Over the previous week, Donald Trump “labored” at a McDonald’s, made inappropriate remarks concerning the personal components of late golfer Arnold Palmer, and continued to unfold debunked claims about youngsters getting intercourse modifications at college and immigrants consuming pets.
He continues to assault his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, with crude insults in language that’s unbecoming of a presidential candidate in a civilized society. Simply as disturbing, he retains speaking concerning the enemy inside this nation — his political opponents whom he has seemingly threatened with punishment if he turns into elected. And he repeatedly doubts that he’ll settle for the results of the election if he loses.
All of those tales proceed to get main media consideration.
Harris? She appears laser-focused on speeches, interviews and the normal issues candidates do within the closing dash to the end line of a race.
However is the unconventional and irregular (excuse the pun) trumping the traditional and regular?
The Washington Post’s Hannah Knowles and Toluse Olorunnipa wrote, “9 years after he rode down a golden escalator to launch his first marketing campaign with a combative speech disparaging Mexican immigrants as ‘rapists,’ Trump is closing out his third consecutive White Home bid with a loud, ostentatious marketing campaign that has thrust his conduct to the middle of a photo-finish battle for the presidency. He has usually overshadowed his rival with gimmicky occasions, menacing warnings, vulgar insults and false or unsubstantiated claims — resulting in a closing fortnight that each camps say has positioned them for fulfillment.”
The query is: What’s the media imagined to do in masking these two candidates, particularly Trump?
Do they level out all of the unhinged, harmful and distracting issues Trump says by placing them in context and giving the American individuals an correct image of a presidential candidate? Or do they ignore issues like Trump’s Arnold Palmer remarks as a result of they solely draw consideration away from the true problems with the race? (Then once more, one may argue, these antics by Trump are an actual difficulty of the race.)
Is masking Trump and these wild and wacky tales coming on the expense of protection of Harris?
On Tuesday, Washington Put up opinion columnist Eugene Robinson did a live chat with readers. He was requested a related query by one reader: “It seems that Trump’s footage and feedback take over the information shops. There are fewer footage of Harris in addition to content material of her positions. Is the media fixated on the antics of Trump to attract extra readership?”
Robinson’s response: “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. For each reader who writes me to say we give an excessive amount of consideration to Trump and the nonsense he spews at his rallies, there’s one other reader who writes to say we should always put a fair brighter highlight on him and print his gibberish verbatim to point out the nation how unfit he’s. Reporters and editors gained’t please everybody with their choices on how one can cowl Trump. They will solely do what they consider is true.”
That’s the million-dollar query: What is true — displaying Trump and all that he’s about or ignoring his antics in favor of concentrating on coverage points? The latter could possibly be thought of a type of “sanewashing” Trump — ignoring the irresponsible discuss and habits and, maybe, making him appear like a traditional candidate.
I’ve all the time come down on the aspect of displaying a candidate largely in full in order that voters know precisely who a candidate is — the nice, the dangerous, the ugly. That doesn’t imply airing lies with out saying they’re lies. That doesn’t imply displaying harmful speeches with out mentioning why they’re harmful. That doesn’t imply displaying irregular habits with out saying it’s irregular habits.
However, in the long run, main information organizations can’t defend candidates by hiding what they’re, how they discuss and what they do.
And, frankly, the highest information shops do appear to be masking all of it — Trump and Harris and all the pieces their campaigns entail.
Donald Trump is scheduled to go on “The Joe Rogan Expertise” — one of the crucial listened-to podcasts within the nation. Joe Rogan, who has 14 million followers on Spotify, will interview Trump on Friday in Austin, Texas.
Rogan, who is also a UFC commentator, has a largely younger male viewers, and that’s clearly the demographic that Trump is hoping to draw along with his look.
Politico’s Alex Isenstadt wrote, “Trump has by no means appeared on Rogan’s podcast and the 2 have had a sophisticated relationship. In August, Trump referred to as out Rogan after the podcaster claimed that politicians on each side are manipulative aside from Robert Kennedy Jr., who on the time was operating for president.”
Isenstadt added, “Rogan himself has been essential of Trump prior to now. In July 2022, he referred to as the previous president an ‘existential risk to democracy.’ But Rogan has extra lately been complimentary of Trump, saying final month that the economic system beneath Trump ‘did very well and he actually did attempt to minimize a few of the (BS) down that’s happening on this nation.’ Trump and Rogan have additionally had pleasant moments in latest months, akin to after they have greeted one another at UFC occasions.”
It needs to be famous that Kamala Harris reportedly has been in talks to look on Rogan’s podcast, as properly. However no replace on that as of Tuesday.
In a considerably odd choice, one of many largest newspapers within the nation, the Los Angeles Instances, is not going to make an endorsement for president.
Semafor’s Max Tani reported that the Instances’ editorial board was making ready to make an endorsement for president, however the paper’s proprietor, Dr. Patrick Quickly-Shiong, determined that the paper wouldn’t make one.
The Times’ editorial board recently wrote, “It’s no exaggeration to say this can be probably the most consequential election in a technology. And we’re not simply speaking concerning the presidential race.” It then made suggestions on numerous state propositions, in addition to metropolis, county, college board and choose races. It gave endorsements for congressional races, and it endorsed Democrat Adam Schiff for the U.S. Senate.
However no presidential endorsement. Why? A Instances spokesperson instructed Tani, “We don’t touch upon inner discussions or choices about editorials or endorsements.”
The Instances has endorsed a Democrat for president in each election going again to when Barack Obama ran for his first time period in 2008.
Nonetheless, Tani writes, “it wouldn’t be the primary time that the LA Instances has declined to endorse candidates in a presidential basic election. From the mid-Nineteen Seventies till 2008, the paper declined to endorse any presidential candidates following inner dissent over the choice to endorse Richard Nixon for reelection months after the Watergate break in, a choice the writer Otis Chandler stated he later got here to remorse. Earlier than that, the Instances had a close to century-long streak of Republican presidential endorsements courting again to the paper’s founding in 1881.”
The New York Liberty maintain up the championship trophy after defeating the Minnesota Lynx in Recreation 5 of the WNBA basketball closing collection final Sunday in New York. (AP Photograph/Pamela Smith)
Probably the most profitable season in WNBA historical past wrapped up in spectacular vogue Sunday evening when the New York Liberty gained their first-ever championship with an extra time victory in a winner-take-all Recreation 5 in opposition to the Minnesota Lynx.
Regardless of going up in opposition to “Sunday Evening Soccer” and two of the extra recognizable groups within the NFL (the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers), Recreation 5 attracted 2.15 million viewers on ESPN. That made it the most-watched WNBA Finals sport of the 2000s.
The 5 video games of the WNBA Finals averaged 1.57 million viewers, which was the biggest viewers the collection has ever seen on ESPN.
In fact, earlier than the finals, the WNBA had already had a spectacular season from a viewership standpoint, largely because of Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark.
Front Office Sports’ Margaret Fleming reported that Recreation 5 of the finals was the league’s seventh-most-watched program this season behind 4 Fever video games, the draft (the place Clark was the highest choose) and the All-Star Recreation (which Clark performed in.) As well as, Clark’s closing playoff sport drew 2.5 million viewers, nonetheless probably the most ever for a WNBA sport on cable.
I wished to put aside Scorching Sort at this time for the most recent from Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. He writes, “Trump: ‘I Need the Kind of Generals That Hitler Had.’”
Within the story, Goldberg writes, “Trump has ceaselessly voiced his disdain for individuals who serve within the army and for his or her devotion to obligation, honor, and sacrifice. Former generals who’ve labored for Trump say that the only army advantage he prizes is obedience. As his presidency drew to an in depth, and within the years since, he has turn into increasingly more involved in the benefits of dictatorship, and absolutely the management over the army that he believes it will ship. ‘I would like the form of generals that Hitler had,’ Trump stated in a personal dialog within the White Home, in line with two individuals who heard him say this. ‘Individuals who have been completely loyal to him, that observe orders.’” (A Trump spokesperson, Alex Pfeiffer, stated Trump by no means stated this, and issued different statements and denials which might be included in The Atlantic’s report.)”
Which may not be probably the most outrageous assertion Trump makes, in line with Goldberg’s story.
It’s a must-read piece.
Have suggestions or a tip? Electronic mail Poynter senior media author Tom Jones at [email protected].
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