The media’s latest Trump dilemma: How to cover a president who accuses his predecessor of treason?
What should the media do when the sitting U.S. president accuses a former U.S. president of treason?
That’s what happened this week when President Donald Trump alleged, with zero proof, that former President Barack Obama tried to rig the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
The outrageous claim seemed obvious in its intent: to distract Americans from the Jeffrey Epstein story. And yet, Trump’s claims were enough to draw a response from Obama’s office, which said, “Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
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News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.
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As newsrooms struggle with rickety business models and precarious finances — as well as new technologies — they are deploying an array of editorial responses.
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