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Breaking News: The Media Holds an Intervention for Itself (And Confirms Its Own Irrelevance) [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-24
It was a quiet evening in the boardroom of The New York Times when the intervention began. Gathered under the fluorescent glow of a thousand carefully curated op-eds, the luminaries of mainstream media sat nervously clutching their lattes. CNN, MSNBC, and even a reluctant Fox News had shown up — each with carefully rehearsed lines about the need for “objectivity.” The agenda? A serious discussion about their ongoing inability to accurately cover Donald Trump, despite nearly a decade of firsthand experience proving that he treats the truth like an expired Trump University diploma: worthless but still marketable.
The First Rule of Covering Trump: You Do Not Acknowledge Reality
Moderating the discussion was Edward R. Murrow’s ghost, who had emerged from beyond the grave to deliver an impassioned plea. “Good night and good luck,” he began. “Because Lord knows you’ll need it if you keep normalizing this nonsense.”
The meeting opened with a review of the latest poll numbers. A Post-Ipsos poll found that 57% of Americans believe Trump has exceeded his authority — an opinion not shared by most political reporters, who continue to treat his increasingly unhinged rants as though they were Churchillian oratory. (“Mr. Trump, you just suggested building a moat around California to keep out hurricanes—how will you fund this brilliant infrastructure initiative?”)
Despite his sagging poll numbers, Trump continues to receive the kind of media treatment usually reserved for royalty or escaped zoo animals: bemused, fascinated, and oddly reluctant to acknowledge the apparent existential threat. The New York Times even ran a recent piece about his new “measured tone,” a phrase last seen describing a serial arsonist who temporarily switched to vandalism.
A Brief History of the Media Gaslighting Itself
Of course, Trump’s policies—executive orders, deregulations, and the systematic gutting of democratic institutions—have been met with public pushback. The backlash isn’t just from progressive activists; it extends to suburban moms, small-business owners, and anyone with a functioning memory of the Constitution. And yet, media institutions continue to ponder, chin-in-hand, whether this means America has “Trump fatigue” or if perhaps voters are just too impatient to appreciate his genius.
The problem isn’t just poor coverage—it’s the fundamental refusal to acknowledge their role in shaping political narratives. If the media were a doctor, it would be standing over the collapsed patient of democracy, thoughtfully penning an op-ed asking if perhaps too much CPR is the real problem.
The Great “Sane-Washing” of Trump’s Gibberish
“Maybe if we just explain him better,” suggested a trembling MSNBC anchor as he reviewed another segment solemnly parsing Trump’s latest manifesto on Truth Social. Meanwhile, Fox News was already workshopping how to spin “Trump accidentally orders military to invade Delaware” into a story about strong leadership.
This media instinct—to take deranged, self-serving nonsense and contort it into something resembling an actual governing philosophy—is why we have phrases like “economic nationalism” instead of “grifting” and “populist outsider” instead of “man who bankrupted a casino.”
Murrow’s ghost sighed. “A free press is the backbone of democracy. But right now, you people are spineless—too afraid to call a lie a lie, too hesitant to challenge power, too eager to chase clicks instead of truth. You fawn over authoritarians in the hope that they will grant you access while democracy erodes under your watchful but unwilling eyes.”
Hollywood and the Great Political Detox
As if on cue, a representative from Hollywood entered the room. “We’re pivoting away from political content,” he declared. “No more biting satire, no more subtle critiques of fascism. Audiences are tired. They want comfort. More reboots, less resistance.”
And just like that, the most powerful storytelling machine in the world collectively decided that democracy would simply have to fend for itself. If you want a metaphor, imagine a sinking ship where the captain just announced that, instead of fixing the leak, they’ll be launching a nostalgic revival of the Titanic dinner menu.
The Conclusion: If You Won’t Do Your Job, Just Say So
Murrow’s ghost gave one final speech. “Trump is not a mystery. Nor is he a misunderstood populist. And he is not playing four-dimensional chess. He is what he has always been: a man who speaks in all-caps tweets and believes hurricanes can be bombed into submission. And yet, you keep pretending there’s some deeper meaning.”
Silence. The media executives looked down at their lattes, searching for the courage they had long abandoned.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” What he did not account for was the possibility that newspapers might simply become stenographers for a man who struggles to spell “smocking gun.”
In the end, the intervention failed. The media left the room, vowing to hold Trump accountable while debating whether he had “matured” in his second term. The cycle continues.
Murrow’s ghost turned to the empty room and whispered what he knew to be the only conclusion possible: “This…is how democracy dies. Not with a bang, but with a press release—written by journalists too afraid to challenge power, too eager to maintain access, and too complicit in laundering authoritarianism as just another political perspective.”
Good night, and good luck. You’re going to need it.
~Dunneagin~
[END]
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