Media Hot Take: The Real Scandal Was the MSM’s Failure to Stop Trump’s Reelection
“At what point will there be a general acknowledgment and some serious self-scrutiny about the way big media failed to adequately convey what would happen if Trump were elected again?”
The mainstream media are nothing if not a predictable bunch, and that has certainly been the case amid the revelations from the forthcoming Tapper/Thompson book about former President Joe Biden’s decline and the extent of the White House/Democrat Party cover-up.
Instead of doing some soul-searching in regards to their prominent role in the scandal, those in the press who are weighing in on the issue are predictably feigning shock, as CNN‘s Abby Phillip did after the audio from Biden’s interviews during Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2023 classified documents investigation was released.
President Biden's interview with Robert Hur has been released. Listen for yourself… He answers haltingly to questions and is forgetful of key moments in his own life, including about his son. https://t.co/OK8AdYvc5g
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) May 16, 2025
There have also been others in the corporate press, like Phillip’s colleague Jake Tapper himself, who are pretending they couldn’t cover Biden’s decline extensively at the time because the White House and Democrats kept it from reporters:
Better late than never?
Jake Tapper: "The bottom line is the White House was lying not only to the press, not only to the public, but they were lying to members of their own Cabinet, staffers, Democrats in Congress, about how bad things had gotten" on Biden's decline pic.twitter.com/6eTkQRk1R1
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 13, 2025
The latest hot take from the MSM as the scandal over who knew what and when deepens comes from former New York Times public editor/former Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, who says in so many words that the bigger media scandal was the failure of the press to stop Donald Trump’s reelection:
“As a media critic, I’m always happy to see a good reckoning for the mainstream press. But this one makes me wonder. When is the reckoning coming for the failures to cover Trump effectively?” – @Sulliview https://t.co/mvAKAnpkQB via @GuardianUS
— Eric Schultz (@EricSchultz) May 17, 2025
From the piece:
At what point will there be a general acknowledgment and some serious self-scrutiny about the way big media failed to adequately convey what would happen if Trump were elected again?
Sullivan then approvingly cited a tweet from political scientist Norm Ornstein, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, who says the media is culpable for Trump’s reelection:
Whatever the reality surrounding Biden, there were many reasons for Trump winning, including Covid, fatigue, and inflation, Afghanistan withdrawal and big mistakes by Democrats. But the arrogance of our press after being called the enemy of the people is high on the list.
— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) May 13, 2025
After suggesting her former colleagues at the New York Times played a “destructive role” in helping pave the way for Trump’s 2016 win by supposedly being too tough on Hillary Clinton, Sullivan went on to allege that the media “sanewashed” Trump in his first term and ahead of the 2024 election instead of portraying him as dangerous “would-be autocrat”:
Then, during Trump’s first term – and especially during the 2024 campaign – the mainstream press constantly normalized the would-be autocrat.
The ever-so-apt term “sanewashing” was born to describe what was going on, and the media’s role. Talk about a cover-up. Trump’s rallies were exercises in lunacy, as he spun tales about sharks and Hannibal Lecter, rambling for hours.
Relatedly, former MSNBC anchor David Shuster complained that Biden’s age, cognitive decline, and the cover-up of it paled in comparison to what he says Orange Man Bad is doing to the country:
I keep seeing so much attention to that new book on Biden’s age and senility. In what chapter did Biden accept a 400 million dollar gift from a foreign nation? Which chapter details his disregard of a Supreme Court order? Crypto currency scam? Shredding the V.A.?
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) May 17, 2025
There are people working for Trump who say on background he has lost his marbles and has dementia. But unlike Biden, Trump has crashed our economy, betrayed US allies, emboldened dictators, and made the U.S. a laughingstock. When does that book come out?
— David Shuster (@DavidShuster) May 18, 2025
There’s so much to unpack here, but first, here are some reactions:
This new tactic is as fascinating as it is predictable. As it is outrageous and a continuation of the biggest scandal in media history. “Happy to see a good reckoning”?! Well, then reckon on this Biden one a bit before going back to your premise that the liberal press hasn’t… https://t.co/lXBEWlgqY5
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) May 17, 2025
Margaret Sullivan is immersed in the biggest political cover up in American history and is asking why it's not about Donald Trump instead. https://t.co/x11KN0BCr3
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 17, 2025
Lmaooo outstanding cope. 10/10. No notes. https://t.co/aBnKZif9Mq pic.twitter.com/zkYw1yR2il
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) May 17, 2025
Apparently
Biden was gonna get the jet
Who was running the country??
Who pardoned the bidens??
How much money did the Bidens sell America for??Should I go on??? https://t.co/BRkeZ2c2PW
— Becky (@BeckyYo46292254) May 18, 2025
I mean, I don’t know how much more mud they could have thrown on the wall about Trump in hopes that it would have stuck. They were willing participants in and perpetuators of the Russia collusion hoax, were active cheerleaders of the various impeachment efforts, encouraged and applauded the years of lawfare, and portrayed him as a racist, a rapist, and even a Nazi to try and scare voters away from him.
Further, whether she realizes it or not, Sullivan is basically proving another point conservatives have for years tried to make in that she’s advocating that the media pick a political side and frame their coverage accordingly in hopes that they will influence public policy and elections.
Sadly for Sullivan, Shuster, and all the other media apologists, the media did influence last year’s election, but not in the way they’d hoped they would. It’s what happens when you get inundated week after week with “walls are closing in/it’s only a matter of time now” stories that, at the end of the day, end up being much ado about nothing.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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Comments
The media is such scum. I could easily decide who to vote against just by listening to who they support.
A variation is what I do if seeking a particular service in my community. I look on the sites that list muslim-owned businesses so I know where NOT to go.
The Fourth Estate is the real 5th Column communists trying to promote the socialist Utopia they all believe is possible.
So you are in fact the enemy of the people. Good talk Russ.
My thought: if the media had accurately portrayed Trump, his margin of victory would have been greater.
MSM couldn’t stop Trump because nobody watches or read’s their drivel. So many media choices now.
Regretfully, too many people still watch or read their drivel. When some of the more “noteworthy” publications start going belly up, then we’ll know that people have finally realized that what they’re watching or reading is drivel.
Or that the number of unreconstructed fools in America has finally dwindled below media survival level.,
Good point.
I hate the term MSM. A more truthful description would be DNC controlled media. ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS are wholly owned subsidiaries and propaganda outlets for the Democratic Party.
Marxist State Media?
They’re partners. One doesn’t control the other.
The number of marriages between media and government figures (or relatives) is insane. The idea the media would report on their family’s involvement in corruption is laughable.
“The idea the media would report on their family’s involvement in corruption is laughable.”
May I ad “report on their friends and family’s involvement in corruption?”
Heaven forbid they wouldn’t be invited to the cocktail and swinger swap parties!
LPM: Lamestream Propagandem Media.
The MSM suffers from a case of self induced visual agnosia when it came to Biden’s mental collapse.
More like global anosagnosia.
When I read the part about “Sanewashing,” I knew what they meant. I cannot watch or listen to Trump’s rallies or speeches, they are so disjointed and repetitive. But what he does, is why I voted for him. To use a flaw like speaking ability to judge a man on his ability to lead is childish. Look at Biden and obama(sic), neither could speak without a teleprompter, and when they tried, it was worse than Trump. Every scandal the Dems have, the MSM immediately goes into overtime to create an alternate story to divert attention away from the scandal. Trump is doing great now on his world tour, and what do they focus on? The 747 that is not going to him, but the DoD for Air Force 1. It has been for sale for two years with no takers or offers. No one wants a 747 anymore, so it is basically worthless to Qatar.
“I mean, I don’t know how much more mud they could have thrown on the wall about Trump in hopes that it would have stuck.”
It as definitely the media’s fault that there just wasn’t enough chocolate coating in Switzerland to persuade America to swallow the national Democrat turd for yet one more term.
It’s easy to prove President Trump doesn’t have dementia. He’s done scores of interviews, depositions, etc. If he’d sounded like that in any of them it would have been leaked in an hour and a half, not been buried for a year and a half.
you cant soul search when you have no soul to begin with
MS Sullivan seems to arguing that the legacy media wasn’t in the tank deep enough for d/prog and they didn’t use words like autocratic enough or talk about ‘felony charges’, remind voter that Trump was really gonna try and deliver on the his campaign agenda to deport illegal Aliens, secure the border, get Musk and DOGE to assist in ID and cutting waste, slash regulations, fire wokiesta bureaucracy, stop forever wars, use tariffs to get better trade terms?
“MS Sullivan seems to arguing that the legacy media wasn’t in the tank deep enough for d/prog”
Same virus that makes woke D leaders believe they lost the election because they “failed to get their message across,” instead of understanding that their message was well understood and repulsed the majority of Americans.
What Sullivan and her fellow coven denizens are most enraged about is their failure to inspire better assassins.