Self-inflicted Wounds

I have used this title before in referring to President Trump. Today I am looking at the media and how they cover him Generally, over 90% of their stories are negative. Slanting stories is one thing; making them up is an entirely different matter.

We have seen two egregious examples on cable news channels in recent days. An MSNBC guest claimed that Trump has killed more people that Hitler, Stalin or Mao. The moderator let it stand without challenging it. CNN excitedly reported that Trump had borrowed money from Russian oligarchs. They had one source with no confirmation. They did say they didn’t know if it was true but they shouldn’t have run it.

It seems to me that journalist could operate with one or of four motives:

1. Do a good job and be respected
2. Get Trump
3. Get high ratings
4. Vent their anger against Trump

​The first motive seems to be falling out of favor. Putting out stories like these ultimately hurt themselves not him. If you are going after a charging elephant, wildly shooting a BB gun isn’t the way to go. It looks to me that they are focused on the last two motives.