Despite weeks of Donald Trump vs. Gold Star families, Donald Trump encouraging Russia to hack our election, Donald Trump hinting at assassination of his opponent, and Donald Trump so frustrating the Republican Party that the idea of some kind of “intervention” is put forward almost daily, Donald Trump has centered in on a single source for his pain.
That tweet is the capstone to a series of statements made by Trump over the past few days, as he increasingly blames the media for … everything. Media outlets and reporters have frequently been the targets of Trump attacks in the past, and he finds the First Amendment a frustrating obstacle that he plans to remove.
"One of the things I'm going to do if I win... I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected," Trump said.
What’s changed isn’t Trump’s anti-First Amendment stance. It’s that he’s making the “failing” and “disgusting” media as much a part of his campaign as the “rigged” election or “crooked” HIllary.
It’s not that Trump is behind in the polls. It’s not that Trump’s campaign is in tatters. It’s just the lying media.
Trump rolled through 10 tweets in a row on Sunday, all of them attacking the media.
From Hillary’s hidden crimes to the massive size of his rallies, Donald Trump blamed the media for distortions and coverups on every side. It’s no coincidence that this expanded anti-press campaign is coming at the same time as Trump’s poll numbers are plunging, and his campaign and surrogates are increasingly stating that Trump can only lose if there’s widespread fraud.
It’s essential that Trump de-couple his campaign to keep up enthusiasm among his supporters. Trump has frequently refused credentials to news organizations, including the Washington Post, and has threatened to do the same to the New York Times.
But the most troubling part of Trump’s anti-media rant is that it’s nearly impossible to imagine a way in which it can help Trump win the election. It may serve to keep his entrenched followers snarling at the outside world, but it doesn’t serve to expand his ranks.
Like the “rigged election” meme, Trump’s “disgusting media” attack seems disturbingly aimed at what happens after the election.
In a podcast last week, long-time Trump adviser Roger Stone said that if the election results in November don't match opinion polls, the Republican nominee should challenge the validity of the election and warned that the unrest could end in a "bloodbath".
Trump is pushing the idea that you can’t trust the press. You can’t trust the polls. And you can’t trust the election results.