There is a tendency within Republican circles to view the mainstream media as not just hostile on occasion, but constantly at war with the citizens of our country. It’s no wonder that this mindset is popular.
Just last year, President Trump labeled multiple news outlets as the “enemy of the American people.” Last month, after meeting with Kim Jong Un, the president declared that our nation’s greatest enemy isn’t a foreign power headed by a totalitarian madman, but “fake news.” And earlier in July, after the Helsinki Summit with Vladimir Putin, the president once again proclaimed the “real enemy of the people” is the media.
This behavior, although amusing to staunch supporters and applauded by those who despise the obvious leftist hold on the news, is a problem.
On Wednesday, CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins, a pool reporter at the White House, was banned from an open event that all others in that press corps would be able to attend. The reason was retaliatory in nature. Collins had shouted out questions to the president concerning Michael Cohen, Vladimir Putin, etc., and the administration found this to be unacceptable. The White House can be uncomfortable with her lines of questioning but the move they made in barring her from attending a press event was entirely incorrect. Even Bret Baier, from competing network FOX News, took umbrage with the decision to deny access.
Routinely, the president will single out CNN as particularly despicable. Although these evaluations are presented in a juvenile manner, there is certainly a measure of truth to them. There is little evenhandedness in the way organizations like CNN deliver the news. The bias is extreme. If you compare reporting done on this president to that of his predecessor, the difference is stark. A leftist narrative is a running theme throughout panel discussions, interviews, prime-time shows, and even advertising on the network. However, the truth of the current news arena should not lead to the sort of treatment Collins received.
The main reason, of course, has to do with supporting the press in general and their free and open access to any administration. They have a duty to supply information to the public, and their role is a critical one. In turn, the public has the freedom to choose which outlets they would like to frequent to obtain information. Cutting off access to a reporter based on some sort of personal grievance is not a positive development and should never be supported.
Those of us on the Right have been outraged when similar crackdowns or targeting happened in the past. We should also have a problem now when a Republican president holds the reins of power. Otherwise, it is nothing but blinding inconsistency.
There is a near-complete failure by many supporters of the current administration to see the big picture. At most, Trump will be president for six more years, after which control of the White House may go to the other party. Regardless of who is sworn in next, the standard of behavior expected of a president should not change with each successive administration. But unfortunately, reaction to said behavior is colored by political party and not viewed through the lens of whether an individual action is right or wrong.
It is repulsive partisanship that said ridicule of first lady Michelle Obama’s appearance was wrong but similarly unjust criticisms of Melania Trump should be allowed. That same outlook that sought to shield minor first daughters Malia and Sasha Obama from derision has been disregarded by those who have willingly mocked Barron Trump. In the same vein, partisanship is also to blame for approving the exclusion of Collins from a White House press event. Such a decision would be rightly condemned if former President Barack Obama were still in office.
What will happen when the next left-leaning president excludes a right-leaning member of the press pool because of a grudge? If that happens, and it’s likely, our political opponents could turn around and simply say, “You started it.” And they would be correct.
While “owning the Libs” may be the GOP addiction of the moment, it does nothing to advance what’s right nor does it set a level of consistency that we demand from the other side. If we want to decrease partisanship, we can’t wait on our adversaries; we have to start with us.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a senior contributor at RedState.com.
