David Frum, a senior editor at The Atlantic, lectured Americans on Sunday to be more informed after a recent study revealed almost three-quarters of the country is growing weary of the fast-paced news cycle.
“If your child is feverishly ill, it can be very fatiguing to sit by her bedside and take care of her, but it’s what you do because that’s your duty,” Frum said during a panel discussion on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.” “If your country is ill, you have the same responsibility.”
Frum pushed back on the assertion of another panelist that news organizations should present information in a more palatable manner.
“In many ways, we got Donald Trump in the first place as a punishment for not being good enough citizens. And our ability to mitigate the harm he’s going to do to institutions, to alliances, to the security of the world will depend on our, as individuals, willingness to be better citizens in the future, and that means being informed citizens,” he continued.
.@davidfrum on grappling with “news fatigue:” “If your child is feverishly ill, it can be very fatiguing to… take care of her. But it’s what you do, because that’s your duty… [And] if your country is ill, you have the same responsibility.” https://t.co/gJp77cqZOm
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) June 10, 2018
The Pew Research Center survey, released Tuesday, found 68 percent of people “feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days.”
Frum, who was a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, also slammed Trump on Sunday for calling CNN “fake news” at a G-7 summit press conference in Canada.
“When the president does these things, he empowers every thug, every dictator around the planet,” he said.
Frum didn’t reserve his criticism for Trump. He threw shade at CNN host Brian Stelter for asking whether it was “appropriate” for reporters and commentators to be critical of Trump so close to his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I don’t even understand that question,” Frum said.
