Those Whom the Gods Would Destroy…

Steve wrote earlier today about the Left’s meltdown since Donald Trump’s inauguration. The Left’s nervous breakdown is, of course, a topic we have been covering for a while. But–to say the least–the Trump administration has accelerated the Left’s crackup.

I am so old I can remember when the Associated Press wasn’t considered part of the Left. But Trump’s election has pushed the AP over the edge, and they have gone into full opposition mode. So we see headlines like FACT CHECK: White House spokesman gets election facts wrong. And stories that begin like this:

President Donald Trump tweeted early Wednesday that he is ordering a “major investigation” into voter fraud, revisiting unsubstantiated claims he’s made repeatedly about a rigged voting system.
***
Trump has been fixated on his loss of the popular vote in the election and a concern that the legitimacy of his presidency is being challenged by Democrats and the media, aides and associates say.
***
Secretaries of state across the country have dismissed Trump’s voter fraud claims as baseless.
***
Trump’s exaggerations about inauguration crowds and assertions about illegal balloting have been distractions as advisers have tried to launch his presidency with a flurry of actions on the economy.

His spokesman, Sean Spicer, has twice stepped into the fray himself, including on Tuesday, when he doubled down on Trump’s false claim that he lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million people living in the U.S. illegally cast ballots.

Who, these days, can tell the difference between the Associated Press and the Democratic National Committee?

But the following story, minor though it is, exemplifies as much as any how far around the bend the AP has gone: Pro-Trump site gets 1st question at White House briefing.

Think about that for a moment. Trump’s press secretary called on a pro-Trump site first! For eight years, every time Barack Obama or his press secretary gave a press conference, he called on a pro-Obama news outlet first. And second. And third. And fourth. And so on. Yet somehow, this is news? The AP is outraged:

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer took the first question at his briefing Tuesday from a reporter who works for LifeZette, a website founded by Donald Trump supporter Laura Ingraham that published some untrue stories during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Is this a news story, or a debate, with the AP taking the Democratic Party’s side?

LifeZette features a mix of conservative politics, lifestyle and consumer articles and videos. Its home page Tuesday featured a story about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady calling Trump to congratulate him on becoming president; one that questioned the purpose of last weekend’s women’s march; and another in which Fox News’ Sean Hannity condemned Trump officials who had leaked information to the press.

The horror! To be fair, the AP story contains at least one true sentence:

Tuesday’s briefing was another indication of how press relations have changed with the onset of a new administration in Washington.

Well, yeah. So far, that is one of the best things about the nascent Trump administration.

Spicer taking the first question from Stinson attracted notice because, before Trump, major news outlets were traditionally called upon to open White House press conferences and briefings.

But by its own choice, the AP is no longer a “major news outlet.” It is just another Democratic Party mouthpiece like the New York Times and the Washington Post. So why should it expect to be treated like an objective, respected news source? The AP has gone nuts, and so far seems unable to understand how far it has fallen. But in the years to come, it is likely to get the message.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses