Trump 2.0 - The Addition

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Yesterday, you may have noticed, was quite a big news day. I try to avoid writing about him too much, but with Donald Trump now back in the White House, there seemed little choice but to do so today.

I watched both the UK and US media yesterday. There were valiant attempts to fact-check the incoming President on, for instance, CNN. Which is fine, but none of the people who might benefit from the fact-checking are watching CNN. (As I pointed out in the latest House of Comments episode.) Also, when President Trump freestyles, as he did at points yesterday, it is almost impossible for viewers to follow what he is saying, making it all the more difficult for journalists to push back.

Another question that sprang to mind yesterday is about normalisation. Has media coverage made us just accept that the diatribes, the lies and the rulebreaking are normal, when they very much are not? And how do you navigate that when the lack of normality is what appeals to so many of Trump’s voters?

That’s all much harder to answer, not least because it’s the job of journalists to report what is happening. It’s not for news anchors and reporters to tell us what they would like to see, but to tell us what they are actually seeing. (Obviously, talking head pundits have a different role.)

Covering the New Trump Administration

I think that, to some extent, the media was too acquiescent in the first Trump Presidency, yet I also think journalists repeatedly fell into the traps set by the Administration. Constantly having chyrons at the bottom of the screen screaming about everything the President does is exactly what Trump wants and is of increasingly little value to voters. There has to be some rationality and some proportion in the coverage.

But here we are. Set for another for years of journalists scurrying around trying to understand what on Earth President Trump is doing and saying, whilst all the time being made to be the enemy within. Hold on to your seats.

Or maybe just turn off the TV and go outside for a walk once in a while.