Insider: What Media Missed on Trump

Chris Crucial + my confession

I’m doing something a little different today for Chris Crucial (my breakdown of today’s stories you may have missed) – as a former insider of the mainstream media, I will reveal the critical mistake the media makes in election coverage. I used to do it too, but I’m breaking the mold… I have to.

If you care about getting the truth out, this will be an important read: ⬇️

On Tuesday, the following things crucial things happened in DC:

1. The BIPARTISAN immigration bill died — even before a Senate vote — because Donald Trump made clear he would rather have the issue to run on in the fall campaign, rather than a solution.

2. The House marched forward (and just now failed) on an attempt to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas despite ZERO evidence he meets the constitutional bar for impeachment.

3. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz announced a resolution with sixty Republican cosponsors that would declare Donald Trump did not engage in insurrection. “We believe Congress has a unique role in making that declaration,” Gaetz says. “It’s not the job of the states and especially not the job of some bureaucrats in Colorado…” And by bureaucrat, he means… the judicial system?

How the hell did we get here – where an entire political party is run by a man so obsessed with power and control that he will happily ignore many of the democratic foundations of our country (building on his long alleged history in business, which is still being sorted today)??

Then, at 5AM this morning, I literally bolted upright in bed, with an answer: The media has covered this election, and today’s politics in general – all wrong.

The media, writ large, continue to portray the election as a choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, regular candidates. And the election overall as a choice between the two political parties we have long known.

This misses the point. Badly.

Facts, As They Are

What we are choosing between is democracy (as it has been commonly understood for hundreds of years) and… something very different. We can call it authoritarian-adjacent. Or nationalist populism. Or Trumpism.

Whatever you call, it, we already know what that looks like (because Trump has told us!):

• Mass deportations

• A gutting of the civil service

• A trade war with China, including tariffs of up to 60% on Chinese goods

• Weaponization of the Justice Department

• Deployment of U.S. troops on American soil, via the Insurrection Act

• Establish a credentialing body to certify teachers who “embrace patriotic values.”

• Takeover of the governance of Washington, DC

• Terminating the Constitution to run a new election

The policies, taken as a whole, represent a fundamental shift in how we envision who we are — as individuals and as a country.

Like the dictators he praises, Donald Trump sought to use the force and power of the federal government to overturn a free and fair election. When that didn’t work, he helped incite a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Now, far from being remorseful about his role, Trump has taken to referring to those arrested that day for their actions as “hostages.”

Representatives Who Represent One Man

Worse, the Republican party — from Mitch McConnell to Marjorie Taylor Greene — lines up behind him. Why? Ultimately, they are afraid of him — without getting behind him, they fear they will lose their political futures.

So, we don’t have two political parties at this point. We have the Democratic party and a cult of personality organized around Donald Trump.

One party is organized around a common set of agreed-upon principles and ideas. (You can agree or disagree with them, but they exist.) The other side is entirely built on the whims of one man — which can (and do) regularly change.

You aren’t likely to hear words like “cult” on a nightly newscast.

To be clear: I am not suggesting Joe Biden is perfect! He is, to my mind, too old to hold an office as critical as the presidency. The Justice Department reportedly will make a statement critical of President Biden and his aides for mishandling classified documents soon, though not press charges.

But, what Joe Biden IS NOT trying to be is an authoritarian. He just isn’t. Joe Biden has never said an election was stolen. He’s never fomented a rebellion aimed at overturning the results. He’s never called his political opponents “vermin.”

He’s just not that guy.

Know who is? The guy Republicans are about to nominate! We don’t have to wonder about what Trump will do — as we all did in 2016. We know exactly what he will do.

The media MUST cover this race with full context, and not keep covering the election as though it’s a normal choice between two typical candidates!

So, why don’t they?

Why The Media Failed Us… and Still Does

Well, a few reasons:

1. It’s what we know. I have written before about the fact that Trump presents an asymmetric challenge for the news media. Never before have we had a candidate who openly lies with impunity (30,000 lies during his four years in office). Who revels in bullying and meanness. Who uses the power of the federal government as his personal plaything.

We don’t know — still — how to fully grapple with a candidate like that.

2. “Objectivity”. In the three decades I’ve spent in newsrooms, there is one thing I see held sacred above all: Objectivity. Never show preference. Never offer opinion. Never let either political party believe you favor them. This, in theory, works – when we are talking about, say, George W. Bush and John Kerry.

Yes, the two men had clear differences on policy. But they were both well within the established political norms. That is NOT the case with Trump. Yet they create an apples to apples comparison when none exists.

The media has failed to apply REAL objectivity to Trump. He must be called out for what he is, like a hurricane coming. Trump is objectively a threat to our democracy.

3. “How bad can it be?” I think there exists a feeling with my friends in the media — still — a lingering belief that no matter how bad Trump might be in office, he would be constrained by the other branches of government. But is this still realistic?

In 2021, Donald Trump came within one Mike Pence decision of overturning a free and a fair election. And even before the 2016 election, Trump exploited the holes in the news media’s vision to accomplish his goals.

In that time, I have been writing (and talking) about why Trump is different (and why we need to cover him differently).

My Awakening

This morning as I lay in bed, I thought of what the future holds for me… my children… my community… my country. I kept thinking about how my friends in the media need to be more explicit:

What Trump is promising is a radical departure from the vision of American life we adhered to for generations. We need to remind people of that fact every single day, between now and November 5.

The stakes are just too high for the mainstream media to act otherwise.

But I honestly am not sure they’ll step up in time. It will be up to independent media outlets to do it, like my own.

My pledge to you:

Whatever the mainstream media gets wrong, independent journalists can and must get right. I am putting everything I have into making this Substack an important resource for you, which is I why I’m risking everything to make it my full time gig.

The more paid supporters I get, the more my responsible journalism can reach Americans with the truth. ⬇️

If you’ve joined me, THANK YOU. No matter what level of your support, I’m grateful you’re here, as I shine a light wherever democracy needs it most. – Chris

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