The media is ‘sanewashing’ Trump’s gibberish | Rebecca Solnit on Media Confidential
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- Опубліковано 18 вер 2024
- According to the writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit, US media are failing to cover Donald Trump properly. “His incapacity to be coherent is pretty much hidden from the public, unless they’re listening directly or reading alternative media,” she says.
Solnit, whose essay Men Explain Things To Me inspired the word “mansplaining”, says she’s convinced that the US mainstream press-including the New York Times-are “sanewashing” the former president and the gibberish he has spouted during the election campaign.
Instead of showing how rambling and off-topic he is, they piece together fragments of his speeches to come up with a few crisp sentences.
Solnit joined Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber on the latest episode of the Media Confidential podcast.
🔗: To hear Alan and Lionel discuss this further, and to listen to our Sunday Q+A episodes, subscribe via your favourite podcast app: mediaconfident...
📸: Image: David Adamson /Alamy; Trent Davis Bailey, Jewish Women’s Archive
Still waiting for the NY Times to run 5 simultaneous stories on the front page about Trump's cognitive decline the way they did with Biden and his lackluster but coherent debate.
Exactly- NYT, WAPO, Axios, politico, MSN, CNN all did the same exact thing too, so it was more than just one outlet. It really was a total legacy media tidal wave.
Yes!!!! I am starting to think they fear him
If people aren't smart enough to see and hear adolf trump and jerkface vance immoral views....then people aren't using their brains!!!!
All of the mainstream media are deliberately ignoring history's lessons about what happens to news outlets when authoritarian governments take over. The news agencies are decimated, no matter how much they toady up to the dictator.
" If you're not careful Major US media will have you hating the oppressed and loving the oppressors." ~ Malcolm X
“The revolution will not be televised “
Trump = Ratings = $$$$ It's that simple.
Could not have said it better. Thank You
Clearly not that simple. Not helpful making this all about money. And anyhow, the stories that would highlight his inability would be more click bait. Look at how much was made of Biden's age.
No quarrel here, but you’re omitting another greed-driven factor: These media giants are profit-seeking corporations. So they are made of shareholders (the owners) and handsomely paid executives. These groups would rather not see tax go up for the obscenely wealthy. They very much like the idea of lower tax on corporate earners; elimination of capital gains tax.
I think with all that going, we should be surprised by their occasional unfavorable coverage of that psychopath.
This is why I’m glad there are UA-cam channels not so beholden to such interests who can call them out.
I don't agree that it's only greed. Corporate culture has a way of floating the turds to the top.
And it is not only about Trump. The media has incentive to make all races as competitive as possible. Just money, nothing personal.
Lawrence O'Donnell argued this case well on The Last Word on MSNBC. It was a takedown to behold.
I know it as BSNBC.
Yes, but Lawrence equally excoriated the people who attended the conference and who clapped so loudly for Trump's nonsense. It's not just Trump, but rather his supporters.
STOP THE HAMMERING! STOP THE HAMMERING! STOP THE HAMMERING! O'Donnell is an eedjit...
@@marshcreek4355 Agreed. I think he also made valid criticism of the press and other media actors in general.
@@hermitthefrog8951Of course, you have never been irritated when interrupted trying to do something important to you. You haven't presented any support for your argument that O'Donnell is stupid. You using the Irish word for idiot, when the Irish call Americans Americans, not Irish, demonstrates your lack of knowledge. I know you are not representing yourself at your best. Why not provide examples to support your opinions that would be difficult for a person using reason to refute?
Rebecca Solnit and Heather Cox Richardson are what keep me sane these days. So crisp and clear.
I 2nd That.
In my opinion, Solnit is prone to relational aggression; as such, she is a socially divisive figure. Her ideological extremism serves the establishment as controlled opposition within their ever reliable strategy of divide and rule.
In my opinion, I think her voice is what’s needed. Too much value is placed on social cohesion. Justice needs a voice, even if it’s easier to label it “extreme”.
@@aminahchallenger523 I use the word extreme, as her sense of justice on occasion goes against the foundational values of jurisprudence such as equality before the law and innocent until proven guilty; an erosion of rights which in turn serves the neo feudal power structure of the establishment order.
Heather Cox Richardson is wonderful.
If they’re sanewashing Trump they need to use more detergent. He still sounds like a crackpot to me.
Because you are actually listening to what he says. But people who only read reports about his speeches might think that he is making sense and actually has a plan (other than the Heritage Foundation's fascist manifesto Project 2025).
Absolutely. There's a blatant double standard in how Trump's craziness is downplayed and Harris is accused of providing no detail or policy, when she clearly does and Trump doesn't.
I've already pointed out to 2-3 people who have told me that she has provided no policies that in the debate she covered a childcare policy, a housing policy for first time buyers and and a plan for investment in small businesses. It's ok to disagree with her policies or to express some reservation on how they'll be paid for but it is either a pretence or not looking if a person believes she isn't talking about her policies.
🤣🤣🤣 are you and I living in the same reality?
Its fucking infuriating. Plain & simple.
@@mchoe5890 No dude, clearly we are not. Why do you ask?
'sanewashing' - well and accurately put.
I’m through with the New York Times for all times.
I quit the Times after they whitewashed Clinton's shocking misogyny in the 90's: He allowed a 22 year old woman to twist in the wind. Her prolonged public humiliation nearly ended with suicide. A real gentleman would NEVER have countenanced such conduct. It was appalling.
A lifelong reader of the NYT, I am appalled by the recent abdication of integrity.
Were you alive during the 9/11 era when the NYT turned itself into George Bush's press bureau and helped facilitate all of the lies which led the US into the Iraq/Afghanistan debacle? The NYT is and has been trash for a very long time.
It isn't recent. You just didn't notice it in the other topics you care less about.
It is such a relief to listen to Rebecca Solnit. Like a fresh wind blowing out all the stupid.
❤Rebecca Solnit. Thanks for having her on.
The way Maggie Haberman from NYT covers Trump only demonstrates her fandom and her glee in turning revenue for NYT
Haberman is an embarrassment. Pure and simple. She tries to come off as calm, reasonable and even-handed. She’s just awful
Trump just announced " I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" that's not the action odf a sane political candidate. Trump is off his nut, and the media are not covering it as crackpottery.
That’s the post of a mob boss calling a hit to his violent goons.
Imagine if Harris or Biden posted that they hate kid rock or some other similar Trump endorsing musician. There would be bloody outrage in the right wing media and social media word. The main stream media is acting like the Taylor Swift post is just another normal day. Not one station that I have seen has made much about the point that this is unacceptable behavior by a Presidential candidate.
@@Winstonrodney6989But then it devolves into a "Free Speech issue, right?
I agree it's disqualifying. I'm just unsure of the tactics .
@@Alvan81 Well, I didn’t mean legally disqualifying but morally disqualifying. No President should hate any American for exercising their free choice to endorse anyone they see fit. It’s as un Democratic as you can get and un American. A President should represent ALL Americans not just the ones who like them. In my Opinion this is just one more example of why Trump is unfit to lead. Plus it’s petty as f u c k.
@@Winstonrodney6989 We agree as to the nature of the post.
The "press" can't/ shouldn't use words like crackpot, I guess is my point. I agree about the sanewashing. But as a practical matter, you can't transcribe/print 5 paragraphs of rambling.
And you can't editorialize much.
I guess you could print just the core parts about Tariffs? I'm at work so can't brainstorn, but I think this guest is thoughtful yet totally impractical. Imagine a web or print article with the litsny of Trump's warts every time,
It would be 3 times the length for a start.
I saw Ms Bash recently claim that they made a policy decision to not comment on blatant lies during that debate...so as not to "put a thumb on the scale" ... it was the opponent's job to do that. What a load of BS. The lies are so obvious a child can understand it and it must be called out.
What Bash doesn't seem to realize (or chooses not to) is that by not calling out these obvious lies by fact checking, she is thereby putting a thumb on the scale by normalizing his BS.
Trump‘s fire hose of lies cannot be met by a firehose of denials from Harris without her sounding equally nuts.
Harris in the debate was cathartic. She said what most of us have seen. I wish news would follow suit. Call a spade a spade.
She kicked his ass and only the brain dead are the ones that need to be told that!
Rebecca Solnit! I have massive, deep respect for your mind, your way with words, your wise perspective, and your honesty! Thank you for carrying this conversation single handedly!
Having served in state and local governments since the 70's I observe that the richest person in the room gets their way - everything else is window dressing.
Yes. So true unfortunately.
Not how a democracy is supposed to work
@@512Squared Corrupt city manager has his retirement party in January. Anybody that stood in the way of corporate money and growth was punished and besmirched. Fudge the numbers or find a new way to feed the fam.
That is mostly because anything we see in publication shows up there and is fed to us by those who spend money to make that happen. There is a validity to that, but also a very unfair system that is never talked about.
Why is it that year after year the richer get toxicly richer, and mostly the toxic rich - like Trump and Musk for example.
Why is there no outlet for free speech and sane discussion. Elon Musk says he bought Twitter in service of free speech, but that is utter nonsense. He manipulates the message.
@@512Squared when combined with capitalism it is inevitable. Aldous Huxley covered this in Brave New World Revisited
I cancelled my subscription to the NYT. The writers and reporters are probably not the problem. They are merely following the editorial policy.
That is correct. Editors and publisher. Snakes.
Very astute, posed and balanced analysis by Ms Solnit. A treat.
Finally, a voice of reason in Rebecca. Thank you! NYT, once a beacon of journalism and the winner of many Pulitzer Prizes, has now become sophisticated version of Fox. Sad!
Often times I feel like I'm in an old Twilight Zone episode. My eyes and ears see and hear one thing, then the gas lighting.
I’m pretty sure that I must have been in some kind of accident and am now in a coma, making all this up in my head.
Thank you! Spot on.
TOTALLY AGREE WITH REBECCA !!!! 👍🏿👍🏽👍✌🖖🍁💛💙🇺🇦
Saying Merrick Garland has been 'sluggish' is a gross understatement. He SHOULD be FIRED!! He has been a disaster as a 'Leader' of the DOJ.
Absolutely. He’s being sanitized and made far more coherent than he is in real time.
The NYT should change its motto to "All the news that's safe to print."
All the news that’s safe (for our careers) to print.
All the news that’s fit to print (as long as it doesn’t hurt the stock portfolios of our executives, advertisers, or shareholders)
They obviously don’t want Trump to lose.
Rebecca has saved my sanity..
Thank you 🙏✨️✨️✨️✨️🙏
Dana Bash is a disgrace!
Bash is a shill for the corporate pigs who pay her overly large salary! She has no affinity to her viewers! Just the buck
I recently ended my NYT subscription over this issue. "They're eating the dogs! They're eating the cats!" [corrected by moderator] "I saw it on television!" Headline in NYT - Harris and Trump Enage in Fierce Debate. WTAF!? Biden flatlines in June and the Times freaks. Trump was crazy during that same debate. All Biden. All. Sure it was time's up for Biden. When it's time to say Trump is unattached to any reality whatsoever?
Literally The Onion would do a better job of reporting than the NYT
@@CarrieV9 😄😆😂🤣 😢😭
Ms. Solnit is amazing! A first-class intellect.
A huge breath of fresh air.
Rebecca is joining a growing group of people who are calling out the MSM avoidance of addressing DT's far from normal cognitive and psychological functioning.
The MSM who spent all that time telling us how Biden was sharp as a tack? That MSM?
So glad you laud Heather Cox Richardson. i couldn’t live sanely without her. i quit both WaPo and TNYT. I’m sick of Goldberg and the Atlantic, too. I gave up on the National Review for their fictional npn-coverage of the FlintbWater Crises.
❤😊Rebecca , you are right on , keep going , we need the voice of wisdom ❤😊
A privilege to listen to.
Any of us with experience with people who have slid into dementia can see what's going on with him. It's particularly concerning in the case of a sociopathic narcissist with thousands of fanatical devotees.
Yes, Yes, Yes. OMG Yes.
They are desperate for ratings. Advertising and cash
I would say it's even more sinister. I think it has less to do with money and more to do with control. there's about 800 people that own this country and I think they are pulling the strings.
He wouldnt have been such a damn problem if people had refused to take him seriously from the get go, he never deserved it. He's too much of a ratings cow and he played the media like a fiddle
The fact that his words need to be interpreted and translated by "journalists" and "reporters" should automatically disqualify him from any public office.
Too much of the media is focused on the horse race, and taking the political ads (cash) that results....
NYTimes And Washington Post are dead to me.
Didn't their CEOs donate to Trump's campaign?
Nevermind. That was debunked. lol. I fell for it.
YES. Thank you for that shot of reality.
All that patriotic hand on heart BS we’ve heard from Americans all these years is totally forgotten the moment influencers see a chance to make more $ and/or get more power. How cheaply Americans sold out their country is astonishing.
For the guest Rebecca Solnit: I recently unsubscribed from the NYT for the very reasons mentioned in this interview. NYT had become a Trump Propaganda Channel.
I just did the same thing.
Corporate media is on its way out. Americans may seem gullible, but we don't like to be manipulated no matter what side we're on. Corporate media will 'both-side" themselves out of business. Most people I talk to are seeking out independent media. Even though they can be dangerously siloed, there are plenty of independent reporters who pass most fact-checking tests. People seeking truth can still find it, for now. (i.e. Ground News)
Great to hear the blog by Heather Cox Richardson being lauded. Historical context and reliable information. Readers want it and will pay, are paying, or it. Many journalists/channels are too focused on presenting absurdity and lies as normal. We need more honest assessment, not the imbalanced concern for esthetics of objectivity making things look balanced where they're not - as Rebecca explains do eloquently in the last few minutes here. Well done , Prospect, for this interview with Rebecca Solnik.
I agree wholeheartedly The last few minutes SO POWERFUL
@@fredjohnston4340 Solnit's finishing words were full-on projection. They would better be read as the confession of an ideologue whose output IMO frequently constitutes relational aggression. Indeed, in the name of her favoured ideology she is quite happy to write hit pieces that undermine the fundamentals of jurisprudence such as equality before the law or innocent until proven guilty
Rebecca NAILED this….
I am amazed at how many times Trump doesn’t finish a sentence, and the media makes nothing of that.
He did that in his “childcare is childcare” presentation.
He is so used to talking in memes that people have come to ignore HOW he actually speaks.
He thinks that people will finish the sentences he starts. As though we are all hanging on to his every word.
At the top of his speech he said, “Well I would do that, and we’re sitting down, and you know I was somebody”.
Would do what, exactly?
This is what happens when you show up unprepared, and don’t take a second to consider your answer.
You just start speaking straight away.
I can guess he does this because he thinks he is so smart on his feet. If he just starts saying anything, his bigly brain will be able to “weave” in a good point.
A solid point like “childcare is childcare”.
HARRIS 🇺🇸 WALZ 💙🌊🇺🇸 true patriots!!! thank you NO Project dictatorship! WE THE PEOPLE 💙 AMERICA!
Yes. Keep saying it. Thank you. Vote Blue Down Ballot!!!🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Definitely! Down Ballot races are soooooo important!
The NY Times is a Trump stooge. 10:10
Back in the 70s, I always maintained that the people in the USA were being fed as much propaganda as the people in the Ostbloc. The only difference is that the people in Russia knew this. Now we all know they are. I met many of the leading newspaper journalists in Berlin just after the Berlin Wall fell. I am shocked at how this media has disintegrated.
This right here. It is infuriating to hear Dana Bash, or other 'mainstream' media, justify not calling out Trump and his lies in the interests of being neutral. That only elevates his BS to the same level as the truth being spit by his opponents.
I couldn't agree with Rebecca Solnit more, for that reason I've given up my NYT subscription .
I’m so glad I ran across this!
It's incredible how we have to make a case for honesty.
The Guardian completely ignored the story of the arrest of 4 UK journalists under the Terrorism Act a couple of weeks ago.
Spot on! Thanks for the reality.
I was with you until you said Biden was not suffering from dementia and stepping down was the best decision. That said, the same is true for Trump and not talked about enough
Signs of parkinsonism observable in Biden:
- rigid gait with specific features including small, shuffling steps, arm rigidity, and en bloc turning
- akinesia (episodes of freezing up, loss of voluntary movement)
- hypomimia AKA masked facies (loss of spontaneous muscle movements in the face causing mask-like lack of facial expression)
- hypophonia (soft, weak, breathy voice)
- aphasia (trouble with finding words, mixing up words and names)
- psychomotor retardation (slowing of thoughts and movements)
- diminished executive function including issues with working memory and reduced ability to focus
- short and long-term memory impairments
Parkinsonism is a cluster of signs and symptoms that may or may not be caused by Parkinson’s disease. It often leads to eventual dementia.
Video of Biden during an episode of freezing: ua-cam.com/video/0vpIF65ISZU/v-deo.htmlsi=uuZaYX3tdRS6iiOu
Rebecca, please do TV interviews with MSNBC, ABC and CNNN, because you need to be heard. There're millions of people like me who'd like to listen to you.
Bless your soul. This is not about KH or Trump but how disgusting it is when obvious truths gets ignored for selfish, bigoted, egocentric reasons esp with likes of NYT but then who owns it. She is sooo spot on.
I’ve cancelled my subscription to the New York Times for exactly the reasons you cite. #sanewashing
Sad what’s happened to the NYT. It’s bizarre that they do this.
I stopped subscribing to the NYT for its clear Trump bias and ludicrous and misleading headlines. I now subscribe to the Philly Inquirer, which does a much more honest and straightforward job, writing clear and unambiguous headlines.
I would fire them too, and so would my old editor/boss.
Ms Solnit is absolutely correct.For my own sanity, I've had to stop reading the New York Times because of the quality of its political coverage and it's intently myopic opinion pieces.
I as amazed at how low grade the NYT has become. I used to believe it was a great paper, paper of record
@@daydays12 Ditto.
@@totostamopo Thanks!
It’s not the editors, it’s the corporate level.
It’s both.
It's greed on the corporate level and cowardice on the editorial staff level
It's both.
I literally just wrote the Times saying this very thing!
If the corporate executives are concerned their cash cow is going to go away, they should remember that they can cash in on trump's legal and criminal trials for years to come. There'll be lots of additional scandals uncovered. And when trump's gone, his kids will probably be on trial.
Rebeca Solnit,one of my favorite writers 🪶
There is a big difference between being a journalist and a corporate clerk typist working for wages .
About time this media bias is pointed out and the facts are presented
One of the things that has happened is the debate moderator who fact checked Trump has suffered back lash that has impacted he career. Maybe this is why Trump is not being push on his bullsh*t.
I’ve thought that The NY Times was if not biased then doing a terrible job.
I’ve been complaining about a related problem with coverage of Trump in foreign media since back in 2015. Whenever Trump is quoted in media here in Europe they translate the quote to the relevant local language. I have _never_ seen this been done accurately. They always create a grammatically correct sentence with properly used words instead of the kindergartener’s vocabulary and stroke patient syntax he used in the original quote. It is quite frustrating. Especially since the boomer generation typically doesn’t speak English on a level higher than Trump, so they fail to really appreciate the insanity.
Thank goodness
The pnly way to make a point is to unsubscribd from the NYT.
I would too (ie sack journalists). However, we don't need to worry, because if Trump gets back into the Whitehouse, most journalists will find themselves in his camps right next to the "immigrants" Muslims, Asians, brown people etc. I am still extremely worried about your country getting this wrong again.
Just as he doesn't know how tariffs work, he really knows nothing about childcare. It was as if he was a kid who hadn't done his homework and read the chapter, fudging an answer about it.
So sensible. Thank you.
Thank you for this cogent and comprehensive criticque of major news media. Your wisdom and knowledge are a gift to our battered and boring experience of present day journalism.
I want to add New York Times Opinion columnist, Jamelle Bouie, to the list of people calling out newspapers, including his own, for cleaning up Trump's ramblings into something coherent. He regularly reads Trump's statement's verbatim on Tik Tok to illustrate this fact also. Personally, I don't get Trump's draw when it comes to his affectations. Without them, though, his words on paper are patently nonsensical. Sure, Obama's delivery gave his speeches depth, but the words themselves had actual substance and logic to them.
I like the way she constructs and presents her positions.
Home Depot and other like minded advertising dollars… Besos, Musk, and Zuckerberg should be very nervous about anti-trust actions.
17:40 this is ready to happen in Maga-Republican captured states. Oklahoma Republican HB3133 allows Law Enforcement to classify hispanic OKLAHOMANS with any "street gang affiliation" as Terrorists, put them in detainment indefinitely and the state seize all their property like cash, cars, houses, land, businesses and bank accounts. Oklahoma has already used this back in 2020 during BLM. Oklahoma Republican legislators met on a weekend IN SECRET without the Democrat members, and passed laws. One allowed Law Enforcement to declare protestors and demonstrators as Terrorists and another law made it illegal to record any Law Enforcement activities, which is still in effect. So whatever the state Republicans are doing to ethnically cleanse communities, we might not be seeing it. Oklahoma has detainment compounds in rural areas. More have appeared in the last 2 years. Their perimeter lights can be seen at night from the turnpike.
I would have taken this discussion more seriously is they did what CNN does and have a MAGA troll like Scott Jennings to muddy the waters on the subject. But in all seriousness, I am glad to see someone mentioning the journalistic elephant in the room.
Thank you so much for this.
No person would ever hire a person like Trump to any serious job. These Americans who support him are optimists; though they want something to be different, they don;t think they can really break the system, kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. But we do not live in a benign universe and we do this at our great peril.
YES!
Though I admire Ms Solnit's restraint, what's not being addressed in this excellent interview is the control of media by an increasingly-small number of companies, and those companies are invested in keeping the status quo.
Watching from Europe, I would describe it as 'Verbal Diarrhea'..........................................................
Hi Alan, I used to work at Cambridge Newspapers, I was a computer op, it was after your time there. Good to see you! Should we not be calling this insanewashing?
RE: Heather Cox Richardson, not only does she give historical context to current events, she also provides supporting documentation to her substack articles.
On point. Thank you for your voice.
Yes!
Excellent analysis of the US press shortcomings. I cancelled my subscriptions to the NYT and Washington Post early this year for the bias they display. They both have some great investigative journalists; however, because they let their bias slip out of the editorial room and into the newsroom, I decided not to support them.
One example I saw in a recent (a couple months ago) story on MSNBC that used a NYT story as its basis showed the text of the story and they used “Mr. Biden” and “Ms. Harris”; however they called the other guy, “former President Trump”. There are so many subtleties to their bias, in addition to the insufferable bothsidesism and sanewashing, as you point out here.
Thanks for your discussion.
Just today Bret Stephens has a piece in the NYT detailing what VP Harris will need to do to win his vote. I can’t read it because my head would pop off and roll down the street, but it sounds like a version of what Ms. Solnit is describing (love your work! - I’m a Guardian supporter).
"Sanewashing" is a wonderful term.
I will wear it out. Everyone I know is about to hear it.
Thanks for this perspective. This helped me reach the decision to cancel my subscription to NYT. I thought it was just me thinking they were normalizing Trump. I will use these savings to sub to Ms Richardson et al