I used to kind of like old Wolf, but now he’s wandering off into RobertBass territory. When will the lunacy, lying, half-truths and misrepresentations of Trump end? There’s enough to legitimately criticize and debate without making up stuff. Another unintended benefit of the Trump victory is that it exposed our MSM as corrupt. The genie is out of the bottle and can never be put back in. Trust in the press has been destroyed and they only have themselves to blame.
The CNN Situation
Blitzer commands a rhetorical attack on the President.
James FreemanUpdated Feb. 21, 2018 3:02 p.m. ET
“The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” is a CNN television program marketed as the “command center for breaking news, politics and extraordinary reports from around the world.” Last night it seems to have engaged in conduct unbecoming a straight news organization.
Commander Blitzer, a longtime presence at CNN, has tended to offer a relatively sober, left-of-center take on the events of the day, rather than the primal scream of Trump resistance offered by some of his colleagues.
But perhaps last night was one of those “extraordinary reports” that CNN has been promising. Whatever it was, at the top of the show it didn’t sound exactly like news when Mr. Blitzer teased an important segment to come. Here’s an excerpt from CNN’s official transcript:
Distorting reality. The White House declaring again tonight that the Russia probe is a hoax and claiming Mr. Trump has been tougher on Moscow than President Obama. This hour, the false claims vs. the facts.Downward spiral? After a stunning holiday weekend rant on Twitter, the President is at it again...
Several minutes later, Mr. Blitzer returned to the topic of Mr. Trump’s claim that he’s tougher on Russia than Mr. Obama was. Mr. Blitzer decided to cover the topic by welcoming one of the Obama administration officials responsible for being tough on adversaries and potential adversaries like Russia.
Perhaps not surprisingly, former Democratic Congressman Leon Panetta, who served as Defense Secretary and CIA Director for President Obama, has concluded that he and his colleagues did a better job than their Republican successors.
Hosting Mr. Panetta without a rebuttal witness is bound to raise some conservative hackles and disappoint those viewers who want to hear from both sides. Mr. Blitzer then veered toward fake news territory when he invited Mr. Panetta, who holds degrees in political science and law, to offer a long-distance diagnosis of President Trump’s mental state.
Also, intentionally or not, Mr. Blitzer and much of the media misrepresent Mr. Trump’s use of the word “hoax.” Mr. Trump is referring to the claims, endlessly repeated by liberals in politics and the press, that he colluded with Russia and that Russia’s meddling may have changed the outcome of the election. Media folk tend to portray his use of the word simply as a defense of Russia.
But the element of the program that was most likely to outrage viewers involved something that was shown, not said. This is especially important given the place that CNN occupies in the American media. For those who aren’t intimately familiar with the network, it is not the most popular news channel but it has been remarkably successful in persuading the operators of airports and other venues to make it the default option for public video screens. The result is that it’s likely that many more people see CNN than listen to it.
And what they saw during the aforementioned segment last night was:
Breaking News: White House Repeats and Defends Trump’s False Claim That He’s Been Tougher on Russia Than Obama
That’s a whopper. It’s not news, but a statement of CNN’s opinion. And it doesn’t even make sense. Mr. Trump’s claim that he’s tougher than Mr. Obama is itself merely an opinion, which cannot be proven true or false, no matter how large an army of “fact-checkers” report to the command center at Blitzer headquarters.
Even if CNN had presented the idea as “our view” rather than “breaking news,” they’d have a difficult case to make. Mr. Trump has prioritized increased domestic energy production, faster growth in the U.S. economy, and a larger military. He’s also been expanding ties with Ukraine, for example with a new coal deal described by Reuters this week:
For the first time in Ukraine’s history, U.S. anthracite is helping to keep the lights on and the heating going this winter following a deal that has also helped to warm Kiev’s relations with President Donald Trump.
None of this is good news for Vladimir Putin.
For all his faults, President Trump deserves better. Anyone deserves better.
***
In Other News
The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations
“Countries made only modest climate-change promises in Paris. They’re falling short anyway,” Washington Post, Feb. 19
Meanwhile in America, Great Expectations
“U.S. Satisfaction With World Standing Hits 13-Year High,” Gallup, Feb. 20
Out on a Limb
“The Fundamental Uncertainty of Mueller’s Russia Indictments,” New Yorker, Feb. 20
***
Follow James Freeman on Twitter.
Subscribe to the Best of the Web email with one click.
To suggest items, please email best@wsj.com.
(Carol Muller and Lisa Rossi help compile Best of the Web. Thanks to Jackie Harty, Miguel Rakiewicz, and Irene DeBlasio.)
The CNN Situation
Blitzer commands a rhetorical attack on the President.
James FreemanUpdated Feb. 21, 2018 3:02 p.m. ET
“The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” is a CNN television program marketed as the “command center for breaking news, politics and extraordinary reports from around the world.” Last night it seems to have engaged in conduct unbecoming a straight news organization.
Commander Blitzer, a longtime presence at CNN, has tended to offer a relatively sober, left-of-center take on the events of the day, rather than the primal scream of Trump resistance offered by some of his colleagues.
But perhaps last night was one of those “extraordinary reports” that CNN has been promising. Whatever it was, at the top of the show it didn’t sound exactly like news when Mr. Blitzer teased an important segment to come. Here’s an excerpt from CNN’s official transcript:
Distorting reality. The White House declaring again tonight that the Russia probe is a hoax and claiming Mr. Trump has been tougher on Moscow than President Obama. This hour, the false claims vs. the facts.Downward spiral? After a stunning holiday weekend rant on Twitter, the President is at it again...
Several minutes later, Mr. Blitzer returned to the topic of Mr. Trump’s claim that he’s tougher on Russia than Mr. Obama was. Mr. Blitzer decided to cover the topic by welcoming one of the Obama administration officials responsible for being tough on adversaries and potential adversaries like Russia.
Perhaps not surprisingly, former Democratic Congressman Leon Panetta, who served as Defense Secretary and CIA Director for President Obama, has concluded that he and his colleagues did a better job than their Republican successors.
Hosting Mr. Panetta without a rebuttal witness is bound to raise some conservative hackles and disappoint those viewers who want to hear from both sides. Mr. Blitzer then veered toward fake news territory when he invited Mr. Panetta, who holds degrees in political science and law, to offer a long-distance diagnosis of President Trump’s mental state.
Also, intentionally or not, Mr. Blitzer and much of the media misrepresent Mr. Trump’s use of the word “hoax.” Mr. Trump is referring to the claims, endlessly repeated by liberals in politics and the press, that he colluded with Russia and that Russia’s meddling may have changed the outcome of the election. Media folk tend to portray his use of the word simply as a defense of Russia.
But the element of the program that was most likely to outrage viewers involved something that was shown, not said. This is especially important given the place that CNN occupies in the American media. For those who aren’t intimately familiar with the network, it is not the most popular news channel but it has been remarkably successful in persuading the operators of airports and other venues to make it the default option for public video screens. The result is that it’s likely that many more people see CNN than listen to it.
And what they saw during the aforementioned segment last night was:
Breaking News: White House Repeats and Defends Trump’s False Claim That He’s Been Tougher on Russia Than Obama
That’s a whopper. It’s not news, but a statement of CNN’s opinion. And it doesn’t even make sense. Mr. Trump’s claim that he’s tougher than Mr. Obama is itself merely an opinion, which cannot be proven true or false, no matter how large an army of “fact-checkers” report to the command center at Blitzer headquarters.
Even if CNN had presented the idea as “our view” rather than “breaking news,” they’d have a difficult case to make. Mr. Trump has prioritized increased domestic energy production, faster growth in the U.S. economy, and a larger military. He’s also been expanding ties with Ukraine, for example with a new coal deal described by Reuters this week:
For the first time in Ukraine’s history, U.S. anthracite is helping to keep the lights on and the heating going this winter following a deal that has also helped to warm Kiev’s relations with President Donald Trump.
None of this is good news for Vladimir Putin.
For all his faults, President Trump deserves better. Anyone deserves better.
***
In Other News
The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations
“Countries made only modest climate-change promises in Paris. They’re falling short anyway,” Washington Post, Feb. 19
Meanwhile in America, Great Expectations
“U.S. Satisfaction With World Standing Hits 13-Year High,” Gallup, Feb. 20
Out on a Limb
“The Fundamental Uncertainty of Mueller’s Russia Indictments,” New Yorker, Feb. 20
***
Follow James Freeman on Twitter.
Subscribe to the Best of the Web email with one click.
To suggest items, please email best@wsj.com.
(Carol Muller and Lisa Rossi help compile Best of the Web. Thanks to Jackie Harty, Miguel Rakiewicz, and Irene DeBlasio.)
