President Trump’s latest attack on Fox News is intellectually idiotic but also self-defeating.
That attack came in the form of a jab against “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier, for his moderating of a town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Fellow Fox News anchor Martha McCallum co-hosted the event with Baier.
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So weird to watch Crazy Bernie on @FoxNews. Not surprisingly, @BretBaier and the “audience” was so smiley and nice. Very strange, and now we have @donnabrazile?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2019
On the first point, the idiocy of Trump’s rebuke to Baier, a disclosure: I like Bret Baier and occasionally appear on “Special Report,” so I am biased here. Nevertheless, I think my point stands.
It stands, because Baier is a responsible, objective anchor. His interviews show a consistent design of extracting information and informing viewers. Trump seems simply to be angry that Baier’s reporting offers facts and analysis rather than a paean to Trump or Trumpism. Regardless, it is unfitting for a president to lament fair reporting. Indeed, it undercuts Trump’s sometimes justified complaints about the biased media coverage he receives.
But Trump is also self-defeating when he laments the Fox News town hall itself. On the contrary, Trump should want Sanders to face as many serious interviews as possible.
Consider that Trump’s reelection campaign will fix on his presentation of capitalist policies versus the Democratic Party presidential nominee’s offering of socialist-inclined policies. And the facts of Trump’s economic growth, vast new investment in high-value sectors, booming employment among minority and low-skilled workers suggest capitalism ain’t so bad. The results of Trump’s economic policies suggest we should want more, not less of them.
On the flip side, Trump should want the most voters possible to see Sanders challenged fairly on his own pledges. Trump should want Sanders asked, as he was on Monday, about the impact of a wealth tax. He should want Sanders to be asked, as he was on Monday, why the senator dislikes an ideology that has allowed him and America to flourish via hard work. He should want Sanders to be asked, as he was on Monday, about the tax and personal choice consequences of his “Medicare for all” plan. He should want Sanders to be asked, as he was on Monday, about the morality of an ideology that promises much for many, but tends to deliver much misery.
In short, Trump should have a little more confidence in his own policies and in how voters will respond to those policies when presented with drastic alternatives. And he should stop whinging about good reporters doing their job well.
