“I had a complete misunderstanding of what MAGA was,” Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate and billionaire entrepreneur, confessed in an August interview. . She elaborated that she had been fooled by the depiction of MAGA that was “sold to most of America by the mainstream media.” She's not alone either. In fact, the mainstream media's anti-Trump bias during the campaign went so far that it actually drove some undecided voters toward President-elect Trump. So for several months starting in August, I discovered the New York Times while talking to a group of young voters who had not yet decided to vote.
Just imagine. Overt and persistent bullying creates sympathy for the victim.
Who thought of it?
As Fox News reported Thursday:
A group of Gen Z voters largely agreed that mainstream media is “very corrupt” with bias against President-elect Donald Trump, and that it is influencing the election.
The New York Times asked a focus group of 13 undecided voters Wednesday about their feelings after the election. Most of them voted for President Biden or were too young to vote in 2020, but more than half now admit to voting for President Trump, and only two voted for the vice president.
For many of them, coverage was a big factor in their decision.
The boy who shouted “Nazi!”
Of course, the 13 were not a scientific sample, but they certainly were an interesting one at times. Consider one of the comments. Joseph, 24, who the Times reports is a white high school teacher in South Carolina and a 2020 Biden voter, said:
Mainstream media reported Kamala Harris' remarks. To maintain a healthy democracy, we need to check the president. If Kamala Harris were elected, there would be no media checks on her.
This is a very sharp point. Part of the media's job is to monitor those in power and hold them accountable. None of this would have happened if Harris had remained in office.
Another comment came from Lillian, who the Times described as “27 years old, Virginian, white, digital advertising, voted for Trump in 2020.” She said:
What really nailed it to me was that Biden called half the country trash, and then the White House moved to officially change that record. That really bothered me. So I really wanted to rally against them.
Here, many members of the media participated in the deception. Consider the following: This is one of many examples provided by the New York Post on October 30th.
Politico White House Bureau Chief and MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire published the following article: “Biden said on a Zoom call with an organization called Voto Latino that the 'only garbage' is the 'hate' of Trump supporters who have said such things about the American people.” (Emphasis added) )
Of course this is fake news. Biden never uttered the word “hate” in his remarks. Lemire just had an idea.
Lies only make it worse
Then there was Liz Cheney's “firing squad” hoax. The policy, implemented in the final days of the campaign, was supposed to drive voters away from Trump. But it backfired on Abigail, described by the Times as a “23-year-old Virginian, white, graduate assistant, who voted for Biden in 2020.” The paper quoted her as saying:
I have seen firsthand how corrupt the media is in the cause against President Trump. There was footage of President Trump saying, “Get Cheney in front of the shooters.'' But he wasn't actually implying that Cheney should be shot. We can't vote for an organization that thinks it's okay to lie.
George agreed: “21 years old, Georgia, white, student, did not vote in 2020.” “The Liz Cheney incident was just despicable,” he said.
Additionally, Harris' media appearances probably helped her a little. “I'm 20 years old, Maryland, white, legal intern, and I didn't vote in 2020,” Laura said, according to the Times.
I was looking for a candidate that I felt I could trust. A key moment that stuck with me was an “SNL” skit Harris did where she was essentially making fun of herself. Her focus was only on going into the entertainment industry and avoiding interviews. That seemed very bogus to me.
Tell me it's not so, Joe!
And then there were the things Harris didn't or couldn't do, like Joe Rogan's famous podcast. Eight of the 13 undecided people told the Times they watched at least 30 minutes of Trump's appearance. In some cases, what will be the consequences?
Mr. Joseph, who is undecided, said, “After appearing on Joe Rogan, I decided to support Mr. Trump.'' He just seemed more normal than his opponent,” the Times reported.
Next, Jack, “22 years old, New York, white, insurance broker, voted for Biden in 2020.” “The Joe Rogan interview was huge for me,” the Times quotes him as saying. “Trump enthusiastically said yes to a three-hour open and honest conversation with former Bernie brother Joe Rogan. He was very clear about which candidates were real and which ones weren't. I think you understand.”
The awakening to media bias is also reflected in MSN's comments on the FOX article. For example, consider “Thurley John,” who wrote, “I voted for Bill Clinton twice.” He said CBS 60 Minutes' deceptive editing of an interview with Harris led her to Trump. He also vowed never to watch CBS news again.
Liars in the news are not news.
Of course, as I and others have reported in the past, mainstream media bias is nothing new. But it got worse and worse over time, to the point where it's now childish and obvious. And, of course, effective propaganda requires at least some degree of subtlety.
Oh, it's not true that media bias doesn't have negative effects. In the end, we don't know if the voters in the Times' focus group accurately reflected the undecided portion. Nevertheless, I've also long suspected that the media's blatant anti-Trump coverage would drive fence-keepers into his arms. Because people sympathize with those who have been unfairly vilified and hate bullies. They also don't like being bullied or lied to into acting or voting a certain way.
In fact, the mainstream media might have been more effective at discrediting the president-elect if they had pretended to like him. I mean, imagine if the Times or any other media outlet had a talking point that said, “Listen to this Trump guy. He makes sense!”
