Greg Sargent/WaPo:
Donald Trump is a racist conspiracy theorist. Don’t let him lie his way out of it.
There is going to be a lot of confusion today over what Trump does or doesn’t believe. But let’s not let two basic facts get lost in this discussion:
1) Trump has actively trafficked in this racist conspiracy theory for years, and not only that, he continued to feed it this year, even as he was running for the GOP nomination for president.
2) All indications are that Trump conceived of his birtherism as an explicitly racist appeal. While the true nature of Trump’s actual beliefs is important, since it goes to his fitness to serve as president, it’s also important that Trump explicitly tried to feed what he himself appeared to believe were racist tendencies among Republican primary voters, for political purposes.
Brian Beutler/New Republic:
It’s Not Too Late for the Media to Fix Its Election Coverage
A final plea for sanity in how we report on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Today’s liberal critics generally do not say that the political media is a house organ for the Republican Party. We are not in denial about polls, and do not hold Hillary Clinton blameless for the difficulties she’s faced on the campaign trail. But perhaps we’ve erred by framing our complaints around the zero-sum conflict between Trump and Clinton. To argue that Clinton controversies pale in comparison to Trump controversies invariably gives the complaints a partisan sheen, and that makes them easily dismissed as mirror-images of conservative media bias allegations.
I say erred because at bottom the proportionality critique isn’t ideological or partisan or even necessarily about the relative merits of democracy and authoritarianism—though those may be the stakes. The critique actually emerges from the best traditions of journalism, which is why some of its best exponents—including, most recently, Times columnist Nick Kristof—are journalists.
CSM:
Why Americans' trust in the media is at an all-time low
Only 32 percent of Americans say they have a 'great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in the mass media, an 8 percent drop from just one year ago.
Margaret Sullivan/WaPo:
It’s time for TV news to stop playing the stooge for Donald Trump
Donald Trump said “Jump,” and TV news said “How high?”
It happened again on Friday morning when the Republican presidential candidate held the media hostage for nearly an hour after promising a major news announcement.
“Breaking News: Trump To Make ‘Big Announcement’ on Birther Issue,” said the banner on MSNBC.
“Soon: Trump To Address Birther Issue,” said CNN’s banner. Fox News was, of course, along for the ride.
While they waited, and waited, Trump provided what amounted to a campaign infomercial and shamelessly promoted his new Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington.
When it was over, and he had said the absurdly obvious — that he now accepts that President Obama was born in the United States — there was, at least, some long overdue indignation.
“We got played again,” CNN’s John King said on the air. And that was as obvious as the announcement itself.
The Economist:
Trump and the Alt-Right
Pepe and the stormtroopers
How Donald Trump ushered a hateful fringe movement into the mainstream
Birther. Gorilla. Subtle.
Benjy Sarlin and Alex Seitz-Wald/NBC:
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are lobbing stones at each other over whose glass house is more opaque.
It's a battle of comparative transparency that's been fought on at least four fronts this week, from taxes to health records, family foundations and press access.
Trump has long accused Clinton of withholding vital information about her health and finances, making those charges of secrecy central to his campaign. But longstanding questions about Trump's own record and new reporting have put him on the defensive on the very same issues.
Most significantly, Trump has steadfastly refused to release any tax returns, a break from four decades of campaign precedent, which could shed light on a number of ongoing questions dogging his candidacy. Clinton and her husband have released tax records going back to 1977. Trump has said he won't release any records because he's undergoing an audit, although there's no legal reason he can't do so.
Sam Wang/Blog:
For Democrats, it is a good thing that the election is not today. But as Glenn Thrush at POLITICO points out, there are lots of ways for Clinton to recover.
Today, I will go over some data-based reasons for Clinton supporters (and Trump opponents) to be concerned, at least until the debate. The underlying cause of Trump’s rise appears to be uncommitted Republican voters coming home.
Benjy Sarlin:
Analysis: Trump's Lengthy History of Conspiracy Theories and Rumors
Donald Trump's abrupt acknowledgment of President Barack Obama's U.S. birthplace has brought his lengthy history with conspiracy theories, rumors, and innuendo back into the spotlight.
On Friday, Trump finished a press event in Washington featuring veterans supporting his campaign with a short statement on his history of birtherism. He took no follow-up questions and left the stage.
There are many follow-up questions to be asked.
Todd Purdham/Politico:
What’s Really Ailing Hillary
A long time ago, Clinton was far more transparent, emotional and open than she is today. Then the media began slamming her—and didn’t stop.
Very good read.
Walter Shapiro/Roll Call:
Letting Gary Johnson Debate Is Simply Too Risky
Cluttering up the debate stage could let Trump go unchallenged
John Cassidy/New Yorker:
Of course, some people might vote for Trump even though they consider him unqualified—perhaps because they think Clinton is even less qualified, or because they simply dislike her. But Trump still faces a basic conundrum: How can you win an election when your approval rating is under forty per cent and your disapproval rating is the highest of any Presidential candidate in recent history?
In the past couple of weeks, thanks to more discipline on his part—along with disaffected Republicans returning to the fold, and some assists from the Clinton campaign—it has looked like Trump may have found a way to square the circle. But now that the prospect of him sitting in the Oval Office is a more real and salient one, the dynamics of the contest are different. And they could well turn against him.