The media is focusing on the stakes of Trump II.

Monday, December 4, 2023
BY CROOKED MEDIA

- Former President Donald Trump ([link removed]) , denying Liz Cheney’s claim that he was so depressed after Jan. 6 that he lost his appetite.

After years of failures that enabled the rise of disgraced former President Donald Trump, the American political press is doing some soul-searching. That, in short, explains the recent spate of brassy headlines declaring: Trump is a threat to democracy, and fair journalism has a duty to say so.

* You can fill books (and people have ([link removed]) !) with all the ways the media enabled Trump's rise, and failed the public and the country. They include, but are not limited to: An addiction to the spectacle of his raucous rallies and unhinged tweets; a lazy adherence to “horse race” storylines; and the many, many hybrid forms of toxic neutrality in the name of “fairness” (one notorious example: “BUT HER EMAILS!”) ([link removed]) . Trump spent four years being a really, really bad president. Then he spent another two-and-a-half years promising: You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet! Now, some in the mainstream press are openly thinking (and writing) about the importance of actually standing up for democracy. As many as 10 years ago, NYU journalism professor and press critic Jay Rosen started urging journalists to ignore who’s-up-who’s-down political coverage ([link removed]
s.cjr.org/campaign_desk/jay_rosen_in_oz_horserace_jour.php) and focus instead on what will happen if a candidate gets elected. Earlier this year, Rosen coined the phrase, “Not the odds, but the stakes,” to convince newsrooms to turn off the rallies and get serious about democracy. At long last, and just a month before voters start voting in caucuses and primaries, there are signs of a shift to that approach.


* The New York Times led today with this wide-ranging story ([link removed]) about Trump’s plans to undermine the rule of law, human rights, and democratic institutions. That includes siccing the military on U.S. cities, rounding up immigrants in camps, and converting federal agencies like the Justice Department into personal revenge factories. Trump and his cronies tried versions of most of this before. But the Times also digs into why he’s going to have a much easier time succeeding if he’s re-elected. This go ‘round, the Trumpistas will face even weaker GOP opposition in Congress (so long, Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney!), less internal push-back from those pesky “adults in the room” (who will be replaced by sycophantic loyalists), and the special kind of semi-enhanced competence that follows a humiliating series of earlier face-plants. The Times has actually been doing more coverage of this kind of stakes-not-race coverage lately,
offering detailed reporting on Trump’s plans to destroy the independence of federal agencies ([link removed]) , his corrupt use of presidential pardons ([link removed]) , and more.


* Surely you, a discerning and savvy “What a Day” reader, are thinking: “This was the media’s damn job all along!” And you’re so right. This new focus at the Times is notable, especially given the paper’s recent history of sanitizing Trump’s insane lies as normal politics-as-usual ([link removed]) , or equalizing very un-alike political scandals in the name of “objectivity.” This type of coverage echoes CNN veteran Christaine Amanpour’s advice on avoiding false equivalence ([link removed]) : “Be truthful, not neutral.” The Times is describing Trump’s plans to abuse immigrants, corrupt the justice system and undermine democracy as “a radical agenda” and “a naked challenge to democratic values.” And let’s say it: That’s what it is.

Crooked’s Dan Pfeiffer articulated the big picture very well here ([link removed]) . A second Trump term would be very bad for health care, reproductive rights, the economy and democracy. The broader public isn’t as aware of this as it definitely should be.


* The Atlantic is out today with an entire issue devoted to what’s at stake in a second Trump term. ([link removed]) The magazine’s legal experts report on how Trump needs to take over the DOJ to keep himself out of jail and to exact vengeance on his enemies. National security expert Anne Applebaum explains how and why Trump wants to do away with NATO, and who has the most to gain (hint: His name rhymes with “tootin’). There are pieces detailing what’s at stake for women, immigrants, and yes, a mainstream media largely undone by a gross combination of market forces and Trump flooding the zone with shit ([link removed]) . The Atlantic has written about the threat to American democracy before ([link removed]) . Now, Editor Jeffrey Goldberg explicitly casts this entire issue as “a warning” to the nation. A skeptic might
reasonably ask: Does the average voter in Wisconsin or Arizona regularly read The Atlantic? (Answer: They don’t.) At the same time, a lot of journalists, editors, and booking producers at non-Trumpist cable news networks will be paying attention. The point here isn’t trashing Trump (though, sure, go ahead). It’s whether the media (with its notoriously short attention span) can maintain a focus on the real-life consequences of this election, instead of putting out a big pile of political fridge-magnet poetry about favorables, unfavorables, and drive-by headlines quoting Quinnipiac polls. And whether it can get that message across to average folks.


* Voters have shown they care a lot about the impact of politics on their rights and their lives. Consider abortion: Voters trounced Republicans in red states ([link removed]) , swing states ([link removed]) , and in special elections ([link removed]) every time the stakes of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe is on the ballot. That says something important about rights. But also a ton about how far voters are willing to go when they’re fully, truthfully and accurately informed about how those rights are being threatened and who is threatening them.



What’s interesting here is an apparent attempt to learn from past mistakes, and react to well-earned criticism. Give that as much credence, or skepticism, as you will. In the next 11 months, we’ll all find out together whether the mainstream press will do a better job covering this election cycle than it has in the past.

Pod Save America is down to its last two live shows of the year before Jon, Jon, Tommy and Dan all climb into one big bed for the holidays like Charlie Bucket’s grandparents. You can catch the show in El Cajon on December 7th with co-host Sam Sanders and San Jose on December 13th with co-host Addisu Demissie. Grab your tickets at crooked.com/events ([link removed]) today!
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Israeli Defense Forces began their expected push into Southern Gaza, launching attacks on the city of Khan Younis and areas east and south. According to Israel, the operation is designed to corner and stamp out Hamas leaders and militants. It also puts at dire risk tens of thousands of Gazans who’ve already fled south to avoid the devastating destruction in the North. U.S. officials publicly warned Israel against repeating its tactics in the first phase of the war, which killed thousands of Palestinian civilians while targeting Hamas. We may soon see if the Biden Administration’s message sank in.


Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy destroyer shot down several drones in the Red Sea ([link removed]) after three commercial vessels were attacked with missiles. The missiles apparently came from Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, who have launched regular attacks toward Israel. Now the U.S. is considering a multinational maritime task force to patrol the region ([link removed]) . All of this is raising tensions as the US tries to contain Iranian-backed forces in Syria, Iraq and Yemen while preventing an escalation to a regional war.

Back home, the Biden Administration claimed Hamas reneged on returning remaining women hostages ([link removed]) to avoid those women publicly describing their treatment while being abducted and held. Several hundred women protested ([link removed]) outside UN headquarters in New York calling for clearer international condemnation women who were raped by Hamas fighters.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today on whether to allow the family most identified with the opioid epidemic to strike a deal with plaintiffs but keep billions for themselves ([link removed]) . The $6 billion deal concerns the Sackler family, tens of thousands of plaintiffs, and Purdue Pharma, the OxyContin manufacturer the Sacklers once controlled.

It was inevitable: HBO announced it’s making a movie about expelled former GOP Rep. George Santos ([link removed]) . HBO optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s just-published book “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos.” Also inevitable: George Santos has a Cameo account. Sen. John Fetterman put it to savage use ([link removed]) .

Rudy Giuliani is going to face a jury when he goes to trial next week for defaming two Georgia election workers. A federal judge over the weekend smacked down Rudy’s attempt to avoid a jury trial ([link removed]) to determine how much he has to pay for defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

Bergum-mentum is no more. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum dropped out of the GOP presidential primary ([link removed]) after failing to impact polls in any way, or really have anyone who doesn’t DVR Fox News, know who he is. Bergum failed to qualify for the last GOP debate in Miami or the one coming up this Wednesday. RIP.


The White House and Pennsylvania’s governor condemned an antisemitic protest outside a Jewish-owned falafel shop in Philadelphia ([link removed]) . A crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters chanted “We charge you with genocide” toward the owner, who is Israeli-American and not at all in Israel’s government.


No sooner had GOP Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer finally cracked the case on Hunter Biden bribing his dad for China (or someone) than the photos came out ([link removed]) . He was reimbursing Joe Biden for helping buy a truck. That they posed together in front of. Womp.


Fox News cut away from Trump’s Iowa rally over the weekend ([link removed]) to correct several of his false statements and to declare that the 2020 election was not stolen. It’s amazing what paying a three-quarters-of-a-billion dollar settlement ([link removed]) for lying to your viewers about the election will do!


This may sound odd for a party headed by a court-identified rapist… but Florida Republicans are increasing their calls for state party chair Christian Zielger to resign ([link removed]) . A woman accused Ziegler of rape after a sexual encounter. His wife, Moms for Liberty founder Bridget Ziegler, confirmed to police the three had a sexual encounter at least once a year before the alleged incident.


Fulton County prosecutors may move to revoke the bail of one of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case ([link removed]) . Trevian Kutti, who has worked as a publicist for Kanye West and R. Kelly, posted a video last month where she disparaged a witness in the case. Kutti is accused of helping intimidate election workers.


The White House warned Republicans that Ukraine is in danger of losing its war against Russia ([link removed]) if the U.S. fails to send aid soon. “We are out of money,” White House budget director Shalanda Young wrote to congressional leaders, warning that failing to fund Ukraine’s defenses would “kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield.” This all comes as Republicans continue to hold up Ukraine funding as lawmakers debate aid for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. border with Mexico.

Nearly half of the House GOP opposes new funding for Ukraine (you’re welcome, Putin!). They DO want funding for Israel and the border, so that’s why the White House wants to tie it all together. But Speaker Mike Johnson has awoken from the dream of being speaker to a nightmare. Some GOPs refuse to back any Ukraine funding, some are demanding draconian asylum restrictions that Dems won’t support, ([link removed]) and others want to slash what Ukraine says it needs to defend itself. But the only way out is to make a deal with Dems. Ask Kevin McCarthy how that worked out.
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Happy reading, and happy holidays!

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Right after going splat! in Congress, George Santos face-planted on the steps of the former Trump International Hotel in DC. Splat! ([link removed])

“Rizz” just got named the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year ([link removed]) , and is officially no longer cool.
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