New York Times columnist David Brooks said he will no longer write on the fleeting public musings of President-elect Trump and he said he wants others in the media to start doing the same.
In an op-ed published Tuesday morning, Brooks compared Trump’s oft-controversial social media habits to a carnival.
“The sad part is that so many people treat Trump’s tweets as if they are arguments when in fact they are carnival,” he said. “With their conniption fits, Trump’s responders feed into the dynamic he needs. They contribute to carnival culture.”
He said he would attempt to avoid considering Trump’s Twitter posts as newsworthy in and of themselves.
“This is a resolution I’m probably going to break, but I resolve to write about Trump only on the presidential level, not on the carnival level,” said Brooks. “I’m going to try to respond only to what he does, not what he says or tweets. I really wish some of my media confreres would do the same.”
Trump continued using Twitter — his personal account boasts some more than 20 million followers — after winning the election, weighing in on news of the day, making personnel announcements and to push back on negative news stories about him.
He said on Monday that he planned to keep using his personal account even after he’s inaugurated.
But some critics say that Trump’s tweets serve as a distraction and that the press should focus more on how he will govern and manage his administration.
“Listen, I’m not a news executive,” CNN anchor Don Lemon said in December. “But if I were, I would say I would not cover his tweets.”
