If Donald Trump were some run-of-the-mill guy back in Queens, he would probably be committed to a mental health facility after the craziness he has been spouting.
But, as the Republican Party’s flag bearer, he is taken seriously by the media. Every nutty remark he makes is amplified by the wide-eyed “journalists” who follow him around.
In my day, editors were “gate keepers.” We decided what the public needed to know and what should get “spiked.”
A lot of so-called news never saw the light of day. The press releases ended up on a metal spike that sat on the editor’s desk.
With the emergence of Twitter and Facebook and the rest of the “social network,” all kinds of unedited nonsense gets out there for an uninformed public to gawk at. So the mainstream media feel obliged to serve up the bogus “news,” too.
Even so, if I were a newspaper or TV editor today, I would have spiked Trump’s absurd accusation that President Obama is somehow in league with terrorists. I would have spiked John McCain’s nonsensical argument that the President is “directly responsible” for the Orlando massacre. I would have spiked the accusations by Ted Cruz that the Obama Administration is endangering Americans.
These lunatic rants get more than their fair share of amplification from outlets like right-wing radio, “conservative” web sites and Fox News.
Mainstream media should not help liars and rogues spread outrageous conspiracy theories and wild rants.
It’s dangerous enough having crazies like Alex Jones on the Internet.You know about Alex Jones, don’t you? He’s the guy who claimed President Obama staged the school shooting in Sandy Hook, using actors, in order to promote gun control.
He claims the President is gay and Michelle Obama is a man. Their two daughters? Adopted from Morocco. He also promotes the theory that Nine Eleven was perpetrated by George W. Bush … and on and on …
Trump actually uses the outlandish material produced by this nut to spice up his rally speeches and Twitter rants.
Surely, Americans are not well served when respected news outlets publicize Jones’ lunatic accusations just because they’re repeated by Trump and his ilk.
