This Is CNN

I am spending a few hours in an airport, so CNN is being inflicted on me at the gate. A few minutes ago, a CNN analyst was agonizing over whether people will be able to trust the Trump administration, given Trump’s history of lying about things like the size of his inauguration crowd. The angst-ridden reporter wondered whether statistics produced by Trump’s agencies will be trustworthy. Trump, according to CNN, presents a unique credibility challenge.

So I couldn’t help wondering: where were you when Barack Obama told us–to take just one example–if you like your health insurance, you can keep it?

Next there was a discussion with a Washington Post reporter about investigative reporting. The crawler said: “NEWS MEDIA BEEFING UP INVESTIGATIVE UNITS.” Yes, I bet they are, after eight years of somnolence. The reporter said he is specializing in Trump’s purported conflicts of interest.

That was followed by a panel where a reporter wrapped up by saying that after all, the news media and the administration are on different sides. So dissent is patriotic again! I think the reporter’s acknowledgement that he and his colleagues are not on Trump’s side had a different meaning from what he intended.

I am left wondering: do these people not understand how unpopular they are? How untrusted? How widely they are viewed with contempt? Do they not realize that Trump got elected president largely by running against them?

On CNN, at least, self-knowledge has not yet dawned.

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