President Obama on Monday delivered a stinging rebuke of the campaign reporting that has allowed Donald Trump to receive nearly $2 billion worth of free media since last summer, without allowing for a critical assessment of Trump’s policy positions.
Obama was speaking at a ceremony in Washington to honor Robin Toner, a New York Times reporter who died in 2008, and while he didn’t mention Trump by name, he offered an indirect critique of Trump, who has received far more free media than any other candidate this cycle, and is the only one to have received more than $1 billion worth of free press.
The voting public would be “better served if billions in free media came with serious accountability, especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they can’t keep, and there are reporters here who know they can’t keep them,” Obama said.
Obama then implied that Trump can’t really deliver on anything he’s promising, and said some in the press are helping to create the impression that he can.
“When people put their faith in someone who can’t possibly deliver on his or her promises, that only breeds more cynicism,” Obama said.
Obama again bemoaned the state of the 2016 campaign, comments he’s made before in recent weeks. He encouraged reporters to do their best to keep candidates honest.
“When our elected officials and our political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations,” he said.
