The ex-president is ranting and raving on social media, making wild claims and vowing revengeāand yet, too often, heās treated as a conventional candidate.
Donald Trump is poised to win the Republican nomination. If the polls are right, though they often arenāt, heāll handily win Iowa and New Hampshire, at which point there will likely be very little chance of any non-Trump candidate slowing him down (not that they put up much of a fight to begin with). Heās also racking up endorsements, with prominent Republicans, including representatives Tom Emmer and Steve Scalise and Senator Tom Cotton, throwing him their support this week. And if you believe the polls pitting Trump against Joe BidenāI, for one, am skepticalāthen the quadruply indicted former president is positioned to return to the White House.
Around this time last year, I argued that someone who tried to overturn the 2020 election shouldnāt be covered like a ānormalā 2024 candidate, and yet, even four criminal indictments later, it feels like he is being treated that way. Whereas Trump enjoyed $ 2 billion worth of free media to dominate the news cycle during his 2016 run, these days he rarely sits down with mainstream outlets and opens himself up to scrutiny. His autocratic plans and extremist rants, while garnering some headlines, seem to quickly be forgotten amid the latest polls. Given that Trump and his allies have already told us that he plans to target the news media, whether ācriminally or civilly,ā itās worth pausing and considering whether weāre adequately covering his unhinged behavior.
Media outlet owners want two things from this election: A horse race for the viewers and a guarantee of safety if Trump gets elected. So theyāre trying hard not to piss him off, especially the overtly right-wing ones.
News used to be a loss leader. Now it is about making a profit and maintaining or increasing your corporate power.
Iām genuinely baffled that anyone still thinks they can prevent Trump turning on them simply on a whim/for the lulz/to appease his rabid base. He has no real loyalties. He would happily throw his own wife under the bus (and has done so in the past, on multiple occasions, with multiple wives, as a matter of public record).