The Epic Confrontation of the New Trump and Old Media: What Looms Ahead?
And in accomplishing all this, the 78-year-old has endured the broadest, most obvious, and most disgusting array of hoaxes, lies, phony impeachments, trumped-up indictments, and anonymous attacks designed to cripple his political plans and finances. Oh, and survived two assassination plots.
And he not only endured, he still won.
The attacks have simply failed. As one result, this month, for the very first time since he entered politics more than nine years ago, more Americans now see Donald Trump favorably than unfavorably.
I’ve written here on his latest election success:
There are numerous reasons for this Trump success. I would say it shows the power of authenticity. Some might not prefer Trump’s blunt, even at times crude style, but no one could honestly say that the billionaire sounds or looks fake. Or addled. Or lost.
Part of that authenticity is to say or do unexpected things:
Winning the highest political office as a rookie. Actually fulfilling 2016 campaign promises. Luring North Korea’s hermit leader into two summits, when all other presidents failed. Creating a conservative Supreme Court majority. Prompting NATO allies to boost lagging defense spending. Intimidating potential foreign adversaries from attacking. Avoiding new military entanglements for four years.
And now, among other things, Trump has set out to get after the media that’s gotten after him from Day One.
The media lacks an honest concept of the intense antipathy many Americans now feel toward them. And toward the careless attitudes they display toward many things held sacred, like truth, religion, open displays of patriotism, fairness, American exceptionalism.
Scores of newspapers have gone out of business in recent years. The examples of media business failures grow by the day, especially in television outlets like MSNBC, unable/unwilling to disguise their partisan coverage, here, here, and here. And suffering massive viewership losses.
Trump has long had a love/hate relationship with media, loving the attention, often seeking it, and then attacking anything negative.
He has sued or threatened to sue media dozens of times over the years. He’s not won. Until now, when ABC News realized that during an interview last March, TV host and former Democrat operative George Stephanopoulos said on national TV that Trump had been found liable for rape.
It’s not easy for public figures to sue successfully. Truth is media’s ultimate defense, and Trump had to show intent to defame. In fact, the jury had specifically not found Trump liable for rape, and Stephanopoulos repeated the falsehood more than a half-dozen times, taking care of intent.
ABC agreed to apologize and pay $16 million, which reportedly caused great internal turmoil among news division professionals. My suggestion is such concern would better be directed at the political operative playing a journalist in their midst who’s not trying to report news but trying to make news that helps his party on a Sunday morning.
(The Babylon Bee — "Fake News You Can Trust" — reported that ABC Newsplanned a running ticker on all news reports saying, "For legal purposes do not believe anything we say.")
Trump is well-known for being incapable of letting any slight pass. Some people, especially in media, think these suits are Trump's revenge. So what if the charge is accurate? Every institution should be accountable. Trump says, "I think you have to do it because they're very dishonest."
It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen a president answering unscheduled questions at a news conference without scripted answers. Last week, Trump continued:
You need fair elections, you need borders and you need a fair press. I have a few others [lawsuits] that I'm doing. I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because I feel I have an obligation to.
The anticipated suits will vary in complaint and are not all as clear-cut as Stephanopoulos’ colossal boo-boo that cost Disney ownership so much. When Trump wins, he looks stronger. If he loses one, he won’t.
But the political base and a growing number of dissatisfied news consumers admire such confrontational theater as their surrogate.
And a hidden truth is, media attorneys are already warning editors and producers to be extra careful with Trump content, which is an unacknowledged win for the incoming president. And for news consumers seeking honest coverage.
Any future media coverage hesitancy and pulled punches can be worth more than millions in damages.
Trump is also suing author Bob Woodward for making money off tape recordings that he promised Trump would be confidential. And he is suing the Des Moines Register and its pollster, Ann Selzer.
They published a survey days before the election showing Kamala Harris handily defeating Trump in Iowa when it was actually the other way around. Being way off with a poll that attracted national attention is usually damage enough to a poll’s reputation.
Trump, however, is suing under Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act, which prohibits a person from engaging “in a practice or act the person knows or reasonably should know is an unfair practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, or false promise.”
Though widely welcomed, this assault on media could all be a tricky path for Trump, who is not great at nuance. So long as such lawsuits appear aimed at reining in the careless arrogance of unpopular media, he would have widespread popular support.
However, many other unattended challenges – the economy and national security, among them – also await the attention of the new commander in chief, not even mentioning foreign threats and the financial, social, educational, and law enforcement impacts of millions of illegal immigrants.
The returning president does not need the money from court victories over soulless corporate media.
But if such legal challenges and significant financial damages force some long overdue media self-examination and corrective reforms to the nation’s information blood flow, in the end, that could be one of Trump’s truly enduring legacies for the ongoing life of our functioning democracy.
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