We will take a moment on this quiet, gray Sunday morning to note that Mr. Trump ought to be treated by the media as Senator Joe McCarthy was — in the 1950s.
The duty of a free press — when faced with a confabulating demagogue — and a nearly national socialist one, looking to demonize one of the world’s great religions — is to call a lie, a lie.
It is the duty of the press to offer a perspective — not just let his lunacy rattle forward, unchecked. Hopefully, we will see many real journalists discharge that duty, on Monday night and Tuesday morning — and thereafter.
It is not in any way “unfair” coverage to call a liar… a liar. That is a fact.
And if Mr. Trump is nothing else — he is a pathological liar. Here’s a bit from the NYT’s editorial pages — on “How to Cover a Charlatan” and I think it is spot on:
“…[P]laying it straight does not preclude adding value with journalistic judgment — such as, in extreme cases, calling out a lie when we see it. And I believe that debate moderators can press Trump when he lies or evades.
Our job is to share with our audiences what we know. And we all know that Trump will not build a wall that Mexico will pay for (estimates are that it would cost $25 billion). If we know this, we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves….
What I suggest isn’t the sharp departure from journalistic custom that some accuse me of. In the early 1950s, journalists were also faced with how to cover a manipulative demagogue — Senator Joe McCarthy — and traditional even-handedness wasn’t serving the public interest. We honor Edward R. Murrow for breaking with journalistic convention and standing up to McCarthy, saying: “This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy’s methods to keep silent.”
Likewise, in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, it was not enough to quote from news conferences by each side. Great journalists like Claude Sitton and Karl Fleming took enormous risks to reveal the brutality of the Jim Crow South.
Our job is not stenography, but truth-telling. As we move to the debates, let’s remember that to expose charlatans is not partisanship, but simply good journalism….”
This last bit is the critical point: accurately reporting what I liar says is largely worthless, if one does not clearly label the lie — as a lie. That is a service to America — pointing out clearly when someone who wants to be our next President is lying, or worse.
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