Too much is at stake for anyone interviewing Trump or one of the White House insiders to give them a pass, like ABC News' David Muir did recently.
May 8, 2020

Kellyanne Conway may have perfected the art of the gaslight, but now almost every Trump official and spokesperson has crafted their "alternative facts" skills, modeled on Trump himself.

They've also mastered the technique of gaslighting and filibustering their way through television interviews without ever addressing very specific questions from their interviewees.

In the last few weeks, you’ve had Steve Mnuchin, Larry Kudlow, Mike Pompeo, and everyone in between filibuster even basic questions when asked directly to respond to something Donald Trump has said or done. They simply refuse to answer and use these techniques to deflect from the truth about his presidency.

When asked if he thought the coronavirus was a "hoax" by Congressman Lieu, Pompeo refused to answer this direct question and instead called it a "gotcha question.".

The Sunday morning political shows are the only places where Trump officials are more vulnerable to having to answer for the Trump administration‘s actions, so it is incumbent on interviewers to be more forceful and demand real answers instead of spin.

Chris Wallace, Chuck Todd, George Stephanopoulos, Margaret Brennan, and Jake Tapper have to step up to the plate and when they’re being gaslighted they need to cut in and forcefully ask for an answer to the direct question.

Too much is at stake for anyone interviewing Trump or one of the White House insiders to give them a pass, like ABC News' David Muir did earlier this week when he just allowed Trump to blame the Obama administration for not developing a test kit for a virus that wasn't known until 3 years into Trump's term. (See above)

Just asking a question and then moving on after a lengthy nonsensical diatribe is not an interview of consequence. It''s video stenography.

They can at least have intelligent producers Johnny-on-the-spot to help them correct the record and call into question the facts Trump and his minions try to transmit to the American public in real-time. A chyron is fun but not near enough.

Interviewing the people at the top of the state and federal government comes with a huge responsibility. Is it too much for all of them to study all the facts about the subjects they want to discuss with the people they invite on their programs? When they find a lie, inconsistency, or a misstatement they need to be able to call it out and attempt to correct the record!

The American public demands this of you. Your position of trust requires it of you.

You're in a cherished position and thousands of journalists around this country working for every news network would kill to be in the position you are. So use that clout for good and to inform people. Serving as Stenographer to the President is not acceptable ever, but especially not now.

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