The Media Faces a Test—and Is Already Failing

The first thing I saw on my phone this morning when I awoke at 5:45 a.m. was a push alert from The New York Times announcing that Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race put the U.S. “on the edge of a more authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its history.”

The language made my stomach sink. Not because the Times is wrong. One could argue that the Times was making a reasonable statement given everything Trump has said he intends to do.

But still, that word, authoritarian—pushed out from the Times to millions of people—set what I fear will be the tone in coverage from some of the world’s most important publications the next year and beyond: It says resistance. The headline on the site emphasized Trump’s “dark and defiant” campaign.