Dear Trump: The media is biased, but you’re not helping

Fact: President Obama was beloved by the media and therefore didn’t experience the same level of scrutiny as President Trump. (CNN’s Jake Tapper reinforced this in a recent article for Rolling Stone.)

Fact: Despite his uphill battle, President Trump is still his own worst enemy.

On Saturday, we watched as Trump betrayed his brand and vaguely denounced the perpetrators of horrific events in Charlottesville, Va. The ambiguity was strange because he’s spent much of his career, both in Hollywood and politics, naming names without apology. Just ask Mitch McConnell, who was called out by Trump last week without hesitation.

The Trump brand that many have come to know and love is largely defined by his willingness to call out by name those who disappoint him. Which means his inability or refusal to do so on Saturday speaks louder than the sound bites on repeat in the mainstream media. Sorry, but the “I didn’t have all the facts” excuse doesn’t hold up, because he has never required all the facts before attacking someone.

It seems his staff recognized the wrongdoing and forced him to correct it, which is why we watched Trump step behind the mic again on Monday to make another statement.

True, he called out the groups responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, but everyone agrees that the 48-hour delay only cheapened his sentiment. If GOP senators were willing to name names on Saturday, certainly Trump could have too.

Finally, we come to Tuesday’s presser. It started with infrastructure and ended in frustration. President Trump made another statement about Charlottesville that erased Monday’s statement and reinforced Saturday’s, and then went off script and took questions.

You only need to look so far as the expressions on his staff’s faces to know this wasn’t planned. His combative style mixed with stats about “fake news” turned an event that was supposed to be forward thinking about the president’s agenda to a narrative that the media will continue to circulate.

So, how can Trump win (or at least stop losing) this unfair fight? Here are a couple suggestions.

First, he has to be consistent. His tell-it-like-it is style can’t only make an appearance when it seems convenient. Not everyone appreciates the Trump brand, but people expect it. As we saw this week, people question his sincerity when he deviates from it.

And second, stop the race to the bottom with reporters. The media will never be fair, and there’s nothing he can do to change that. What Trump must learn is that Americans prefer he not tackle reporters, but instead tackle the issues.

Beverly Hallberg (@BevHallberg) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is president of District Media Group.

If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.