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Why isn’t the MSM plastering their publications with speculation about Trump dropping out, lists of Republicans demanding he drop out, palace intrigue about him dropping out, op-eds chiding him for not dropping out, speculation that he could drop out any day, hand-wringing about how badly he’ll lose if he doesn’t drop out…etc?

The press went full blast on Biden dropping out immediately after one debate where he seemed a bit sleep-deprived. But has Biden •ever• had a public appearance as disastrous as the one Trump just had?

So the press will be going full blast on Trump dropping out now, right?

Reputable news outlets are obviously neutral and objective, right? That means the same objective standards for all politicians!

There are Republican officials endorsing Harris now! How many Democratic officials endorsed Trump before, say, the NYT called for Biden to drop out? Oh, that’s right: zero! So obviously now they need to go in depth on the possibility of Trump dropping out. That’s just balanced coverage.

Replies ask: Who would replace Trump? What other Republican could win nationally? What other Republican could possibly unite the party?!

Hey folks, guess what: unless you’re a Republican, you don’t have to worry about it! The press had no answers when they called for Biden to drop out, and they don’t need any now to call from Trump to drop out!

“But wait,” the press cries, “no Republicans are actually calling for Trump to drop out!” Well not •publicly•, duh. But are you sure nobody’s wishing it in •private•? Really? I mean, come on.

Basically nobody in the establishment was publicly calling for Biden to drop out either, at least not when the press went after the idea like a kitten chasing a laser pointer. Good news: that doesn’t need to stop you! You can endlessly •speculate• about it until somebody does come out of the woodwork!

Objective journalism means objective standards!

How far behind was Biden in the polls when the press started their broken record “Will Biden drop out??” coverage going day after day after day? (The answer is “mostly tied within the margin of error.”) So obviously when Trump trails by the same margin, the press has to give him the exact same treatment. Otherwise it’s imbalanced. That’s just science, isn’t it?

“But PAAAAAULL,” you cry, “none of that is how journalism works!”

Well gosh, that’s what I thought too about when the press was bird-dogging Biden, but apparently all this is exactly how the press works. That is unless of course they’re straight-up campaigning for Trump. But we all know the press would never!

In the interest of balance and journalistic integrity, I warmly encourage you to pester the crap out of your favorite US national news outlet about all of the above.

See, @lolgop gets it
https://journa.host/@lolgop/112884164483192761

Jennifer Rubin gets it too (via @GottaLaff):

https://mastodon.social/@GottaLaff/112887118936980127

It seems emptywheel is also wondering when exactly the press will apply their objective, unbiased reporting principles and trumpet the many, many possibly hypothetical calls for Trump to drop out (via @wdlindsy):

“Outlets like the NYT have largely memory holed what a shit show [Trump’s press conference] was.

“In response to Joe Biden’s similarly awful performance at the debate, the NYT dedicated weeks to demanding he drop out.

“Not Trump.”

https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/112934070936328080

Amid cratering support, key Trump supporters call for campaign overhaul, privately pressure him to drop out

[…is the headline the NYT would print if they had consistent editorial standards]:
https://bird.makeup/users/davetroy/statuses/1821936003529015653

I am completely confident that the US press will now begin doling out the hacked material to the public piece by piece, keeping this story alive over a period of weeks and months, fostering all sorts of wild speculation about the internal corruption and sinister machinations of the Trump campaign while implying the campaign is incompetent and possibly in violation of the law for having been hacked — as we all know is standard journalistic practice in this situation:
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/10/trump-campaign-hack-00173503

We now have confirmation that both the NYT and WaPo have received the hacked materials. That means the clock is ticking for them to follow their own precedent and start doling out the juicy tidbits as news. Neutrality demands it, after all!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/12/trump-hacking-documents-iran

Re the post upthread, Brian Beutler lays it out in embarrassingly (for the press) stark terms. Here’s what Dean Baquet of the NYT said in 2016:

“When we learn important things, to not publish is a political act. The calculation cannot be, we’re just not going to publish because that would screw up American politics. You know, at that point, I will go into business as like a campaign adviser to people and not as a journalist.”

But now…

Via @KimPerales:
https://toad.social/@KimPerales/112955020756990724

Meanwhile, behind closed doors inside the Republican Party, pressure grows for Trump to drop out

Presumably

And shouldn’t the press be frothing and speculating endlessly about it? Because that’s how journalism is done, apparently

https://mastodon.social/@gulovsen/112969298089669701

Don’t tell me there isn’t a single person, not a one, somewhere in the Republican Party machine who’s privately wishing for a different candidate right now.

This is totally absent in press coverage: not hinted at, not murmured about, not quoted anonymously on background, not echoed by very serious columnists, not amplified, not manifested. And that contrast to 2 months ago is damning.

The ongoing trickle of replies to this whole thread along the lines of “well the Republicans would never •actually• replace Trump” and “whose mind would that change?” are totally missing the assignment here.

“Even his most ardent base checked out after an hour, streaming out of the sparsley-populated auditorium, as he rambled incoherently past the hour mark.”

Gosh, how many of those Republicans “streaming out” wish they had a better candidate? Kind of wish Trump would just drop out?

You don’t know until you ask, my dear pressfolk! Chase them to the local diner! Fish for quotes until you get a juicy one! I know you know how this works: you did it with Biden.

From @wdlindsy:
https://toad.social/@wdlindsy/112985066165436592

Trump campaign desperately tries to paint president as cognitively competent, as his campaign is dogged by relentless press coverage of business leaders “startled by his inability keep a straight thought”

Just kidding

That happened, but the press dropped this story and wandered off because they were covering Biden, and the only person talking about it is Trump. #uspol

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-mental-fitness/

At long last, the NYT •finally• picks up the thundering chorus of concern about Trump’s obvious cognitive incompetence…

…by writing an embarrassingly credulous piece about how Trump’s mental state is just fine, citing as its source — wait for it — Trump:

#uspol From @melaniesill:
https://mastodon.social/@melaniesill/113064155459794604

Greg Sargent takes out his scalpel and, dissection by dissection, goes on an absolute •rampage• about the MSM’s failure to cover Trump’s mental unfitness:

#uspol ht @heidilifeldman:
https://mastodon.social/@heidilifeldman/113088116943693781

Sargent takes headlines about Biden pre-dropout, flips them to refer to Trump — basically what I'm doing upthread — and then asks:

❝ Are these headlines really stretches, based on all we’ve seen? I submit that they are not. … How often do you see headlines like this? Why don’t we see more of them? ❞

❝ This argument has never received an even remotely serious hearing from newsroom leaders at big media organizations. ❞

You’re damn right, Greg.

#uspol https://newrepublic.com/article/185622/finally-top-journo-erupts-media-ignoring-trumps-mental-state

“Wait, you're still keeping this megathread going, Paul?”

THE MEGATHREAD WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS NECESSARY

Trump just had the worst single day in a US presidential general election since…gosh…when?? He is a humiliation — not just a bad candidate, but mentally and emotionally incompetent.

Where is the mainstream coverage of that decline?

Where is the mainstream coverage of the behind-the-scenes effort to replace him?

Come to think of it, where are his hacked emails? Press has 'em!

I am again tapping the sign:

Don’t tell me there isn’t a single person, not a one, somewhere in the Republican Party machine who’s privately wishing for a different candidate right now.

This is totally absent in press coverage: not hinted at, not murmured about, not quoted anonymously on background, not echoed by Serious Columnists, not amplified, not manifested.

I mean, Dick Cheney endorsed her, for god’s sake. Dick Cheney!! Yet…zero speculation about palace intrigue to yeet Trump.

At this point, politicians are just openly trolling the mainstream media for their unwillingness to apply their own standards. Good for Moskowitz.

(Update: this is not an endorsement of the guy in general; I know nothing about him.)

From @lovelylovely:
https://masto.ai/@lovelylovely/113121331358166465

My dear political pressitarians, you don't even have to •find• these people in the Republican machine desperately trying behind the scenes to replace Trump. You just have •speculate• about them!

Again, we all know you know how this works. You did it with Biden.