Trump and the media: the enablers and the inquisitors

This week, Matt Beasley looks across the pond to the media’s role in the Trump presidency

Time and again during the Trump presidency, his unorthodox approach to politics, his behaviour, his disagreeable attitudes to pretty much anyone outside of his sycophantic inner circle, and perhaps ultimately most costly, his rabble-rousing speeches, made him different to anything the White House had ever seen before.

And in response to four years of tantrums, sackings and narcissism, 74 million Americans, 47% of the electorate, wanted him to remain as president. 74 million Americans still wanted to make America great again.

So how did one of the most educated electorates in the world, blessed with an array of 24-7 independent news channels, come to this conclusion despite what the outside world saw?

Of course there are a multitude of factors. Some will be born blue or red with the thought of changing political allegiance anathema. Many will point to the power of social media and Trump’s ‘mastery’ of the medium to bypass the traditional media, political scrutiny, fact checking and counter pointing.

There is nothing really wrong with either of these. In a democracy, you are entitled to have your own opinion, to make up your own mind. Stayed political allegiances are common in many countries, including our own. And why shouldn’t a country have an unfiltered and direct line into its leader’s mindset and thinking? Many would argue that it’s better to know the real leader than the carefully controlled narrative their spin doctors want you to know.

But what of the role of the media? Time and again outlets such as CNN, the Washington Post and the NY Times called Trump out for his political missteps and misdemeanours. But others certainly did not. Political allegiance in the media is not new and not necessarily wrong. But when established outlets are less a reflection of the news, and more an enabler of a political force for financial gain then a line has been overstepped.

The biggest misstep of the Trump presidency was his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Fox News, for four years his go-to partner in the media played along, on all political fronts, but particularly the pandemic. As Trump continued to play down the “China Virus” so did Fox News.

Whilst the president is the ultimate decision maker, ever since JFK, the US media has been the king maker. They stand with the power to hold elected officials to account for their words and deeds. But as Trump’s use of social media has bypassed debate and fact-checking, so has the output of sections of the US media, notably Fox. Time and again they extoled Trumpism in all its facets, enabling him, bringing him close to a second term, and perhaps costing many lives in the process.

The Murdoch controlled conservative news channel has put profit first – tell your audience what it wants to hear and don’t upset the advertisers – and reporting the news a very distant second.

The challenge now for the mainstream media in the US is what next in a post Trump America? Whilst he will cast a long shadow over the country and its political debate for some time, how do they adjust the lens, remain relevant (and faithful) to their red or blue audiences and move on from what has been four tumultuous years.

Interestingly Fox’s motto has changed from ‘Fair and Balanced’ in 2016 to ‘Most Watched, Most Trusted’, i.e. not balanced, a telling shift. Following the Trump defeat, its current slogan is "Standing Up For What's Right". Time will tell what they consider to be ‘right’.