Empty Journalism

If it’s a truism that people are skittish about change that doesn’t put more coin in their pockets or more flattering mirrors in their parlors, it’s even less comfortable for institutions. Businesses, sports leagues, legislative bodies, the local PTA, you name it. Disrupt the status quo and expect reflexive pushback and the inability to adapt. 

Major newsgathering organizations and political media aren’t immune from the stasis, as evidenced by recent interviews with Donald Trump on the occasion of his second first 100 days in office. The Disruptor-in-Chief sat down with correspondents from ABC and NBC for “exclusive” conversations about his actions and what’s transpired on his watch. They were, as you might imagine, disjointed exchanges laced with fiction, bravado and enough batshit crazy soundbites to fuel several news cycles. 

Trump has been at the center of American political life for a decade, yet it’s apparent that major news media remains ill-equipped or unwilling to recognize or to deal with him and his enablers and supporters in a meaningful way. As the site’s Media Grump, it’s alternately discouraging and infuriating that legacy media often doesn’t use its platform to speak plainly about the man. 

I mean, if any institution is built to withstand the whiplash and commotion he causes, it should be the media. They pivot daily, sometimes hourly, from one story to the next. They’re trained to seek truth, if not always justice. They’re equipped to explore multiple facets of people and topics, though to be fair the strip-mining of journalism resources now makes that more difficult. Yet far too often, major political media trades truth for access and equivocates in the name of supposed fairness or objectivity. 

Media has gotten better about calling out Trump’s lies and false claims and extreme actions from his days as a political novelty and throughout his first term. Yet we still get descriptions of his “unpredictable governing style” (NPR) and headlines such as “Trump is pursuing a radical agenda. Does he have a strategy or is he winging it?” (The Washington Post). 

Christ on crutches, there is no agenda, there is no governing style. Trump no more wants to govern than to ride rollercoasters. He wants to be in charge, to give orders, to make others knuckle under, and to make money. That’s it. Full stop. He and his justice people arrest and deport immigrants because he thinks it makes him look tough. Likewise, his imposition of tariffs despite warnings about their effects. 

So, Trump sat down with ABC’s Terry Moran and, as usual, tried to buffalo his way through the conversation. The border with Mexico is 99.9 percent closed to illegal crossings now; the U.S. had a daily trade deficit of $3-5 billion that he’s stemmed; there was no inflation during his first term, compared to record inflation under Joe Biden. Trump also sat down with NBC’s Kristen Welker for a comparably choppy interview that aired on “Meet the Press.” This time, the border is 99.999 percent closed; gas is under $2 a gallon in some places (it’s not); auto manufacturers are moving plants to the U.S. (they’re not); the 2020 election was rigged (it wasn’t); Elon Musk and DOGE found $160 billion in waste, fraud and abuse (they didn’t). Oh, and Trump said he was responsible for good economic news and results, and Biden was responsible for poor news and performances. 

He could be lobotomized. You don't know.

Honestly, the transcripts, with the interruptions and fragments of thoughts and often talking past each other, read like lobotomized David Mamet. One of the illustrative parts of Trump’s conversation with Moran regarded illegal immigrant arrest and deportation in general and Kilmer Abrego Garcia specifically – the Salvadoran man in Maryland who was arrested and deported back to a notorious El Salvador prison, which was according to a judge and to Trump’s own justice people done illegally and without a hearing. Trump said that Garcia was a criminal and had gang script MS-13 tattoos on his hand. When Moran politely pushed back and said, no, he had symbols on his hand and the MS-13 was photoshopped and the photo circulated, Trump insisted that Garcia actually had MS-13 tattooed on his knuckles. Moran tried to re-direct and move to the next topic, but Trump wouldn’t let it go, finally saying, “… they’re giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doin’ the interview. I picked you because – frankly, I never heard of you but that’s okay – but I picked you, Terry, and you’re not being very nice.” 

Never mind that Moran has been an ABC senior national correspondent for seven years and a national and foreign affairs reporter since the 1990s. Trump was doing him a favor by sitting down and talking to him, and he expected proper deference. Similarly with Welker, when she brought up inflation and price increases and the possibility of a recession due to tariffs and economic uncertainty, Trump called it a dishonest interview. He didn’t like the way she framed questions – not positively enough in his favor. 

That’s the thing about Trump. He gripes about unfair media, yet his ego craves the attention – Mussolini looking for a balcony, as it were. Interviews with him are journalistically and informationally worthless, because he constantly lies, deflects and blames. Reporters and network executives know that, but because he’s the President, there’s an entrenched desire for him to sit in front of their cameras and audio recorders. Clicks, eyeballs, ratings. Unfortunately, they crave the attention, as well, much to the detriment of the audience and population in general. 

The vacuousness of Trump appearances and interviews also distract from the important stuff. They cause reporters, and by extension, regular folks to focus on what he says and not what he and his circle do. Annex Canada as the 51st state. Take over Greenland. Rename the Gulf of Mexico. Bring back Columbus Day. Greatest economy ever. Third term. Whatever crosses his mind or just saw on Fox News or Newsmax or an aide handed him. 

It harkens back to the days when the President’s words mattered almost as much as his actions. Trump didn’t understand the presidency on his first go ‘round, but he’s always understood media and what draws attention. He doesn’t necessarily understand the presidency any better this time, but he learned enough to bend it to his will and to go full bootlick and put people in position to do his bidding while he plays the same toxic tune he always has. Too many continue to dance to it.