As the CNN World Turns...
What Networks Like CNN Should Be Covering Vs. What They Are Covering
Happy Independence Day, everyone. I wish I could begin this July 4th with a reflection on the strength of the great institutions behind American democracy—like, for example, media outlets like CNN. Unfortunately, I am simply not able to.
Let me give just one reason why. In recent days, you may have heard about Trump “[amplifying] calls to jail top officials” and to establish military tribunals against his political enemies. Or you may have heard the concerning rhetoric coming from Trump sycophants like the leader of the conservative Heritage Foundation (i.e., the people behind Project 2025’s plan for a second Trump term):
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be” (emphasis mine). At the same time, he praised the immunity decision from the Supreme Court, and argued that it was an important step towards “reinforcing” the potentially nonviolent—or potentially violent—overhaul.
These stories are monumental. Should Trump win, they will likely plunge us headlong into a constitutional crisis from the very start. Yet in the CNN news cycle? They are just quick, seemingly insignificant blips. Why cover all that nonsense when you cover the reality show-style drama and speculation about “who will replace Biden?” Why cover substantive issues and real threats to the American experiment when you can have the TV pundits drone on and on about the minute-by-minute “changes” in the Biden story?
CNN has officially redefined “beating a dead horse.” Their 24-hour news cycle has beaten the horse, carved it up, cut it down into little pieces, and shoved it incessantly down our sore throats. I am not against covering “the Biden story.” Not at all. I applaud the reporting of real journalists like Carl Bernstein, whatever comes out of it.
But less and less of what CNN has to say about the Biden situation is new, and the pundit pageantry act is starting to get real stale real quickly. If CNN covered the Trump news with as much attention as they did the Biden news, perhaps people would be better informed about the dangers of Project 2025. Maybe—just maybe—they would have a better sense of just how far Trump is willing to push it this time around.
CNN has failed us now, and, frankly, it failed us at the debate too. CNN’s management has made a clear priority of staying in “the center” over encouraging its anchors to ask the questions that matter. In this case, they may have even discouraged Dana Bash and Jake Tapper from holding Trump accountable, like Chris Wallace rightly did four years ago.
For instance, why didn’t Dana Bash or Jake Tapper ask about the radical Project 2025 at any point in the debate? Why didn’t either Bash or Tapper give viewers a taste of exactly what Project 2025 endorses, and ask Trump whether he supports a Department of Justice under direct presidential control? Or the replacement of job protections for thousands of government workers, so that political appointees (Trump loyalists) can take their place?
Why didn’t they ask Trump whether he agrees with Project 2025’s characterization of the FBI as a “bloated, arrogant, [and] increasingly lawless organization?” Or whether he will stop what Project 2025 calls “the war on oil and natural gas?” Or whether he will advance Project 2025’s proposal to ban pornography and mifepristone from the market? People should know about these substantive policies, as well as Trump’s objective threats to our republican experiment. Regardless, people never got the answers because the questions never came up. Even the questions that they did ask Trump never got an answer, partially because the moderators never pressed him to stay on topic. As they should have. Constantly.
(Telling Trump he had 50 or so seconds left and asking whether he actually wanted to answer their question is a poor replacement for pressing Trump harder on the broader issue and rebutting him directly with information).
CNN has a duty to be unbiased. It also has a duty to report “the balls and strikes” and to avoid the very type of pure sensationalism it has fallen into in the last few days. When our way of government is on the line, that threat should not be lost in an endless sea of coverage regarding “the other guy.”
The Biden story has not fundamentally changed. The Trump story is getting worse every single day. And the people (especially the leadership) within CNN have a duty to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves, “Am I doing what I can to get the word out? So that the people can truly decide the direction they want to take?”