New Year’s resolutions are perfect for developing new and better habits in life and, as we head into 2020, I can’t think of anyone that could use them more than journalists in the national media.
For the media, 2019 has been nothing but unwarranted hysteria, melodrama, and, worst of all, cliches. With great hope for the New Year, here are three resolutions journalists and news anchors can make to be sure that 2020 isn’t a repeat of the same.
1. No more using Never Trumpers as authority figures on the White House or politics in general. There is no political faction in America less relevant today than the Never Trump crew. They got trounced in the last presidential election, and they are now basically Democrats who won’t commit to supporting anyone.
They’re about as useful as a comb in Rick Wilson’s pocket. Yet, CNN and MSNBC book them on every panel, as if their status as “Republicans” lends their opinion more weight. Their support wasn’t received by Trump in 2016, but Trump won without them. If you oppose the person your party elected as president, that means your opinion means less, not more.
In short, resolve to stop booking Wilson, Bret Stephens, Jennifer Rubin, Max Boot, etc.
2. Before declaring the latest constitutional crisis or threat to democracy, take a breath. The Washington Post on Sunday ran a column by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough under the headline, “Trump’s threat to democracy.” That goes nicely with the paper’s fairly recently adopted slogan, “Democracy dies in darkness.” Or the assertion in July 2016 by the Post’s editorial board that Trump is “a unique threat to American democracy.”
The apocalypse is always near, like those doomsday prophecies that have yet to fulfill themselves. But not everything is scary. The media could resolve to relax a little.
3. Think up new ways to say that Trump has finally met his end, if you must. For two years we endured the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian election interference, and that meant two years of hearing that “the noose was tightening,” “the walls were closing in,” and that the country was “at a turning point.” There was also the Stormy Daniels scandal, a story we were told was “not going to go away.” You might remember that one — or you might not.
Now he’s been impeached, yet his approval rating has ticked up since October, when the Democrats’ effort at impeachment began. He polls better than Democrats in swing states. Trump has as good a chance at reelection in 2020 as any incumbent before him. For the New Year, then, the media could resolve to get creative with how they characterize Trump’s certain political end. Or, better yet, maybe just stop anticipating it all together.
