Economist and liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman charged Monday that the news media helped ensure Hillary Clinton lost the election, and said reporters may soon go soft on President Trump.
In a series of Twitter messages on Monday, following the first White House press briefing, Krugman said it’s important for the press to scrutinize even what might be minor issues with the Trump administration, such as Sean Spicer’s claim over the weekend that attendance of his inauguration surpassed those of President Obama’s in 2009.
“Why is it important to keep pounding on Trump’s lies and infantile behavior? A lot has to do with the news media,” he said, before claiming that the media was unfairly hostile toward Clinton. “Let’s be honest: malfeasance by major news orgs put Trump within Putin-and-Comey reach of the White House. I’m referring to their decision — and it was a decision — to go light on Trump scandals while creating a haze of doubt around [Clinton].”
Now the big threat is that they’ll turn all deferential, and let this con man wrap himself in the majesty of office 4/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) January 23, 2017
Krugman said in another message, “Now the big threat is that [the media will] turn all deferential, and let this con man wrap himself in the majesty of office.”
Trump, however, has maintained that he does not get fair coverage from the national media. On Saturday, after meeting with CIA officials, he said he’s in “a running war with the media.”
