I've been writing over and over again that Donald Trump hides himself away in the comfy couches of Fox News and Fox Business networks and is rarely faced with tough questions or opposing opinions on his many controversial policies.
Trump rarely ventures outside the comfort zone of a supposed media organization that’s run like state-sponsored propaganda and we hear nary a peep from the beltway media that’s supposed to be a check on our elected leaders.
The American people deserve to have their commander in chief held to account for his or her actions and called out repeatedly if [he] lies about what he’s doing or the reasons behind those decisions.
And he's topped 10,000 mistruths and counting so far. It would be nice to ask him why he tells so many.
Greg Sargent notes Trump is running his campaign on a huge lie right now: China.
Greg writes, "President Trump has spent the past 24 hours tweeting manically about trade, repeating the absurd falsehood that China is paying us billions in tariffs. We keep hearing that this shows Trump “doesn’t understand” how tariffs work.But this is better seen as a straight-up, deliberate lie — a lie upon which Trump is staking his reelection."
Having him face off with a real economic journalist to explain his actions would be a boon for the American people. Making paid shills available to the networks instead does not meet any journalistic standard.
Why are they so silent on this issue?
MM4A just released a study that shows Trump has safely hidden away in the Fox News bubble during 2019 for 92% of his televised interviews. This is unconscionable.
This is an assault on any form of government transparency.
The WH press secretary is supposed to explain decisions and policy to the American people via the media, but under Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders's job has been virtually eliminated.
We are at the point now where the media must use their megaphones and demand he make himself available.
Televising his whacked-out rallies is like watching the hijinks from a carnival barker. And by refusing to demand he should be interviewed by legitimate news services, the media is covering for Trump's refusal to be interviewed by only his most loyal sycophants.
Here's a video from 2017's Reliable Sources, showing this problem isn't anything new:
