Margaret, your point and suggestions are excellent. But it's been more than a decade of lies, pointless rambling, childish insults, and imagined successes and the legacy media hasn't changed. The Times, WSJ and others seem to be writing for themselves or other journalists rather than for readers.
Thanks, Gary, and to all the thoughtful commenters here. To those who say I give you hope, that’s a huge boost. And back at you all! I read every comment.
For a much clearer, contextual take on "Trump's claims" and "Trump's words", try this from the brilliant, no-holds-barred Jennifer Rubin:
"We need less sane washing, more explanation of Iran’s surprising resilience/determination to wait us out, and increased attention to Trump’s serious mental deterioration, emotional unraveling, and incapacity to make rational decisions."
The word “surprising” is interesting here. Surprising to whom? The Regime? Anyone listening to Malcolm Nance and his colleagues’ livestream the past 38 days wouldn’t be surprised at all. Every morning they break down what is going on and reveal the humiliating hubris of our thick-headed leadership.
They do write for themselves. They write so they dont lose access. That is what it is all about. Even though they dont ask tough questions with that access
Another key piece of reporting might focus on Republicans in Congress and how they support and justify Trump at this point. Perhaps they will stick with "no comment" or "I haven't seen it," but every refusal or justification should be reported to as many people as will pay attention so that the Republican cowardice and shame cannot be missed.
For years, journalists have been making politicians sound better. It's in our blood to mix direct quotes with summaries of rambling speeches, and to try to make some sense out of nonsense. So we were not prepared for Trump. What we should do now is simply report what he says. No descriptions from us. Print the commentary separately. The best coverage of Trump has been The Daily Show. Not the satire, simply showing us the unedited footage of his speeches.
Not prepared- the first time? When his lies were counted nonetheless, and we've lost even that. Agree, use direct transcripts not interpretations or corrections.
Thank you, Margaret. You provide an important service for your readers.
But I hope you're also helping major U.S. media outlets. I know some of their staff and editors read your posts, and perhaps they dip into the comments as well, where people like me often talk about our profound disappointment with how they're meeting this moment.
I speak as someone who is a longtime subscriber to the NY Times and a now ex-subscriber to the Washington Post.
I don't know that Rupar would be interested, but why wouldn't an outlet like the NY Times give him a platform to do his detailed coverage of this administration? Rupar is the guy I go to so I can avoid watching Trump's meandering drivel or Hegsteth's preening. I get key clips of the madness along with terse commentary.
As Rupar says, “It’s really difficult to cover him in a way that conveys how unhinged he is,” says Rupar. “That’s kind of how people are trained to do political journalism. It’s like, ‘OK, what did he say that was newsworthy, what’s new?’ So you kind of pick up those things and convey them to your audience. But in reality, when you actually watch his rallies, you see that they’re full of hatred, he’s lying constantly, and a lot of it is incoherent.”
Completely agree. In this short-attention-span theater of the absurd, people flock to Aaron Rupar's Bluesky feed for clips of the insanity. I certainly do, although I read the NY Times, Boston Globe, Guardian, and various independent newsletters too. I also go to the various Bulwark and Pod Save YouTube videos, among others. I know it's not journalism, but traditional outlets could take a page from the nightly Colbert and Kimmel monologues as well. Whatever it takes to get the point in this incredibly dangerous time with a lunatic and his pathetic ass kissers calling the shots.
People may find this hard to believe but Morning Joe has not been pulling any punches. The show has been blistering in their criticisms of Trump and his enablers and have been for a long time. They also have ex-military leaders participating in these discussions who are equally harsh in their criticisms of Trump’s insane, dangerous behavior, illlegal actions. This morning there was a long discussion about Vance campaigning for Orban and Orban’s close ties to Russia.
I’ve seen two comments on social media that pretty well describe how it feels to be an American at the moment.
The first stated that this man is “a clear & present danger to all of us. We are his hostages.”
The second described the current situation as akin to “being in the back seat of a car with a drunk driver at the wheel.”
I’m old enough to remember the threshold when watergate reached its peak and a firm consensus emerged that Nixon had to step down. As trump explicitly threatens war crimes on Iran, we have more than reached this point.
Thank you, as always, Margaret for spelling out so clearly what’s wrong with the picture our media is providing.
The contrast to Watergate, where the press and the Republicans in the Senate converged to take Nixon down, and today, where we’re so far beyond even Nixon in terms of the press (hope someone heeds Margaret’s wise words) and the Republicans are either too terrified or actually approve of what Trump is doing, is indelible. I never thought I would think of August, 1974, as “the good old days,” it felt to a 17 year old as if there was nothing to believe in any longer. Now this? Let’s not be hostages, let’s find a way to take control of this car.
Thank you for this excellently argued post. I thought Reuters, my former employer, did a rather good job at the top of their story. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-says-us-will-target-irans-infrastructure-tuesday-2026-04-05/ But I would've added a paragraph after the full quote of his "Truth", indicating how radically unpresidential the statement was, using some quotes from critics to convey the gravity of this vulgarisation of public discourse, not to mention the casual reference to actions that could amount to war crimes. I do not think the use of "emphatic language" or "strong language" - as used by several outlets - is accurate - in fact, my reading of the "Truth" was the opposite: this was the language of the chronically insecure, a man on the ropes, trying to bluster his way out of a fight he has realised he cannot win. Thank you.
Margaret, thanks for your news and views, and free access. Many cannot afford to cross paywalls but still deserve access. Please keep publishing the truth as you see it.
Hear! Hear! I do appreciate your well thought articles Margaret and seriously appreciate your lowered paywall for those of us who appreciate the work but who find ourselves in an economic bind. Better yet, why not add a BUY ME A COFFEE button for when we feel like we have a bit to spare? I’ve seen it now on a couple of other sites. Just a thought.
I think that the NYT is complicit in his dangerous and criminal actions by not calling them out in the most direct and impactful way. A long time NYT supporter and believer, I now have no trust that they are reporting the truth.
I feel the same way about NYT. I actually emailed Sam Sifton (editor of the Morning newsletter) with a concern about the way he summarized one of the topics similar to today's. I was surprised that he emailed me back the same day. However, my concern was pretty much dismissed and he defended the NYT coverage and his account of it. Nothing will change there.
After subscribing for years, I dropped the NYT in January because I couldn't tolerate the sane-washing, both-siderism, and the nonsense opinion pieces that appeared far too often. I still look at their headlines but can't read anything and periodically I do see an article on art, theatre, politics that I'd like to read but then I invariably see a ridiculously worded headline or a story that I know will be a puff piece on some despicable being and I don't hit the button to re-subscribe. I'm sticking with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Guardian and the BBC and substack for news and never miss the Daily Show, Colbert, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, and Nicole Wallace.
Great column! About that New York Times front page...I noticed something I wrote about in my Substack:
The once-unprintable word appears twice on the front page of the Old Gray Lady, although the print edition leaves one “fucking” in and substitutes this in the second:
“He cursed, mentioned Hell again and said “Praise be to Allah.”
Someone must have thought that two direct quotes was too fucking much for print.
Until someone from the “mainstream media” (or any “media”) actually stands up in a presser with Trump, and flat out asks him : WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? , they will continue to fail, flail & flounder. Danny Kemp, AFP White House Correspondent (Formerly The Hague) actually opened the door yesterday and asked Trump directly about his mental health.
Green shoots, perhaps?
IMO - mainstream media is dying. I’m 65, I don’t watch cable news (other than the financial stuff), I canceled my subscription to the NYT & WaPo, the national evening news is a waste of time & nothing but pharma commercials. I subscribe to independent writers on Substack & the Bulwark, where I learn more on issues.
I for one would like the White House press corps, Fox “News” and other mealy-mouthed media fact distorters and liars to also be asked emphatically, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??” The mainstream press is supposed to be an important part of the maintenance of our liberty, and they have been failing us even longer than Trump and his stooges and fools have. They greatly helped make him electable.
It seems nobody pays any attention to MSM anymore, except I suppose those brainwashed by the Fox Propaganda Network. You're absolutely right that we can learn so much about reality from the independents on Substack and the Bulwark and may I add The Guardian,of course. Margaret Sullivan is a beacon.
But. Since actually hardly anybody reads anything at all, let's be candid, I believe it is time to use lighted billboards across the country. The DNC and its donors have plenty of cash. They need to spend it smarter.
If I'm not mistaken, he was asked in a recent press conference about mental fitness for office. Not that the answer was in any ordinary sense intelligible as I recall.
A recent poll showed that an alarmingly large percentage of Americans believe Iran already has a nuclear weapon and believe the years of rhetoric that Iran does pose a threat to the US, a story Israel has been peddling for decades. This has come from Democrats (including Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton) and Republicans and the mainstream media has echoed the lies. The war coverage has been typically abysmal. Any mention of negotiations should include the fact high up that twice Trump used negotiations as a ruse to murder the negotiators. Stories about the “ extreme, ruthless regime” of Khameini should note he issued a fatwa forbidding the development of a nuclear weapon and that Trump threw out the nuclear agreement simply because Obama negotiated it. All stories should note that Trump’s whining about the closing of the Strait of Hormuz comes after he’s the idiot responsible for closing it and it remains open, just not to us or our allies. TV news does an abysmal job normalizing Trump. All media fall for story of the rescued airman without reporting that the Pentagon is constantly lying about facts on the ground. I agree that all congress members should be forced on the record to give their opinion of Trump’s mental fitness. I have protested several times in the streets and I have emailed, visited and repeatedly called my representatives and other representatives and I see a murderous, dying fascist regime (meaning us) bewitched by Israel and hungry for oil and apparently just fine with committing war crimes as a propagandized populace waves the flag and sings the anthem. Iran is a beautiful country with a very long history, a country of 92 million people, and it is about to meet the fate of Gaza, a genocide committed by the US and Israel and normalized by the media.
Andy Borowitz had a very incisive piece about Trump's post, arguing Trump himself couldn't possibly have written it based on a close analysis of the actual words. He notes Trump has never spelled "strait" correctly, or correctly used an apostrophe to indicate a dropped letter - as in "fuckin.'" While Borowitz doesn't claim to know who wrote it, he makes a convincing case it isn't Trump himself. Which only further indicates he - and the people around him - have gone stark raving mad.
This. Trump isn't writing these. The spelling is correct, the punctuation is good, minimal use of all caps. Nothing like Trump's old Twitter posts. This is, to me, the biggest story because someone else is writing in the name of the president of the United States, and we have no idea who.
We’ve passed the point of no return. “The media” seems more interested in generating revenue by hawking Amazon’s spring sales than in protecting democracy by exposing a senile tyrant and his sycophants.
I think the fault lies with the media's ownership. They're afraid of being attacked by Trump and his henchmen, being called "socialists" by other media, or feeling disdain from their billionaire pals. It's so depressing. Can you imagine any Ellison-owned medium having the courage to do any of your excellent suggestions? Let alone Bezos or Murdoch. They won't even show Trump's bruised and swollen hand. I had to read about it in the Hindustan Times.
Margaret, your point and suggestions are excellent. But it's been more than a decade of lies, pointless rambling, childish insults, and imagined successes and the legacy media hasn't changed. The Times, WSJ and others seem to be writing for themselves or other journalists rather than for readers.
Thanks, Gary, and to all the thoughtful commenters here. To those who say I give you hope, that’s a huge boost. And back at you all! I read every comment.
For a much clearer, contextual take on "Trump's claims" and "Trump's words", try this from the brilliant, no-holds-barred Jennifer Rubin:
"We need less sane washing, more explanation of Iran’s surprising resilience/determination to wait us out, and increased attention to Trump’s serious mental deterioration, emotional unraveling, and incapacity to make rational decisions."
https://www.contrariannews.org/p/words-and-phrases-4c5
The word “surprising” is interesting here. Surprising to whom? The Regime? Anyone listening to Malcolm Nance and his colleagues’ livestream the past 38 days wouldn’t be surprised at all. Every morning they break down what is going on and reveal the humiliating hubris of our thick-headed leadership.
They do write for themselves. They write so they dont lose access. That is what it is all about. Even though they dont ask tough questions with that access
Another key piece of reporting might focus on Republicans in Congress and how they support and justify Trump at this point. Perhaps they will stick with "no comment" or "I haven't seen it," but every refusal or justification should be reported to as many people as will pay attention so that the Republican cowardice and shame cannot be missed.
Agreed. Thanks.
For years, journalists have been making politicians sound better. It's in our blood to mix direct quotes with summaries of rambling speeches, and to try to make some sense out of nonsense. So we were not prepared for Trump. What we should do now is simply report what he says. No descriptions from us. Print the commentary separately. The best coverage of Trump has been The Daily Show. Not the satire, simply showing us the unedited footage of his speeches.
Agree. The Daily Show is essential viewing.
Most of the time I agree. But the cognitive dissonance of laughing in the context of the horrors of war can sometimes being jarring.
Not prepared- the first time? When his lies were counted nonetheless, and we've lost even that. Agree, use direct transcripts not interpretations or corrections.
Thank you, Margaret. You provide an important service for your readers.
But I hope you're also helping major U.S. media outlets. I know some of their staff and editors read your posts, and perhaps they dip into the comments as well, where people like me often talk about our profound disappointment with how they're meeting this moment.
I speak as someone who is a longtime subscriber to the NY Times and a now ex-subscriber to the Washington Post.
And now I'm back with some feedback about what MSM could do to step up in this moment, after reading the latest post from the indispensable Heather Cox Richardson, where she talks about Aaron Rupar and links to this recent story about him (https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/aaron-rupar-bluesky-twitter-trump-z02t3dxng).
I don't know that Rupar would be interested, but why wouldn't an outlet like the NY Times give him a platform to do his detailed coverage of this administration? Rupar is the guy I go to so I can avoid watching Trump's meandering drivel or Hegsteth's preening. I get key clips of the madness along with terse commentary.
As Rupar says, “It’s really difficult to cover him in a way that conveys how unhinged he is,” says Rupar. “That’s kind of how people are trained to do political journalism. It’s like, ‘OK, what did he say that was newsworthy, what’s new?’ So you kind of pick up those things and convey them to your audience. But in reality, when you actually watch his rallies, you see that they’re full of hatred, he’s lying constantly, and a lot of it is incoherent.”
What's new is he hasn't changed and is getting worse, which is the nature of dementia.
Completely agree. In this short-attention-span theater of the absurd, people flock to Aaron Rupar's Bluesky feed for clips of the insanity. I certainly do, although I read the NY Times, Boston Globe, Guardian, and various independent newsletters too. I also go to the various Bulwark and Pod Save YouTube videos, among others. I know it's not journalism, but traditional outlets could take a page from the nightly Colbert and Kimmel monologues as well. Whatever it takes to get the point in this incredibly dangerous time with a lunatic and his pathetic ass kissers calling the shots.
People may find this hard to believe but Morning Joe has not been pulling any punches. The show has been blistering in their criticisms of Trump and his enablers and have been for a long time. They also have ex-military leaders participating in these discussions who are equally harsh in their criticisms of Trump’s insane, dangerous behavior, illlegal actions. This morning there was a long discussion about Vance campaigning for Orban and Orban’s close ties to Russia.
Fourth. Quote those Republican leaders who are okay with this. Hold them accountable as well.
Definitely
That's almost all of them. We should particularly note Mike Johnson's and John Thune's support.
I’ve seen two comments on social media that pretty well describe how it feels to be an American at the moment.
The first stated that this man is “a clear & present danger to all of us. We are his hostages.”
The second described the current situation as akin to “being in the back seat of a car with a drunk driver at the wheel.”
I’m old enough to remember the threshold when watergate reached its peak and a firm consensus emerged that Nixon had to step down. As trump explicitly threatens war crimes on Iran, we have more than reached this point.
Thank you, as always, Margaret for spelling out so clearly what’s wrong with the picture our media is providing.
The contrast to Watergate, where the press and the Republicans in the Senate converged to take Nixon down, and today, where we’re so far beyond even Nixon in terms of the press (hope someone heeds Margaret’s wise words) and the Republicans are either too terrified or actually approve of what Trump is doing, is indelible. I never thought I would think of August, 1974, as “the good old days,” it felt to a 17 year old as if there was nothing to believe in any longer. Now this? Let’s not be hostages, let’s find a way to take control of this car.
Thank you for this excellently argued post. I thought Reuters, my former employer, did a rather good job at the top of their story. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-says-us-will-target-irans-infrastructure-tuesday-2026-04-05/ But I would've added a paragraph after the full quote of his "Truth", indicating how radically unpresidential the statement was, using some quotes from critics to convey the gravity of this vulgarisation of public discourse, not to mention the casual reference to actions that could amount to war crimes. I do not think the use of "emphatic language" or "strong language" - as used by several outlets - is accurate - in fact, my reading of the "Truth" was the opposite: this was the language of the chronically insecure, a man on the ropes, trying to bluster his way out of a fight he has realised he cannot win. Thank you.
Margaret, thanks for your news and views, and free access. Many cannot afford to cross paywalls but still deserve access. Please keep publishing the truth as you see it.
You have 20-20 vision.
Will do! Much appreciated.
Hear! Hear! I do appreciate your well thought articles Margaret and seriously appreciate your lowered paywall for those of us who appreciate the work but who find ourselves in an economic bind. Better yet, why not add a BUY ME A COFFEE button for when we feel like we have a bit to spare? I’ve seen it now on a couple of other sites. Just a thought.
I think that the NYT is complicit in his dangerous and criminal actions by not calling them out in the most direct and impactful way. A long time NYT supporter and believer, I now have no trust that they are reporting the truth.
I feel the same way about NYT. I actually emailed Sam Sifton (editor of the Morning newsletter) with a concern about the way he summarized one of the topics similar to today's. I was surprised that he emailed me back the same day. However, my concern was pretty much dismissed and he defended the NYT coverage and his account of it. Nothing will change there.
I also wrote them a letter and got a half-assed, defensive, generic response.
After subscribing for years, I dropped the NYT in January because I couldn't tolerate the sane-washing, both-siderism, and the nonsense opinion pieces that appeared far too often. I still look at their headlines but can't read anything and periodically I do see an article on art, theatre, politics that I'd like to read but then I invariably see a ridiculously worded headline or a story that I know will be a puff piece on some despicable being and I don't hit the button to re-subscribe. I'm sticking with the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Guardian and the BBC and substack for news and never miss the Daily Show, Colbert, Lawrence O'Donnell, Rachel Maddow, and Nicole Wallace.
Great column! About that New York Times front page...I noticed something I wrote about in my Substack:
The once-unprintable word appears twice on the front page of the Old Gray Lady, although the print edition leaves one “fucking” in and substitutes this in the second:
“He cursed, mentioned Hell again and said “Praise be to Allah.”
Someone must have thought that two direct quotes was too fucking much for print.
https://williamklein.substack.com/p/the-new-york-times-s-up?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Ha! Yes.
Until someone from the “mainstream media” (or any “media”) actually stands up in a presser with Trump, and flat out asks him : WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? , they will continue to fail, flail & flounder. Danny Kemp, AFP White House Correspondent (Formerly The Hague) actually opened the door yesterday and asked Trump directly about his mental health.
Green shoots, perhaps?
IMO - mainstream media is dying. I’m 65, I don’t watch cable news (other than the financial stuff), I canceled my subscription to the NYT & WaPo, the national evening news is a waste of time & nothing but pharma commercials. I subscribe to independent writers on Substack & the Bulwark, where I learn more on issues.
I for one would like the White House press corps, Fox “News” and other mealy-mouthed media fact distorters and liars to also be asked emphatically, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??” The mainstream press is supposed to be an important part of the maintenance of our liberty, and they have been failing us even longer than Trump and his stooges and fools have. They greatly helped make him electable.
It seems nobody pays any attention to MSM anymore, except I suppose those brainwashed by the Fox Propaganda Network. You're absolutely right that we can learn so much about reality from the independents on Substack and the Bulwark and may I add The Guardian,of course. Margaret Sullivan is a beacon.
But. Since actually hardly anybody reads anything at all, let's be candid, I believe it is time to use lighted billboards across the country. The DNC and its donors have plenty of cash. They need to spend it smarter.
If I'm not mistaken, he was asked in a recent press conference about mental fitness for office. Not that the answer was in any ordinary sense intelligible as I recall.
A recent poll showed that an alarmingly large percentage of Americans believe Iran already has a nuclear weapon and believe the years of rhetoric that Iran does pose a threat to the US, a story Israel has been peddling for decades. This has come from Democrats (including Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton) and Republicans and the mainstream media has echoed the lies. The war coverage has been typically abysmal. Any mention of negotiations should include the fact high up that twice Trump used negotiations as a ruse to murder the negotiators. Stories about the “ extreme, ruthless regime” of Khameini should note he issued a fatwa forbidding the development of a nuclear weapon and that Trump threw out the nuclear agreement simply because Obama negotiated it. All stories should note that Trump’s whining about the closing of the Strait of Hormuz comes after he’s the idiot responsible for closing it and it remains open, just not to us or our allies. TV news does an abysmal job normalizing Trump. All media fall for story of the rescued airman without reporting that the Pentagon is constantly lying about facts on the ground. I agree that all congress members should be forced on the record to give their opinion of Trump’s mental fitness. I have protested several times in the streets and I have emailed, visited and repeatedly called my representatives and other representatives and I see a murderous, dying fascist regime (meaning us) bewitched by Israel and hungry for oil and apparently just fine with committing war crimes as a propagandized populace waves the flag and sings the anthem. Iran is a beautiful country with a very long history, a country of 92 million people, and it is about to meet the fate of Gaza, a genocide committed by the US and Israel and normalized by the media.
Andy Borowitz had a very incisive piece about Trump's post, arguing Trump himself couldn't possibly have written it based on a close analysis of the actual words. He notes Trump has never spelled "strait" correctly, or correctly used an apostrophe to indicate a dropped letter - as in "fuckin.'" While Borowitz doesn't claim to know who wrote it, he makes a convincing case it isn't Trump himself. Which only further indicates he - and the people around him - have gone stark raving mad.
This. Trump isn't writing these. The spelling is correct, the punctuation is good, minimal use of all caps. Nothing like Trump's old Twitter posts. This is, to me, the biggest story because someone else is writing in the name of the president of the United States, and we have no idea who.
Yeah, I read that post and thought that the sentiments, if not the diction, had to have come from Hegseth rather than Trump.
We’ve passed the point of no return. “The media” seems more interested in generating revenue by hawking Amazon’s spring sales than in protecting democracy by exposing a senile tyrant and his sycophants.
I think the fault lies with the media's ownership. They're afraid of being attacked by Trump and his henchmen, being called "socialists" by other media, or feeling disdain from their billionaire pals. It's so depressing. Can you imagine any Ellison-owned medium having the courage to do any of your excellent suggestions? Let alone Bezos or Murdoch. They won't even show Trump's bruised and swollen hand. I had to read about it in the Hindustan Times.
Yes, ownership is a huge factor.
Bravo to you for your courage and candor. Something must be done!