Forget Vance. It’s •Trump• the Republicans should be talking about replacing if they want to win.
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Forget Vance. It’s •Trump• the Republicans should be talking about replacing if they want to win.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Why isn’t the MSM plastering their publications with speculation about Trump dropping out, lists of Republicans demanding he drop out, palace intrigue about him dropping out, op-eds chiding him for not dropping out, speculation that he could drop out any day, hand-wringing about how badly he’ll lose if he doesn’t drop out…etc? 🧵
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
The press went full blast on Biden dropping out immediately after one debate where he seemed a bit sleep-deprived. But has Biden •ever• had a public appearance as disastrous as the one Trump just had?
So the press will be going full blast on Trump dropping out now, right?
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Reputable news outlets are obviously neutral and objective, right? That means the same objective standards for all politicians!
There are Republican officials endorsing Harris now! How many Democratic officials endorsed Trump before, say, the NYT called for Biden to drop out? Oh, that’s right: zero! So obviously now they need to go in depth on the possibility of Trump dropping out. That’s just balanced coverage.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Replies ask: Who would replace Trump? What other Republican could win nationally? What other Republican could possibly unite the party?!
Hey folks, guess what: unless you’re a Republican, you don’t have to worry about it! The press had no answers when they called for Biden to drop out, and they don’t need any now to call from Trump to drop out!
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
“But wait,” the press cries, “no Republicans are actually calling for Trump to drop out!” Well not •publicly•, duh. But are you sure nobody’s wishing it in •private•? Really? I mean, come on.
Basically nobody in the establishment was publicly calling for Biden to drop out either, at least not when the press went after the idea like a kitten chasing a laser pointer. Good news: that doesn’t need to stop you! You can endlessly •speculate• about it until somebody does come out of the woodwork!
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Objective journalism means objective standards!
How far behind was Biden in the polls when the press started their broken record “Will Biden drop out??” coverage going day after day after day? (The answer is “mostly tied within the margin of error.”) So obviously when Trump trails by the same margin, the press has to give him the exact same treatment. Otherwise it’s imbalanced. That’s just science, isn’t it?
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
“But PAAAAAULL,” you cry, “none of that is how journalism works!”
Well gosh, that’s what I thought too about when the press was bird-dogging Biden, but apparently all this is exactly how the press works. That is unless of course they’re straight-up campaigning for Trump. But we all know the press would never!
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
In the interest of balance and journalistic integrity, I warmly encourage you to pester the crap out of your favorite US national news outlet about all of the above.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
️See, @lolgop gets it
https://journa.host/@lolgop/112884164483192761 -
Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Jennifer Rubin gets it too (via @GottaLaff
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
It seems emptywheel is also wondering when exactly the press will apply their objective, unbiased reporting principles and trumpet the many, many possibly hypothetical calls for Trump to drop out (via @wdlindsy
“Outlets like the NYT have largely memory holed what a shit show [Trump’s press conference] was.
“In response to Joe Biden’s similarly awful performance at the debate, the NYT dedicated weeks to demanding he drop out.
“Not Trump.”
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Amid cratering support, key Trump supporters call for campaign overhaul, privately pressure him to drop out
[…is the headline the NYT would print if they had consistent editorial standards]:
https://bird.makeup/users/davetroy/statuses/1821936003529015653 -
Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
I am completely confident that the US press will now begin doling out the hacked material to the public piece by piece, keeping this story alive over a period of weeks and months, fostering all sorts of wild speculation about the internal corruption and sinister machinations of the Trump campaign while implying the campaign is incompetent and possibly in violation of the law for having been hacked — as we all know is standard journalistic practice in this situation:
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/10/trump-campaign-hack-00173503 -
Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
We now have confirmation that both the NYT and WaPo have received the hacked materials. That means the clock is ticking for them to follow their own precedent and start doling out the juicy tidbits as news. Neutrality demands it, after all!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/12/trump-hacking-documents-iran -
Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Re the post upthread, Brian Beutler lays it out in embarrassingly (for the press) stark terms. Here’s what Dean Baquet of the NYT said in 2016:
“When we learn important things, to not publish is a political act. The calculation cannot be, we’re just not going to publish because that would screw up American politics. You know, at that point, I will go into business as like a campaign adviser to people and not as a journalist.”
But now…
Via @KimPerales:
https://toad.social/@KimPerales/112955020756990724 -
Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Meanwhile, behind closed doors inside the Republican Party, pressure grows for Trump to drop out
Presumably
And shouldn’t the press be frothing and speculating endlessly about it? Because that’s how journalism is done, apparently
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
Don’t tell me there isn’t a single person, not a one, somewhere in the Republican Party machine who’s privately wishing for a different candidate right now.
This is totally absent in press coverage: not hinted at, not murmured about, not quoted anonymously on background, not echoed by very serious columnists, not amplified, not manifested. And that contrast to 2 months ago is damning.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
The ongoing trickle of replies to this whole thread along the lines of “well the Republicans would never •actually• replace Trump” and “whose mind would that change?” are totally missing the assignment here.
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Paul Cantrellreplied to Paul Cantrell on last edited by
“Even his most ardent base checked out after an hour, streaming out of the sparsley-populated auditorium, as he rambled incoherently past the hour mark.”
Gosh, how many of those Republicans “streaming out” wish they had a better candidate? Kind of wish Trump would just drop out?
You don’t know until you ask, my dear pressfolk! Chase them to the local diner! Fish for quotes until you get a juicy one! I know you know how this works: you did it with Biden.
From @wdlindsy:
https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/112985066165436592
