The Patriot Post® · Trump's War on the Leftmedia

By Thomas Gallatin ·
https://patriotpost.us/articles/47636-trumps-war-on-the-leftmedia-2017-02-23

It’s not new news that the mainstream media is biased. In fact, it is because of this overwhelmingly obvious liberal bias that organizations like Fox News and conservative talk radio (not to mention, ahem, The Patriot Post) became so popular. But what once was a leftist bias in reporting has now become what may best be described as propaganda. Much of the mainstream media has shed any pretense of objectivity in order to more fully engage the “enemy” — Donald Trump.

Wednesday, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski unintentionally pulled back the curtain on the Leftmedia’s agenda when she responded to Trump’s criticism of the media. She said, “Trump could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think. And that is our job.” That’s right, Trump is doing to the mainstream media what it has long practiced with conservatives.

Historically, the media has enjoyed the upper hand in controlling the political and cultural narratives of the day. They set the rules and boundaries on issues, forcing conservatives to play the role of an easily mocked and vanquished foil. The mainstream media’s playing field is not level or fair. The Leftmedia does not seek to debate, it only indoctrinates.

Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” is a classic example demonstrating how the Left operates where everything conservative is turned into a ridiculous joke to be lambasted as an absolute absurdity and then summarily dismissed. The message is clear: Anyone who would hold conservative views must be stupid, period. The recipe is simple — misrepresent the opponent’s position, mock the overly simplistic misrepresentation and then dismiss without having truly engaged the opponent’s position. And the Leftmedia has been getting away with this for years.

But now, the media has run into a Republican who is better at the game than they are. As George Neumayr of the American Spectator writes, “[Trump] recognizes that his agenda can only move forward if the people tune out the media’s distortions of it. Were Trump to take the media’s advice, he couldn’t govern. The more he neutralizes the media, the more successful he will be.” The simple reality is that the mainstream media is opposed to Trump’s agenda, and that is why he attacks the media. And in order for his agenda to be successful he must attack.