President Joe Biden is tired. Not tired in the way that the media wants to claim, but tired of how that same media is letting Donald Trump skate away from claims that are ludicrous, riddled with lies, and simply nonsensical.
Media outlets seem to realize that they do a poor job with Trump, allowing him to lead them around by the nose while rarely mentioning his frequent mistakes, rambling asides, and statements that have little connection to reality. They don’t seem inclined to hold Trump to any standard at all. If Biden were to put out a single social media post with the kind of ALL CAPS logical, grammatical, and factual errors of a typical Trump tirade, the level of pearl-clutching among the media would drive the oyster population to extinction.
So, as CNN reports, Biden has asked his campaign staff to turn up the heat on Trump. He’s calling on his team to significantly increase the attention that it gives to the “crazy shit” Trump says in public. If the media won’t do its job, Biden will have to do it for them.
The media routinely pays little attention to the outrageous, rambling, and just plain wild statements that Donald Trump makes at his rallies and on social media. Meanwhile, every word uttered by President Joe Biden is so combed over that mixing up a single name becomes the subject of multiple articles.
There’s a frequent refrain, even in comments on Daily Kos, that people don’t want to hear about Trump. They’re tired of seeing his face. Tired of hearing his threats. The New York Times insists that there is an “anti-Trump burnout” with progressive voters all crisised out. It’s a perfect excuse to go even harder on … going softer on Trump.
And the only possible response is: Too f**king bad.
Because this is important. Trump is out there planning to end democracy, abandon America’s allies, and create a fascist regime that draws from the worst of North Korea meets “Handmaid’s Tale.” Yes, it would be very nice to talk about something else. All of us would rather the government go back to something that hums along in the background, only coming to our attention on the rare occasions when it intersects with our lives.
But we can’t go back there yet. No one can.
The audience that hears Trump’s lies rarely hears them challenged. That’s especially true because Trump supporters listen only to a handful of outlets. Meanwhile, handwringing over Biden’s slightest mistake goes on everywhere, even at outlets that are supposedly more progressive. To break through those barriers takes a lot of effort. And a lot of voices.
There have been instances when attention from outside sources has made the media sit up and pay attention to Trump’s rants. For example, Trump’s recent statements about betraying NATO allies got little attention until responses from European leaders made major media realize that this was something important. Which is good. Even if The New York Times used it as an excuse to make another mention of Biden’s age.
Biden’s instruction to his campaign staff went out even before the ridiculous hit job from Robert Hur gave the press an excuse to drop everything and just run pages of Biden so old. Forcing the media to notice Trump's most outlandish claims is critical, and the best way to do that is to pay attention.
Keep responding to Trump’s claims. Keep making comments. Keep making links to rebuttals. Keep making statements on social media.
Biden is concerned that voters are seeing Trump through "rose-colored glasses" since the media is routinely ignoring Trump's remarks and failing to correct statements about the economy under Trump. Ignoring Trump may be comforting, and The New York Times may be willing to look away. But it's essential for Daily Kos—and Daily Kos readers—to continue to stay focused on Trump's threats and to spread the word about the critical nature of the upcoming election.
Qui tacet consentire videtur still holds true. Stay alert. Stay loud.
Be like Joe. Don’t put up with Trump’s crazy shit. Don’t give the media any excuse to give Trump more rope than the miles of it they already extend.
Campaign Action
