Posted on 01/21/2018 6:47:41 PM PST by Kaslin
During a debate about how important it was to listen to the views of average Trump voters on CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday, political commentator Jeff Greenfield noted that the outlet hyped the Russia investigation to the point where it seemed as though the President would be indicted at any second. This, as political commentator Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and former Hillary Clinton policy director, claimed that the media didn’t listen to the anti-Trump resistance enough.
Towards the end of their discussion, Greenfield was commenting on how many people listen to certain media outlets because it catered to what they wanted to hear. “And I was told it's like sinking into a nice warm bath. And I think on both sides of the divide, people are sinking into nice warm baths to reconfirm what they believe,” he explained.
He then suggested that CNN was one of those kinds of places where the anti-Trump could find some solace:
The idea that when I watch CNN sometimes, I think, I expect the indictment on Donald Trump to be imminent because the focus on Russian collusion and that issue is very strong. And if you turn on MSNBC, you're going to get pretty much a nightly dose of the prosecutor's case against Donald Trump.
Greenfield Admits CNN Acts Like Trump Indictment ‘Imminent’ In Russia Probe
Meanwhile, as Greenfield was admitting that CNN and other outlets cater to the anti-Trump crowd, Tanden was whining about how the liberal media wasn’t doing more to amplify the voices of liberals. “The majority in this country oppose Trump. It seems to me The New York Times or other sources could at least have equal expression for those voices,” she bemoaned.
Greenfield appeared shocked by Tanden’s ignorance of how The New York Times operated. “Well, if you are a regular reader of The New York Times, for the last two and a half years you have gotten a full dose of view that Donald Trump is hellaciously unfit to be president,” he stated. Greenfield made it obvious that he wasn’t a fan of Trump but noted that he recently wrote a piece sharing the views of those who supported the President.
Yet Tanden wouldn’t stop complaining about the “resistance” not getting covered enough:
I think the issue is: Does the mainstream media want to cover both of these voices, the people marching on the streets as well as the people who still support Donald Trump. I think both of those are reasonable. But when you have a variety of outlets that continue to go to the voices of one side, I think people -- liberals are legitimately asking questions about that.
It’s hilarious that Tanden could still claim that the media wasn’t supportive of anti-Trump forces when part of the conversation was about how it was a special event for The New York to have writers supporting Trump. And add to that Greenfield admitting that CNN was hyping a Trump indictment long before the conclusion of the special counsel probe.
The relevant portions of the transcript are below:
CNN
Reliable Sources
January 21, 2018
11:27:49 AM Eastern
BRIAN STELTER: “Are Trump supporters still supporting Trump?” This has been a frequent feature of news coverage for the past year. Focus groups, interview, panels, stories all about why Trump voters are still with him. And some liberals hate it. They hate it! They say reporters are wasting time talking to Trump supporters. That those voters are practically in a cult. That they’ve signed up with a race and never going to change. That's what liberal critics say. On the other side, there's concern these features sometimes treat voters like an exotic species. Like Trump supporters are like animals in a zoo.
(…)
STELTER: That's why The New York Times decision to devote Thursday's editorial page to letters from Trump supporters was such a big talker. There were all of these letters all across the page. It was a decision by the Times to want to hear those voices, and what did I see on social media? I saw a lot of people saying, “I don't want to hear it. I'm canceling my subscription. I can't take it anymore.” I think it’s worth talking about in more detail because it's been something that's come up, again and again, all year long.
(…)
NEERA TANDAN: I actually think it's fine to hear from Trump voters. I think the challenge is that we don't hear enough of the resistance. (…) The majority in this country oppose Trump. It seems to me The New York Times or other sources could at least have equal expression for those voices.
STELTER: Jeff, what do you think?
EFF GREENFIELD: Well, if you are a regular reader of The New York Times, for the last two and a half years you have gotten a full dose of view that Donald Trump is hellaciously unfit to be president. Just today, if you pick up the Times there is an editorial basically calling him out in harsh terms and at least four op-ed pieces in varying degrees saying that Trump is utterly unfit to be president. And I thought it was useful, for one day, for The New York Times to present views of people who say, “You know what? We know he has problems. But here's why we're for him.”
I always thought that one of the terrible mistakes of 2016 from the point of view of the Democrats was to kind of assume, and I think a lot in the press did too, that Trump so violated everything we thought about norms of the candidate that there was no chance he would be elected. And if you’re going to be serious about looking at the political terrain, it's important to know that there are people not imbued with nativist or racial grievance issues who see in Donald Trump a guy who's delivering for them. I just did a piece yesterday for PBS only talking with conservatives. Some of whom who have come to terms with Trump and say, “You know, he’s okay.” And some of whom are absolutely unremittingly against him on grounds of character. This is the kind of dialogue that I think we need.
(…)
TANDAN: I appreciate The New York Times editorial page is doing this, but it also needs-- other outlets need to do other voices as well.
(…)
TANDAN: I think the issue is: Does the mainstream media want to cover both of these voices, the people marching on the streets as well as the people who still support Donald Trump. I think both of those are reasonable. But when you have a variety of outlets that continue to go to the voices of one side, I think people -- liberals are legitimately asking questions about that.
STELTER: Jeff?
GREENFIELD: Well, I remember talking years ago to a United States senator who would go home and watch Keith Olbermann when he was on MSNBC beating up Bush. I said: “Why do you do that?!” And I was told it's like sinking into a nice warm bath. And I think on both sides of the divide, people are sinking into nice warm baths to reconfirm what they believe. The idea that when I watch CNN sometimes, I think, I expect the indictment on Donald Trump to be imminent because the focus on Russian collusion and that issue is very strong. And if you turn on MSNBC, you're going to get pretty much a nightly dose of the prosecutor's case against Donald Trump.
(…)
If they don’t keep constantly feeding their sheep-like viewers a steady flow of this drivel, they are afraid their entire audience will commit suicide or go postal, or both (not necessarily in that order).
The Marxist Zucker may soon be leaving CNN. Greenfield is angling to keep his job.
What wrong thing in the world was Donald Trump alleged to have done with Russians even in the wildest accusations?
24/7 sizzle and not a nibble of steak.
And the irony of it all, this being accused by people who have been geopolitically soft on Russia for years. So now Donald talks like he’s willing to play ball, and these people are like, we got to rediscover the cold war.
Mental masturbation at CNN it never ends.
I wish the entire Left would slip into a warm bath and open up their veins.
I think it will, out of sheer frustration. They’ll bite each other to a bloody death some day.
If most of the country hates Trump, why is nobody watching them?
Trump isn’t in a fundamentally worse position than many other presidents. Americans commonly blame their ills on their government.
CNN and MSNBC = vaporware...
Frankly? I could care less what CNN says or does.
The are still the epicenter of FAKE NEWS. They will never be anything else until they are gone.
i’m sorry but this is my point, if the Russians already colluded with the Clinton State Dept and the Obama administration for 25% of our uranium. Why the hell would they collude with Trump against their girl.
I say, not only release the memo but all the papers.
This entire Kubaci is a smoke screen
Please release the memo and the papers that it came from.
It’s called staying on the OFFENSE - they’ll keep claiming the media is pro-Trump just to convince their people that Fox and similar outlets are EXTREME in their support of Trump.
It’s really something when 33% of the US population has become so leftist/Marxist/Mean and small-minded that they want the first person since Reagan, who actually does what a President is suppose to, to be removed from office. CNN and its leftist viewers are clearly insane with TDS.
What it tells me is that same 33% of the people should have their citizenship revoked with them exiled to some shithole where they find the politics more to their liking like Venezuela or NoKo.
I hope and pray President Trump is doing that job all the way till he terms out in Jan 2025. The country needs him to be there.
I like how that crazy lady was trying to make a point that the media wasn’t presenting the liberal point of view enough. Talk about living in a bubble!
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