Q: In the statement issued by the Donald Trump campaign stating that it will stop credentialing Post reporters, the campaign said, “Mr. Trump does not mind a bad story, but it has to be honest.” What is a bad story that is honest that Mr. Trump would not mind?
A: A story about Hillary Clinton.
There’s no doubt but that Donald Trump is a Presidential candidate who defies normal stereotypes…and therefore needs to be covered differently by the media than, say, Hillary Clinton. The Washington Post found its press credentials revoked by the Trump campaign because it didn’t recognize that because the Donald is a special kind of candidate, he deserves to be treated differently- as in, scrutiny and fact-checking is for losers and Liberals.
The Post’s Alexandra Petri shares a few lessons learned (too late) by the newspaper’s political team, lessons that will stand you in good stead should you decide you want to hop aboard the Trump press bandwagon. After all, it stands to reason that an unconventional (i.e., “dishonest and disingenuous”) candidate deserves to be covered unconventionally (i.e., “reporters are expected to act as Trump’s press attaches”).
Republicans are learning via Trump that character matters, which is why Paul Ryan is contorting himself in an effort to appear as if he’s disavowing the presumptive GOP nominee with actually doing so. Why Republicans are surprised that Donald Trump is running as…wait for it…Donald Trump defies rational understanding. It’s not as if he snuck up on Republicans; they just never thought GOP primary voters would select a small-fingered vulgarian and ass clown with a dead weasel for a hair piece.
To most rational bipeds, Trump is a walking prevarication factory. It’s so bad that PolitiFact has already determined that Trump lies 76% of the time words issue forth from his pie hole. (I’m actually giving him the benefit of the doubt; another PolitiFact report put the number at 91%.) The man lies as he breathes- naturally and without shame or remorse. Trump, the proud owner of Politifact’s “2015 Lie of the Year” views his precarious relationship with the truth as a strength (“flexibility”)…and expects media coverage of him to respect and parrot that belief. Those who don’t will end up on the ash heap of history…like the Washington Post.
Remember, the hard-hitting truth is a good thing…if it’s a story about “Crooked Hillary.” Donald Trump? He transcends the truth, and the sooner the media comes to grips with that, the longer reporters will be allowed to suck at his campaign’s teat.
Yes, you can thank me later for that visual.
