With a Softball Interview of Trump, “The Messenger” Launches by Legitimizing Extremism – Mother Jones

democracy perishes in darkness— as well as the slogan of washington post. When authoritarianism is normalized for a thousand nicks, it can also perish.new website called messenger shows how such normalization is becoming the norm.

How many CNN handed Donald Trump a town hall platform, positioned him as a conventional political candidate, and allowed him to spread democracy-damaging lies about the 2020 election (and many other things) days after, messenger launched this week as a site that claims to provide only “fair and objective news.” Editor Dan Wakeford (former editor-in-chief of the magazine) briefly explains how he said it. people and editorial director Entertainment Weekly, “People are weary of the extreme politics and platforms that fuel division in our country by biasing narratives towards audience bias. , is committed to delivering impartial and objective news.” However, the big piece of the first day (interview with Donald Trump) messenger may just be one of the media that allows extreme politics and divisive incitement.

Written by Mark Caputo based on “exclusive” interviews, the article seeks to overturn a national election, incites violence, calls for the suspension of constitutional provisions in order to take office, and dissent. It deals with President Trump who is a Jew and an anti-Semite and dined. A white supremacist, recently convicted of sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll, and facing multiple investigations for a variety of wrongdoings — the quintessential police force. It focuses on horse racing in 2024 and Trump’s not-so-deep thoughts about it, rather than his dangerous authoritarian impulses. To call this interview a softball festival would be an insult to anyone who has ever hit, thrown or caught a 12-inch ball. (Mr. Caputo worked there before) Politico and NBC News, he has a well-deserved reputation as an astute political reporter who specializes in covering the Sunshine State. )

The story begins with Mr. Trump yelling about the ratings he’s getting on CNN, offering what appears to be the next scoop. After CNN’s town hall, Trump decided to make more media appearances beyond his usual love talk with right-wing news outlets. so what? If Trump does more hits like this, we’ll all see. How newsworthy is President Trump’s desire to win airtime on other major news outlets?

next, messenger This would allow President Trump to once again bashing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely opponent of the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, which is a big surprise. “He has no personality,” Trump said of DeSantis. “And I don’t think he has that much of a political savvy.” I couldn’t do it.

Anything missing from the interview could fill an entire article. For example, nothing about her recent jury decision in the Carroll case supports her claim that President Trump sexually assaulted her. The leading political candidate and former president, who is currently the Republican Party’s 2024 front-runner, has just been declared a sex offender by a jury in his hometown. Messenger.

A typical question from Caputo is: [the CNN town hall] is your win? ’ Well, how do you think Trump responded to that? (For the unimaginative, “The Radical Left, the Fascists, the Marxists, the Communists, and the ordinary people all say it was a complete victory for Trump.”) And Trump (again) Caputo was rigged against him when he claimed the 2020 election, but he spoke to him about this false and dangerous claim. Caputo said the Trump campaign conducted two investigations and found no indication of serious wrongdoing. But Trump vehemently opposed it, and Mr Caputo made it clear that he didn’t want to push the envelope over Trump’s fake fire hose. He “needs to find a way to discuss the 2020 election without sounding like it’s being discussed.” [with you]’ he told Trump.

After a while, Caputo moved away from the topic, saying, “Why don’t we put aside all the debates and debates about voter fraud?” He did so without mentioning President Trump’s repeated efforts to reverse the election results. He said nothing about President Trump’s plan to get the Justice Department to falsely declare the 2020 election rigged or his attempts to pressure state election officials to overturn the results. . No mention of fake election conspiracies or Trump’s call to Georgia (“Find 11,780 votes”). And nothing is said about January 6th — inciting violence by Trump, what Trump did, didn’t do, or basically assault while brown shirts ransacked the Capitol. No word on Trump’s pledge to pardon the Jan. 6 mob, a move that supports the

Instead, Caputo continued with questions such as: Is Donald Trump part of the Republican establishment?” Trump responded, saying nothing new about the man, saying, “No, I am a man of common sense.” Caputo asked if Melania Trump plans to join Trump’s latest election campaign. It’s important, right? And what do you expect Mr. Trump to say? Probably something like this: “She’s very into it. Very, very into it.” That’s what he said.

Caputo spent just 30 minutes on this interview. There just isn’t enough time to question Trump about all the controversies and scandals surrounding him. But President Trump has been called upon for his apparent theft of White House documents, his mishandling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, his support for the January 6th attackers, his refusal to blame Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, and the QAnonish superspreader. Instead of asking about his admiration for Michael Flynn, who is a scientist, about conspiracy theories and other insults of President Trump to the rule of law and fact-based politics, Mr. Caputo criticizes artificial intelligence and all the rest of the John F. Kennedy assassination. I asked Trump about why he didn’t release the files. But on these fronts, all he has squeezed out of President Trump is the nonchalant response that “it’s a very dangerous topic” and that “everything else is public.” [if returned to the White House]”

Media entrepreneur and longtime Trump friend messenger, He’s been telling people he wants his new outlet to play “in the middle,” according to sources familiar with the site’s launch. . He lamented that the current media is too partisan. (Finkelstein himself was part of a right-wing conspiracy to spread disinformation about Joe Biden and Ukraine.) But when this middle- and lower-class approach is applied to political extremists, the result is objective journalism. amplified instead. and Justification for extremism, which can threaten honest political debate and even democracy itself. Finkelstein sends the following message in his first product offering: messenger It has failed in its self-proclaimed mission to heal the country’s political debate. It could also be part of the problem.