Sometimes I think journalists secretly revel in being termed the Opposition Media by President Trump. Sure they protest they are "speaking truth to power," which means, I think, that we’re supposed to consider them in the same league as an investigative reporter in Putin’s Moscow or a non-government broadcaster in the Socialist Paradise of Venezuela reporting on the lack of groceries in local stores.
The term "crybullies" is what comes to mind to those of us not enchanted by leftist spin. Over 85 percent of the stories concerning the Trump administration have been negative, a relentless assault by anyone but a leftists’ measure, yet the OpMedia claims the president is attacking them for just doing their job.
Even better, being called the "Opposition Media" is a badge of dishonor that rebounds to their advantage in all the best circles. It makes them members of "the resistance" by just collecting a paycheck. Plus there’s all the sympathy the term generates among other entertainers in New York and Hollywood.
So maybe that’s why major media outlets continue to produce stories that only serve to validate what President Trump is saying. The latest example is a front page Washington Post-ABC News poll that came out just recently.
Essentially it was another "how did this guy get elected" exercise in elite amazement. The poll reached 1,004 adults and was conducted between April 17 and 20. The finding the WaPost saw fit to build the story and the headline around was Trump’s record-setting low approval rating. The number is 42 percent and the story begins, "President Trump nears the 100-day mark of his administration as the least popular chief executive in modern times…"
This was followed by paragraph after paragraph of setbacks and failures until 746 words into the story we learn the number of people who think Trump accomplished "either a great deal or a good amount so far" is higher than the number Bill Clinton got 100 days into his captaincy of the Love Boat. Trump’s number was 42 percent and Clinton’s was 37 percent.
But that’s not the worst of it.
A remarkable 1,420 words into the story and in the next-to-last paragraph, buried deep in section A, we learn if the election were held on the day the survey was taken Trump would still beat Hillary!
Now that’s news, particularly when one remembers the OpMedia has done everything within its power to damage and defame the president. It would have been easy to write a story that began in spite of a historically low approval rating; a recent survey found that if the election were held today Donald Trump would still beat Hillary Clinton.
But as far as the OpMedia is concerned that would be perilously close to a positive story and therefore unthinkable.
My suggestion for journalists would be, if you really don’t want to be called the Opposition Media then stop acting like one.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
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