It’s way too early to talk about the 2024 presidential campaign, but it cannot be staved off, any more than you can stop Jim Acosta from yelling. Liberals already are alarmed at the Republican press strategy.
New York magazine posted David Freedlander’s article “Why Republicans Stopped Talking to the Press.” This headline is inaccurate, unless you think the liberal press is the only press. But it’s true that Republicans are wising up to the ardently editorializing, anti-“false balance” liberal press.
“I just don’t even see what the point is anymore,” said an adviser to one likely GOP aspirant, who requested anonymity to discuss strategy. “We know reporters always disagreed with the Republican Party, but it used to be you thought you could get a fair shake. Now every reporter, and every outlet, is just chasing resistance rage-clicks.”
Another consultant agreed, saying the rise of Twitter has given Republicans “a direct view into the id of every political reporter in America.”
Freedlander correctly deduces that sitting down with the “mainstream press” is now seen as “consorting with the enemy,” and their approval is the “political kiss of death.” See anchors like Jake Tapper asking Liz Cheney if she will run for president.
Liberals can be naturally bitter. “Fundamentally, they don’t want to have to defend Donald Trump and his falsehoods about the election,” said Jeremy Peters of The New York Times. That’s certainly true. It’s possible for a candidate to claim that Biden is the legitimate President, but the liberal media will undoubtedly want the race all about Trump and election denialism. Who could find this gauntlet productive?
A primary race should cause “Trump-skeptical” Republicans to be more aggressive in telling voters that Trump’s failure to concede defeat makes him unelectable, and dwelling in the past won’t lead to victory. There are many problems that the country has faced, including inflation and immigration as well as crime.
Try to picture another John Harwood-style moderator leading a Republican discussion. All Republicans turned against Harwood in 2015 because of his apparent bias. This is why the Republican National Committee rightly signaled it wouldn’t submit to another cycle of abuse from the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Instead, it’s a commonly held Republican belief that a hit piece from the liberal media is much better than a puff piece. Take CBS’s “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi harassing Ron DeSantis about his COVID response at a press conference as part of their hit piece. After Steve Kroft had lobbied over Barack Obama so many time, they created a slobbery DVD.
Last weekend, “mainstream” reporters complained about lack of access to the “Sunshine Summit” thrown by Florida Republicans. My message is that they should try to cry about it. Go to kickboxing, and then have a margarita.” Christina Pushaw, DeSantis spokesperson on Twitter mockingly quoted Jen Psaki’s comment earlier. “And you write the exact same hit piece as what you planned.”
There are many right-leaning sites, podcasts, talk shows and podcasts. Why shouldn’t Republican candidates be interviewed in hateful ways? Democrats don’t submit to Fox Newsmax or Fox. New York Post?
It is obvious that a Republican nominee will need more than Republican votes to broaden his press strategy once the general-election phase starts. However, Democrats must be forced to accept at least the same number of hostile debate moderators or interviewers in every presidential race as Republicans.
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