CNN host soon after brought in Boyle: I want to begin the hour with Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania to talk about the new Trump agenda. Congressman, thank you very much for joining us. We're starting to learn more about Trump's radical agenda. I was just talking about it a few moments ago. Let's go through some of the most repeated promises out on the campaign trail. We're going to show this to our viewers. Acosta then read a list of some of Trump's campaign promises as they also displayed on screen, including deportation of 11 million "undocumented" immigrants, imposition of tariffs on imports, cutting climate regulations, and building a missile defense system. He then brought aboard Congressman Boyle, who quickly tore into the President-elect's plans: I mean, it was very hard to not actually laugh at that last comment about a missile shield defense by Herschel Walker. It's -- it's battiness -- it's craziness -- and I feel like I've seen this movie before, and often the sequel is no better than the original. But I -- one thing that I will say is that when I served the first time in a Trump -- the first time as a House Democrat with Trump as President, even in the minority, House Democrats were able to resist not all, unfortunately, but a lot of the Trump agenda. Acosta followed up moments later with another softball about what his fellow Democrats would do to stop the President's agenda: "What is the plan for Democrats if the GOP remains in control of the House. It looks like it's heading in that direction. We don't know how it's going to shake out because all the votes have not been counted, but what will Democrats do to try to stop some of this agenda?" As Congressman Boyle predicted that Democrats will have enough votes in the House to hinder Republicans from passing their agenda, Acosta then showed worry about ObamaCare as he followed up: "But if the House does fall into Republican hands once again, and the Senate having a -- I mean, not a strong majority but a majority. Is ObamaCare in trouble, do you think?" In his next question, Acosta picked up an out of text comment in which Trump expressed a desire to use the military against violent left-wing activists like rioters, with the CNN host fretting: And, Congressman, there's new reporting from The Washington Post that the Pentagon is anticipating a major upheaval with Trump's return to the White House. There are big concerns about what it means for the nonpartisan military. Obviously, Trump and his acolytes during the campaign talked about using the military against the political opposition of Donald Trump in this country. Should the Pentagon be concerned? Acosta concluded by alluding to a recent comment by Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissing the future of American power as the CNN host teed up the congressman to tie the comment to Trump's election. Transcript follows: CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta November 8, 2024 10:00 a.m. Eastern [TEASE] JIM ACOSTA: Donald Trump's radical, ultranationalist agenda beginning to take shape this morning -- mass deportations, tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy and a new missile defense shield with the help of former NFL player Herschel Walker. We'll have the details in a moment. (...) 10:01 a.m. ACOSTA: I want to begin the hour with Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania to talk about the new Trump agenda. Congressman, thank you very much for joining us. We're starting to learn more about Trump's radical agenda. I was just talking about it a few moments ago. Let's go through some of the most repeated promises out on the campaign trail. We're going to show this to our viewers. Mass deportations of 11 million undocumented immigrants, unprecedented tariffs on foreign goods from all countries, but especially China; trillions in cuts in government spending -- he says, with the help of Elon Musk; a reversing regulations aimed at addressing climate change; building a new missile shield with help from former NFL player Herschel Walker. And the list goes on and on. Congressman, what do you make of this? CONGRESSMAN BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA): I mean, it was very hard to not actually laugh at that last comment about a missile shield defense by Herschel Walker. It's -- it's battiness -- it's craziness -- and I feel like I've seen this movie before, and often the sequel is no better than the original. But I -- one thing that I will say is that when I served the first time in a Trump -- the first time as a House Democrat with Trump as President, even in the minority, House Democrats were able to resist not all, unfortunately, but a lot of the Trump agenda. We'll need help from a few self-proclaimed moderates, particularly in the Senate.  We were able to save ObamaCare that way, but we also should be clear-eyed that in a number of areas where Trump can act unilaterally -- such as on tariffs and, to a certain extent, foreign policy -- he will be able to inflict real damage on the United States as well as the world. ACOSTA: Yeah, Congressman, I did want to ask you: What is the plan for Democrats if the GOP remains in control of the House. It looks like it's heading in that direction. We don't know how it's going to shake out because all the votes have not been counted, but what will Democrats do to try to stop some of this agenda? BOYLE: Yeah, just to be clear, I mean, there is still a path for a House Democratic majority. There are so many races still left to be called, especially in California, but worst case scenario, Democrats will be in the minority barely -- approximately where we are now just a few seats away from the majority. I would point out that over the last two years, House Republicans have not been able to pass anything of consequence without Democratic votes. That gives Democrats, even though we're in the minority, it gives us leverage over what passes. And I think that will still be the case, whether it's on the debt ceiling which will be back in front of us in just two months, whether it's the budget, whether it's the must pass annual defense bill -- there are ways in which, in the minority, Democrats can exercise our power to make sure that we're able to impact the agenda. ACOSTA: But if the House does fall into Republican hands once again, and the Senate having a -- I mean, not a strong majority but a majority. Is ObamaCare in trouble, do you think?  BOYLE: Oh, there's no question about it. I said that during the campaign that it wasn't just something that I said during a campaign. I was quite sincere about it. Republicans have been trying for 14 years to repeal ObamaCare. They came with -- they passed that bill to repeal it in the House of Representatives in 2017, and then it failed by just one thumbs down from John McCain as well as no votes from a couple of other Senate Republicans. Now that Republicans were able to get to 53 votes in the Senate as opposed to a majority of 51 or 52, that does deeply concern me because that will make it easier for them to pass certain things that, from my perspective, are very destructive for the American people. ACOSTA: And, Congressman, there's new reporting from The Washington Post that the Pentagon is anticipating a major upheaval with Trump's return to the White House. There are big concerns about what it means for the nonpartisan military. Obviously, Trump and his acolytes during the campaign talked about using the military against the political opposition of Donald Trump in this country. Should the Pentagon be concerned? BOYLE: I think all of us should be concerned with Donald Trump returning to the White House. You know, we have the greatest fighting force -- the greatest military in the history of the world. It is a strictly nonpartisan military that is under civilian command. The idea that Donald Trump is attempting to change that should deeply worry all Americans. So, even though the election is over, the American people still have voices. The American people still have the capability for great activism. I think that what we need is a great citizen activist awakening in this country to make sure that the worst doesn't happen, whether it's to the military or the civilian service or other parts of our government. ACOSTA: And, quickly, just finally, Congressman, in a speech yesterday, Russia's Vladimir Putin declared that a new world order is taking shape and the Western-dominated post-Cold War era is coming to an end. He's saying this just days after Trump's victory. Coincidence? BOYLE: No, there's no coincidence. I mean, Trump's election on Tuesday was a great day for Vladimir Putin, it was a great day for Viktor Orban and it was a great day for other dictators and autocrats around the world. We had a great expansion of democracy from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 for the next 20 years. But since then, unfortunately, we've seen what I call the democracy recession. And we now have a President -- a President-elect about to be President again who sadly fashions himself in that same mold as Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban. But I would remind folks that, in our system, Congress is a co-equal branch of government -- indeed, we're the first article of the Constitution. Congress needs to assert itself during the Trump presidency in all realms, but especially when it comes to foreign policy. ACOSTA: Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, thank you very much for your time. BOYLE: Thank you, Jim.