Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:08 pm
CNN’s Dana Bash said what many voters have long suspected. The media has lowered the bar for Donald Trump and goes easier on him with their coverage because they expect less out of the GOP nominee.
Video:
CNN reporter: The expectations are higher for Hillary Clinton because Donald Trump is a first time politician. pic.twitter.com/RVElHgoICC
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— John Whitehouse (@existentialfish) September 6, 2016
Bash was talking about the presidential debates when she provided a perfect example of the media’s double standard in the way they cover Trump and Clinton.
Dana Bash said, “I think the stakes are much higher in this debate and all the debates for Hillary Clinton because the expectations are higher for her because she’s a seasoned politician. She’s a seasoned debater. You know, yes we saw Donald Trump in the primaries debate for the first time, but he is a first-time politician. So um, for lots of reasons. Maybe it’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. The onus is on her.”
Since when does being a first-time candidate mean that the media expects less and grades on a curve?
Bash deserves credit for honestly admitting what most of her mainstream media colleagues refuse to say out loud. Donald Trump is getting special treatment. There are some segments of the mainstream press that trip all over themselves praising Trump when he manages to read from his teleprompter without going off on some divisive rant.
There is a fundamental element of dishonesty in the media’s approach that has set up a corporate press created narrative that is designed to make the election closer. Trump can’t beat Clinton on the issues. Trump can’t beat Clinton on ideas. There is no conventional measure where Trump matches up well with Hillary Clinton.
Instead of objectively reporting the facts of the election, some in the press have decided that Trump must be graded on a curve.
The sort of journalistic malpractice that some members of the media are engaging is not only a threat to journalism, but it is how a completely unfit and unqualified candidate could become the next president.
Hillary Clinton is not only fighting Donald and the Republican Party. She is also dealing with a media that has built Trump leniency into its reporting.
The message is that Donald Trump is always going to get the benefit of the doubt, while Hillary Clinton will have to work twice as hard to win in November.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
