Independent journalist Matt Taibbi on Saturday criticized the liberal media's handling of election coverage, stating it should now be "true to history’s judgment."
"I think after the assassination in the first hours, one thing, you know, that I talk about with some colleagues is that left to their own devices, journalists will actually do a good job, if their editors and their supervisors don't get in the way. Yeah, they'll do the who, what, where, when, why stuff," Taibbi said during an appearance on Newsmax TV's "America Right Now" Saturday.
"And they I think there was a lot of good on the ground reporting, right after the event. That's the straight news. That's what kind of what we expect. Right, but very quickly they went back into this narrative mode and almost immediately you had these stories, like in the Atlantic by David Frum, the gunman, and the would-be dictator. They found these bizarre rhetorical ways to sort of blame Trump for raising the temperature and causing his own assassination. They were like from two ends of the same bullet, was the metaphor in the Atlantic, so yeah, you know, they just can't get out of this mode where everything has to be narrative driven all the time."
Of President Trump's recent surge in popularity following the Republican National Convention, Taibbi added: "Well, the interesting thing would be if they got the memo to change that. Would that alter the course of the election? Because I think Trump has gotten a bump from how terrible the media has been."
Taibbi referenced a notable column by Jim Rutenberg in The New York Times from 2016 titled "Trump Is Testing the Norms of Objectivity in Media," explaining its impact on media coverage.
"The premise of it was Trump is so bad that we need now not only to be true, but true to history's judgment," he said. "Which means basically, [that] we need to ignore things on the other side. And people aren't stupid. They see through that, and they’re offended by it. And I think Trump has always gained from that."
Taibbi argued that the media's perceived bias could be a factor elevating in support for Trump.
"If they could get out of that mold, you might have a more competitive election, actually, oddly enough. But I just don't see them being able to get out of their own way," he stated.
He also expressed skepticism about the media's ability to change its approach. "I think they'll find some new stupid narrative to back. And you know, they'll go back into this 'He must be stopped at all cost' mode."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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