Jen, I totally agree. But if you think the White House Press Corps is going to suddenly grow a pair (of ovaries since it is women reporting who get the vast majority of abuse) I have a bridge to sell you. The entire room should have emptied--and NOT RETURNED--after The Felon shouted "quiet piggy" at Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg News on AF1 at the very least. The fact that there is utter silence when he abuses and insults female reporters, when there should be shouts of "shame on you" and threats to leave him all alone, should tell you everything.
Linda, I completely agree. I have never understood why the other reporters are too cowed to respond responsibly when Trump insults a woman. Knees quivering, I suppose, they proceed to ask some softball question, when what they should say is, "Excuse me - answer her question!" If the next reporter did that, and the next and the next, Trump would either have to reply properly, or simply flee from the room. Then - they've got him.
Personally, I believe they have been instructed by their billionaire owners to avoid confrontation. In order to keep their salaries, they stay quiet. Unlike Jennifer and others who walked rather than capitulate, the reporters are not willing to sacrifice their access and their paychecks. It is sad.
Ellen, you are absolutely right. The reporters know what to do, but their outlets are owned by the oligarchs who lay down the fascist rules that are destroying the First Amendment and the free press. Independent journalists, like Jen and the Contrarians, are our only hope.
We owe a debt of gratitude to those women reporters who, in merely doing their jobs, risk insults like "quiet piggy" from that witless orange moron. That has to be humiliating and infuriating, especially when the guys won't support you.
Exactly. If only we had more reporters, opinion writers, legal analysts, politicians with the courage of a Jen Rubin. People who are willing to give up the prestige and steady paycheck of a gig at the WaPo, or Department of Justice, or Congress to defend our country are rare. If this country can be saved, it will be because of their leadership and example to the rest of us.
Well, let’s not be classist/elitist here. While some reporters may be independently wealthy and not need their job, not everyone has the latitude to just walk away and/or get fired. Look at all the reporters who have lost their jobs in organizations that capitulated to Trumpism. Some reporters likely need the income to support their families, and (unlike Trump) don’t care to declare bankruptcy and stiff their creditors. It would be noble for all to speak up and challenge the bully, but that’s simply unrealistic and perhaps unfair.
If you can stand there staring at the floor while the woman beside you is being crudely insulted by a semi-literate thug, then maybe you're in the wrong job. It might be better to go back to working for your dad at the hardware store. Less money no doubt, but at least you can retain some pride in yourself.
I am old and I remember watching news reporters--in the era when the Fairness Doctrine was actually working--challenge the statements of people in public office to their face. My parents preferred Walter Cronkite but I have to say that that old codger David Brinkley could wither an ambitious pol with a smirk and pursed lips. The problem is, yes, that media outlets are all owned by robber barons. But that should not stop reporters from defending their colleagues. So I can only conclude that the boyz in the room agree with the Felon and dislike having women in the press scrum. Also, they had no trouble at all being obnoxious to Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and even Joe Biden. Why all the genuflecting to the Orange Buffoon?
“ Also, they had no trouble at all being obnoxious to Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and even Joe Biden. Why all the genuflecting to the Orange Buffoon?”
They knew they could get away with it with Clinton, Harris and Biden. They might get a talking to from the podium in a polite tone, but that would be the extent of it. With Trump, the very least he kicks your ass out, and you don’t get to cover the White House or him anymore. If you say something that really gets him upset, then he talks to the Attorney General of the United States and says “here’s somebody else I’d like investigated (until they are bankrupt).” so they know they have to be careful with Trump and they did not have to be with the others.
I believe the WH correspondents subscribe to the idea that what the president and Press Secretaries says is news. My general observation is that most of the blather put out by an administration is of little actual value. This is especially true of this regime since the "lie rate" is unusually high. Correspondents should repeat an unanswered question until they get an answer. Obvious falsehoods and gross exaggerations should be called out on the spot. Do I believe this utopia will ever occur? Neh! I'm not that naive.
"“Sir, that statement is objectively false. Why are you lying?”
Just the thought of that rebuttal being uttered with regularity (all over the world!) gives me hope of a viable future for the free press, and for democracy.
I agree, but I will add another aspect. This media conduct "predates" Trump and (in my opinion) is only part of the reason so many Americans distrust the media. I think we are all well aware that most Americans (including journalists) are non-confrontational and meek as individuals. BUT, as Jen alludes, collectively the press can regain their stature by establishing rules and norms that provide the necessary support to counter abuse. Not only do we want our media to "have a spine" with Trump, we also want the media to reinvent itself, develop a set of rules and norms, and apply them to all future Administrations.
Yes, a new paradigm for journalism is badly needed.! They must reject this ridiculous notion. that “news” is whatever comes out of the president’s mouth. News has to be conditioned by the truth. The journalism schools and the leaders of the profession need a good house cleaning. The old journalist in paradigm seem to be based on the assumption that political leaders mostly told the truth, and it wasn’t their job to show otherwise. But this paradigm is totally inadequate when it comes to an authoritarian dictator. Before you know it, Trump is going to get rid of all the legitimate media outlets if we are not careful.
Well said to you and Jennifer. I might add...UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that women's leadership and representation are essential because "peace is more durable when women are at the table" and "economies are more dynamic when women have equal opportunity". AMEN!
"Contrary to the notion that their absence would be letting Trump “win...'"
Exactly!. Their absence is the greatest loss for Trump, who feeds off attention the way a vampire feeds off blood. Deprive him of that, and he doesn't exist.
So true...The assistant principal of the high school where I taught had a banner across the door to his office: Respect is for those who show respect. Since the Felon respects no one, he deserves none, especially the title "Mr. President".
Nope, no parents in the house, no adults in the room, by design. The president has hand picked the people around him for exactly not having those qualities.
Jennifer, kudos. You laid it out perfectly. It’s almost refreshing to have a break in the never-ending, breathless reporting of every minute of the Trump disaster. I’ve never seen so much stonewalling and opaqueness in any previous administration.
and start by reporting all his words, not a summary that makes it look as if coherent thought lurked somewhere in his demented brain. I believe that the White House stopped publishing transcripts of press conferences early in this term, because it was too clear evidence of his dementia.
Recall at some point during the 2024 campaign when Trump said that immigrants were poisoning the blood of America and the NY Times' story said that Trump was speculating on genetic evolution, or some such opaque and polite formulation.
Ms Rubin urges the White House press core as follows:
“…start behaving as fierce defenders of the truth and of democracy, and rise to meet the occasion.”
This should also be directed at democrats in Congress, especially the leadership. It’s absurd that the House is shut down to avoid facing the mess the Trump regime has created. It’s even more absurd how little democrats do about it. How about a press conference every day asking the missing republicans, through the media, the tough questions about the Epstein Pedo-files, the corruption and grifting and the failed war in Iran to name a few? Do something for fuck sake.
A press being told what they can report by Oligarch owners, who are driven by insatiable greed for money and power is hamstrung from the get go. When they can only report from a certain point of view, they are even worse off. The political and psychological right have deliberately corrupted the whole process of public discourse in this Country. I do not think we can put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We are going to have to create new paradigms for getting truth from power and exposing the abject corruption of the regime.
I agree on many of these points. It’s time for the press to be more aggressive about holding him accountable and I totally believe they should all stand together in solidarity. His racism is on display and so is his misogyny. When he was running in 2024 and Dems were saying that he’s a threat to democracy they were right. Hypocrisy, corruption, and fascism are all hallmarks of this regime.
It is well past time to show the real Donald Trump to his adoring public. He is crass, threatening, insecure, and dangerous, and failure to report on that and damages being wrought by his lackeys is a failure of the press's duties to requirements of the First Amendment privileges.
As has been said before, the 'failure to report' is primarily due to the standards of the owners of the news organizations. Blaming reporters is similar to shooting the messenger. In order to keep their jobs, they need to curry favor not only with the dementeed one, but with their avaricious bosses. People like Heather Cox Richardson, Dan Rather, Jennifer Rubin, Norman Eisen and a few others are truly our independent vocal journalists.
Monday — underscores his late-stage deterioration into decrepitude and desperation, as rage and loss of impulse control drive his behavior.
I dunno about the loss of impulse control. After all, how can you lose what you never had?!?
And the lesson the press has failed to learn is the same one that Neville Chamberlain learned the hard way:
If you appease bullies in hopes they'll go away happy, you're wrong. All that giving in to them does is teach them that you can be intimidated. So they always come back again and again, each time demanding more. Pretty soon, you're giving them your lunch money every day for the rest of the school year.
Excellent suggestions. But will not happen because (a) the reporters/producers have 60 seconds to report the incident. What you advocate cannot be conveyed in the arbitrary time limits in today's broadcast TV. (B): As a whole, they lack a single fiber of the courage perhaps last exemplified by Murrow and Cronkite. I should add a third reason: They have had poor training and too many have gotten to their current posts not through solid REPORTING but because they can say something in 60 seconds or less and parrot a press release.
And the fourth reason: bosses who do not want to upset the business apple cart. The bosses demand the reporters not challenge Trump and lose that coveted “access “.
Wow! Wh press conference a worthless charade. Tell it like it truly is!!!Your writing!!! Literally breathtaking this morning. Awesome and, alas, spot on.
Sycophant Vance claimed that Trump's evicting news organizations that he doesn't like (because they report the truth) was "appropriate" is beyond the pale. What would Vance and all the other MAGAs have said if then-President Biden had evicted Fox, OAN, and NewsMax for inaccurate reporting while he was in office?
Jen, I totally agree. But if you think the White House Press Corps is going to suddenly grow a pair (of ovaries since it is women reporting who get the vast majority of abuse) I have a bridge to sell you. The entire room should have emptied--and NOT RETURNED--after The Felon shouted "quiet piggy" at Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg News on AF1 at the very least. The fact that there is utter silence when he abuses and insults female reporters, when there should be shouts of "shame on you" and threats to leave him all alone, should tell you everything.
Linda, I completely agree. I have never understood why the other reporters are too cowed to respond responsibly when Trump insults a woman. Knees quivering, I suppose, they proceed to ask some softball question, when what they should say is, "Excuse me - answer her question!" If the next reporter did that, and the next and the next, Trump would either have to reply properly, or simply flee from the room. Then - they've got him.
Personally, I believe they have been instructed by their billionaire owners to avoid confrontation. In order to keep their salaries, they stay quiet. Unlike Jennifer and others who walked rather than capitulate, the reporters are not willing to sacrifice their access and their paychecks. It is sad.
Ellen, you are absolutely right. The reporters know what to do, but their outlets are owned by the oligarchs who lay down the fascist rules that are destroying the First Amendment and the free press. Independent journalists, like Jen and the Contrarians, are our only hope.
We owe a debt of gratitude to those women reporters who, in merely doing their jobs, risk insults like "quiet piggy" from that witless orange moron. That has to be humiliating and infuriating, especially when the guys won't support you.
Exactly. If only we had more reporters, opinion writers, legal analysts, politicians with the courage of a Jen Rubin. People who are willing to give up the prestige and steady paycheck of a gig at the WaPo, or Department of Justice, or Congress to defend our country are rare. If this country can be saved, it will be because of their leadership and example to the rest of us.
Yep. The business interests say you must stay in the room, even as the reporting and professional interest say all leave.
Ah, you're probably correct. Just more craven cowardice. Yes, it's very sad.
Well, let’s not be classist/elitist here. While some reporters may be independently wealthy and not need their job, not everyone has the latitude to just walk away and/or get fired. Look at all the reporters who have lost their jobs in organizations that capitulated to Trumpism. Some reporters likely need the income to support their families, and (unlike Trump) don’t care to declare bankruptcy and stiff their creditors. It would be noble for all to speak up and challenge the bully, but that’s simply unrealistic and perhaps unfair.
Classist? Elitist?? Whut?
If you can stand there staring at the floor while the woman beside you is being crudely insulted by a semi-literate thug, then maybe you're in the wrong job. It might be better to go back to working for your dad at the hardware store. Less money no doubt, but at least you can retain some pride in yourself.
I am old and I remember watching news reporters--in the era when the Fairness Doctrine was actually working--challenge the statements of people in public office to their face. My parents preferred Walter Cronkite but I have to say that that old codger David Brinkley could wither an ambitious pol with a smirk and pursed lips. The problem is, yes, that media outlets are all owned by robber barons. But that should not stop reporters from defending their colleagues. So I can only conclude that the boyz in the room agree with the Felon and dislike having women in the press scrum. Also, they had no trouble at all being obnoxious to Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and even Joe Biden. Why all the genuflecting to the Orange Buffoon?
“ Also, they had no trouble at all being obnoxious to Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and even Joe Biden. Why all the genuflecting to the Orange Buffoon?”
They knew they could get away with it with Clinton, Harris and Biden. They might get a talking to from the podium in a polite tone, but that would be the extent of it. With Trump, the very least he kicks your ass out, and you don’t get to cover the White House or him anymore. If you say something that really gets him upset, then he talks to the Attorney General of the United States and says “here’s somebody else I’d like investigated (until they are bankrupt).” so they know they have to be careful with Trump and they did not have to be with the others.
I believe the WH correspondents subscribe to the idea that what the president and Press Secretaries says is news. My general observation is that most of the blather put out by an administration is of little actual value. This is especially true of this regime since the "lie rate" is unusually high. Correspondents should repeat an unanswered question until they get an answer. Obvious falsehoods and gross exaggerations should be called out on the spot. Do I believe this utopia will ever occur? Neh! I'm not that naive.
Maybe the concept of "being the first to report...." is so embedded, each will only do what elevates him/her/etc self??
Could be, but isn't that just a definition of cowardice? Very much like the Republican Senate, methinks.
"“Sir, that statement is objectively false. Why are you lying?”
Just the thought of that rebuttal being uttered with regularity (all over the world!) gives me hope of a viable future for the free press, and for democracy.
I agree, but I will add another aspect. This media conduct "predates" Trump and (in my opinion) is only part of the reason so many Americans distrust the media. I think we are all well aware that most Americans (including journalists) are non-confrontational and meek as individuals. BUT, as Jen alludes, collectively the press can regain their stature by establishing rules and norms that provide the necessary support to counter abuse. Not only do we want our media to "have a spine" with Trump, we also want the media to reinvent itself, develop a set of rules and norms, and apply them to all future Administrations.
Yes, a new paradigm for journalism is badly needed.! They must reject this ridiculous notion. that “news” is whatever comes out of the president’s mouth. News has to be conditioned by the truth. The journalism schools and the leaders of the profession need a good house cleaning. The old journalist in paradigm seem to be based on the assumption that political leaders mostly told the truth, and it wasn’t their job to show otherwise. But this paradigm is totally inadequate when it comes to an authoritarian dictator. Before you know it, Trump is going to get rid of all the legitimate media outlets if we are not careful.
I love that image, Linda: a chorus of "Shame on you!" after every abuse, every lie.
Well said to you and Jennifer. I might add...UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that women's leadership and representation are essential because "peace is more durable when women are at the table" and "economies are more dynamic when women have equal opportunity". AMEN!
Hard to do on a plane at 30,000 feet, but I get your point!
He has no shame, so that won't go anywhere.
"Contrary to the notion that their absence would be letting Trump “win...'"
Exactly!. Their absence is the greatest loss for Trump, who feeds off attention the way a vampire feeds off blood. Deprive him of that, and he doesn't exist.
On target again, Ms. Rubin!
"...the end of jocular, frivolous conduct and social deference (e.g., standing when he enters the room, inviting him to their WHCA dinner) must end."
Exactly! Why address him as "Sir"? He is no gentleman. His crimes and felonies cling to him like raw sewage.
So true...The assistant principal of the high school where I taught had a banner across the door to his office: Respect is for those who show respect. Since the Felon respects no one, he deserves none, especially the title "Mr. President".
Respect is an earned commodity. As Turmp obviously doesn't respect the press, why should they return it?
To model it for him? To show contrast? To refuse to sink to his level? Everyone watching can judge for themselves…
Trump is not just the greatest threat to the First Amendment we have ever faced, he is the greatest threat to the world.
I worry about the "child being left alone" during a tantrum with the nuclear codes. Are there any "parents" in the house?
Nope, no parents in the house, no adults in the room, by design. The president has hand picked the people around him for exactly not having those qualities.
:(
Jennifer, kudos. You laid it out perfectly. It’s almost refreshing to have a break in the never-ending, breathless reporting of every minute of the Trump disaster. I’ve never seen so much stonewalling and opaqueness in any previous administration.
So well said Jennifer! The press will either hang together or hang separately.
and start by reporting all his words, not a summary that makes it look as if coherent thought lurked somewhere in his demented brain. I believe that the White House stopped publishing transcripts of press conferences early in this term, because it was too clear evidence of his dementia.
Recall at some point during the 2024 campaign when Trump said that immigrants were poisoning the blood of America and the NY Times' story said that Trump was speculating on genetic evolution, or some such opaque and polite formulation.
And they should stop editing video clips of Trump that would otherwise show his dementia coming into full swing.
Ms Rubin urges the White House press core as follows:
“…start behaving as fierce defenders of the truth and of democracy, and rise to meet the occasion.”
This should also be directed at democrats in Congress, especially the leadership. It’s absurd that the House is shut down to avoid facing the mess the Trump regime has created. It’s even more absurd how little democrats do about it. How about a press conference every day asking the missing republicans, through the media, the tough questions about the Epstein Pedo-files, the corruption and grifting and the failed war in Iran to name a few? Do something for fuck sake.
A press being told what they can report by Oligarch owners, who are driven by insatiable greed for money and power is hamstrung from the get go. When they can only report from a certain point of view, they are even worse off. The political and psychological right have deliberately corrupted the whole process of public discourse in this Country. I do not think we can put Humpty Dumpty back together again. We are going to have to create new paradigms for getting truth from power and exposing the abject corruption of the regime.
I agree on many of these points. It’s time for the press to be more aggressive about holding him accountable and I totally believe they should all stand together in solidarity. His racism is on display and so is his misogyny. When he was running in 2024 and Dems were saying that he’s a threat to democracy they were right. Hypocrisy, corruption, and fascism are all hallmarks of this regime.
Words strong enough to meet the moment. Jennifer, you're the best.
It is well past time to show the real Donald Trump to his adoring public. He is crass, threatening, insecure, and dangerous, and failure to report on that and damages being wrought by his lackeys is a failure of the press's duties to requirements of the First Amendment privileges.
As has been said before, the 'failure to report' is primarily due to the standards of the owners of the news organizations. Blaming reporters is similar to shooting the messenger. In order to keep their jobs, they need to curry favor not only with the dementeed one, but with their avaricious bosses. People like Heather Cox Richardson, Dan Rather, Jennifer Rubin, Norman Eisen and a few others are truly our independent vocal journalists.
True. Maybe I should have said the owners need to recover their spines.
Yeah-- and the owners should be a little more worried about their country, and a little less worried about their big wallets.
Oh my yes. It's past time for media ownership to stop being afraid of Trump. Lying by omission is still lying.
Monday — underscores his late-stage deterioration into decrepitude and desperation, as rage and loss of impulse control drive his behavior.
I dunno about the loss of impulse control. After all, how can you lose what you never had?!?
And the lesson the press has failed to learn is the same one that Neville Chamberlain learned the hard way:
If you appease bullies in hopes they'll go away happy, you're wrong. All that giving in to them does is teach them that you can be intimidated. So they always come back again and again, each time demanding more. Pretty soon, you're giving them your lunch money every day for the rest of the school year.
Excellent suggestions. But will not happen because (a) the reporters/producers have 60 seconds to report the incident. What you advocate cannot be conveyed in the arbitrary time limits in today's broadcast TV. (B): As a whole, they lack a single fiber of the courage perhaps last exemplified by Murrow and Cronkite. I should add a third reason: They have had poor training and too many have gotten to their current posts not through solid REPORTING but because they can say something in 60 seconds or less and parrot a press release.
And the fourth reason: bosses who do not want to upset the business apple cart. The bosses demand the reporters not challenge Trump and lose that coveted “access “.
And beccause they look as if they've come from central casting.
Wow! Wh press conference a worthless charade. Tell it like it truly is!!!Your writing!!! Literally breathtaking this morning. Awesome and, alas, spot on.
Most, if not all, of the congressional hearings are much the same.
Sycophant Vance claimed that Trump's evicting news organizations that he doesn't like (because they report the truth) was "appropriate" is beyond the pale. What would Vance and all the other MAGAs have said if then-President Biden had evicted Fox, OAN, and NewsMax for inaccurate reporting while he was in office?