Did Media Learn A Lesson About Trump Coverage? Some Of Them!

By Susie Madrak — November 16, 2022

You would hope that the media learned its lesson. Well, some of them did -- but last night, some of them simply repeated the same over the top Mango Madness coverage that marked 2016 (looking at you, CNN!). Let's start with the ones who improved.

Like this one, from NPR:

BREAKING: Donald Trump, who tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a deadly riot at the Capitol in a desperate attempt to keep himself in power, has filed to run for president again in 2024. https://t.co/iqIcaN3SZA

— NPR (@NPR) November 16, 2022

Compare and contrast. The Washington Post did a good job:

Here we have the two papers in a nutshell. The Post reminds readers that he incited an authoritarian takeover; the NYT avoids that inconvenient fact and makes the GOP seem reasonable. Seen from a global lens, the former skews progressive, the latter center-right. https://t.co/yE53Cw4OWj

— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) November 16, 2022

The twice-impeached former president Donald Trump, 76, who refused to concede in the 2020 election and is the subject of multiple criminal investigations, is running again in 2024, increasing the likelihood of a potential rematch with President Biden. https://t.co/tp6BpXjn8Z

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 16, 2022

Dan is right. I checked in on Fox last night, and they were as obsequious as ever -- although Hannity did cut away from the boring speech:

Didn’t age well. Fox is still in loooove with him. https://t.co/q0A6kQZpos

— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) November 16, 2022

Now, you knew the Times would not fail to disappoint:

Better lede:
Donald Trump, the only president in history to refuse to accept defeat & who incited a seditious attack on the U.S. Capitol, announced another campaign for president even as he faces possible indictment for his post-election plotting & for stealing federal documents. https://t.co/wiAIiS1i32

— Jackie Calmes (@jackiekcalmes) November 16, 2022

Nicolle Wallace and Jon Karl stayed focused on the big picture:

"I spoke just last night with somebody very close to Donald Trump who said point blank that a big part of his thinking here... is believing that an indictment is coming and he'll be in a better position to fight that is he's a presidential candidate"- @jonkarl w/ @NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/smfY2Fc6g2

— Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) November 15, 2022

And then, there's Facebook:

NEW: Facebook sent a memo to its fact-checkers this afternoon telling them if Trump announces he's running for president tonight they can no longer fact-check anything he says. https://t.co/2oKkYe2nyq

— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) November 15, 2022

Other comments:

Let’s hope most journalists grasp that the Trump story is not chiefly a political story. It’s a crime story. And any announcement doesn’t change that.

— Steven Beschloss (@StevenBeschloss) November 16, 2022

Any news organization that leads with any Trump bs on a big news day like today, you are dead to me.

— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) November 16, 2022

Critical historical context on the role of mainstream journalism in helping democracy erode by @krforde #CJDDemocracySummit @C4JDHowardU https://t.co/cfhdVmesGZ

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) November 15, 2022

At least we have late night TV!

Got more? Leave 'em in the comments!