Earlier this morning, I wrote about a panicked article from New York Magazine -- and an equally panicked tweet from Brian 'Spud' Stelter -- in which mainstream media reporters and executives were concerned that if Donald Trump wins the 2024 Presidential election, it would be the death of the media in its current form.
Obviously, the joke here is that the mainstream media is already dead in its current form. It's simply that -- as our editor Doug Powers pointed out at the time -- they have forgotten to lie down.
As serendipity would have it, it was only a few hours after that article was published that I saw a tweet from CBS News that exemplified exactly why the legacy media has already shuffled off its mortal coil.
This is the media today in a nutshell:
Former President Donald Trump tried to seize on the "garbage" comments at a truck in Wisconsin while Vice President Harris will have a campaign event with J.Lo in Las Vegas. https://t.co/F9ERXcCtL5
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 31, 2024
There is so much in that one, brief tweet that I almost don't know where to begin. Maybe the best place to start is that it isn't even written in proper English.
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'At a truck in Wisconsin'? Hire a proofreader, CBS News.
More substantively, however, is the complete tone-deafness of the tweet. There is no question that Trump's appearance in Wisconsin yesterday, in a custom garbage truck and wearing a safety vest, took over the news cycle in America. Even those on the left who hated it couldn't stop talking about it ... and still are today.
Anything the Harris campaign said last night was lost in the wake of Trump's masterful and hilarious troll of Joe Biden. But according to CBS News, Trump 'tried to seize' on the comments.
(There we go again. Pouncing and seizing. They don't even realize that everyone laughs at them when they use those words.)
Even more tone-deaf was CBS's implication that Harris was outperforming Trump because she is having Jennifer Lopez at her rally tonight in Las Vegas. Oh, is she going to NOT perform too, like Beyoncé?
Whether J.Lo performs or just lectures voters is irrelevant, though. People DO NOT CARE about celebrity endorsements anymore. Sure, they're always nice to have, as when Brett Favre strongly and eloquently endorsed Trump in Wisconsin yesterday. But in the end, celebrity endorsements do not help people afford groceries, manage utility bills, buy a home, or keep their families safe.
Nevertheless, the media still reacts to these endorsements (but only endorsements for Democrats, of course) like they are a 13-year-old girl seeing Justin Bieber on the cover of Tiger Beat.
Wait ... Is Tiger Beat still a thing? Sorry, I'm old.
It is all fool's gold and no substance. Kind of like Harris herself. And definitely like the mainstream media.
Underneath all of the media's disconnect, however, is the true fundamental problem. They are simply lying. No person with a pulse would characterize Trump's appearance in a garbage truck yesterday the way CBS News did unless they were trying to deceive their readers.
The good news, of course, is that their lies don't work anymore. CBS got ratioed badly for their tweet with some outstanding responses.
Tried? Tried?! Cope harder you hacks! 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vMIAIXMqnQ
— Rick Robinson #MAGA/MAHA2024 (@RowdyRick73) October 31, 2024
That really should be the new official logo for CBS.
IOW, one candidate is rubbing shoulders with rich celebrities hoping people are shallow enough to vote like an out of touch celebrity with a lavish lifestyle while the other candidate is willing to meet with & support the people Kamala thinks she’s too good for.
— DelilahM (@delilahmused) October 31, 2024
CBS can't recognize this because they think just like Biden. They believe Americans are garbage.
Translation:
— Schadenfreudelish (@aggierican) October 31, 2024
"Former President Trump is trolling our candidate so hard, not even J Lo's dump truck can compete with his garbage truck."
HAHAHAHA.
You lost this one, @CBSNews.
— 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷 𝓡𝓪𝔂 (@2CynicAl65) October 31, 2024
Your poor attempt at spin makes this even funnier. https://t.co/rH2NPay97p
“Tried”
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) October 31, 2024
You people are precious. He dominated the news cycle with this move, while far fewer people saw the J-Lo/K-hive event. https://t.co/o3WO5NsIVR
There's little question that Harris will fill whatever arena she goes to in Las Vegas with Lopez accompanying her. That's the only reason anyone attends a Harris rally: for the celebrities.
But it will still be dwarfed -- by an order of magnitude -- compared with the national attention that Trump commanded yesterday and is still commanding today.
Trump has owned the narrative all week. Meanwhile, Kamala is relying on Diddy's girl for attention.
— Blue State Snooze (@BlueSnoozeBlue) October 31, 2024
A referee would have called this fight days ago.
And THAT is the mainstream media's problem.
They are no longer the referees. People can argue about whether or not they ever were, but during the Trump era, they have clearly taken off their striped shirts and joined the Democrats' team.
Not only that, they are proud of it. Or at least too oblivious to recognize it. We know that because they all freaked out when Jeff Bezos recently told them that in so many words.
No matter how much it might hurt Brian Stelter to hear it, the doctor has already pronounced the mainstream media dead and called in the coroner for the autopsy.
What was the cause of death? Suicide.
