President Trump held a post-election press conference, which had some presidential tip of the hat moments praising presumptive Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Oprah Winfrey for their hard work on the campaign trail.
Then there were some less presidential moments, especially after Trump dumped on Republican members of Congress who failed to win re-election like Reps. Mia Love, R-Utah, Peter Roskam, R-Ill., Mike Coffman, R-Colo., and Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla.
“Mia Love gave me no love,” Trump said. “And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that Mia.”
But nothing could possibly top Trump’s ongoing war with the media. Enter CNN’s Jim Acosta asking Trump about the migrant caravan and then trying to wrestle the microphone from a White House intern in an attempt to get in a follow-up question.
“You are a rude, terrible person,” Trump said to Acosta.
NBC’s Peter Alexander defended Acosta, prompting Trump to say, “Well, I’m not a big fan of yours either.”
Acosta’s gamble to keep the microphone led to his “hard pass” access to the White House being revoked.
What we saw there between Trump, Acosta, and Alexander is evidence of Jon Stewart’s recent point about media personalities having a narcissism problem.
When Stewart was being interviewed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, he noted that journalists take everything that Trump says too personally.
“Journalists have taken it personally,” Stewart noted. “They’re personally wounded and offended by this man. He baits them and they dive in. What he’s done well, I thought, is appeal to their own narcissism, to their own ego.”
In an effort to embarrass Trump with questions about the migrant caravan or the Mueller probe, Trump basically posterizes Acosta with an Earth-shattering dunk. It’s a made-for-TV moment that only Trump can create, and he’s only going to get a pat on the back from his base.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Members in the media certainly have a duty to report the news, fact check, and push back on politicians, but Trump constantly sets up this trap for them. And they keep falling for it.
