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Suddenly, Friendly Reporters Are Offensive
Townhall.com ^ | February 15, 2017 | Brent Bozell

Posted on 02/15/2017 5:39:37 AM PST by Kaslin

The Trump administration is less than a month old, and former Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, the brand-new national security adviser, has resigned. This matches the picture the anti-Trump media want to paint right now: Chaos. Disarray. Amateur hour.

They also expect the president to help them paint it. This is why they're going nuclear. But he chose to ignore them instead.

Journalists came out of a joint press conference between Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau livid that the president had called on two "friendly" journalists instead of someone who would hammer him about Flynn. They bashed the two American questioners for asking the leaders about relations between the U.S. and Canada. But are the media elites really always hostile to "friendly" questioners?

Former President Obama (and Democratic presidents before him) could always call on friendly journalists at these usually staid joint press conferences. Journalists didn't yell at one another for not being harsh enough. They had no interest in scalps in the first month.

Over the last eight years, the press was never interested in making trouble for Obama. Instead, it projected the opposite. He was "scandal-free." If he had trouble, it didn't come from a rough press conference. It emerged from evil Republicans who were plotting.

Exhibit A is ABC's Terry Moran. Eight years ago at this time, Moran interviewed the new liberal president for "Nightline." He looked at Obama in sorrow and said, "Mr. President, you got no honeymoon, not a single Republican vote in the House on your first major piece of legislation." He then speculated: "I wonder, in coming into the presidency, maybe you were too nice. If I'm a Republican senator or a Republican Congress, I think you're a very nice guy but I don't have enough reason to fear you."

But on the day of the Trump-Trudeau press conference, Moran went on Twitter to hail former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen for "ripping the sh*t out of Stephen Miller's (and POTUS) claims of massive voter fraud in NH." He then retweeted thirteen tweets in which Cullen mocked Trump's voter fraud claims with pop culture references from "The Simpsons" to "The Partridge Family.'

Exhibit B is Brian Williams, whose 2009 prime-time Obama White House special featured a trip for cheeseburgers (What a regular guy, that Obama!) and good night handshakes and bows. He said: "Mr. President, that is your elevator. Thank you, sir. Have a good evening."

But when it came to pounding Trump and Flynn, Williams displayed his typically shameless audacity, complaining that "no matter how robust the press corps covering the president, the president controls the flow and the topics in a de facto way by deciding who to call on and who not to call on."

Obama controlled his flow by calling on Williams.

Exhibit C is CBS News promoting White House correspondent Major Garrett's lament. He said, "The central personnel question hanging over the Trump White House was not asked."

That's especially rich coming from the network of Obama's "60 Minutes" sympathizers. Steve Kroft offered Obama five softball interviews in 2008 in which he skipped every social issue, from gays to abortion to quotas. He also skipped health care and climate. And he skipped Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers. Kroft threw "hardballs" like, "Do you think the country is ready for a black president?" Once he became president, Kroft graduated to asking, "So have you gotten into a routine?"

These exhibits could fill a floor of the Newseum. All you need to know is that journalists have an on-off switch for accountability. It was off for eight years. Now it's on, and they're lamely pretending it's always been on.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: barackhussen0bama

1 posted on 02/15/2017 5:39:37 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

I wonder how many know Flynn is a Democrat hired by the Fraud.

Good riddance.


2 posted on 02/15/2017 5:51:06 AM PST by treetopsandroofs (Had FDR been GOP, there would have been no World Wars, just "The Great War" and "Roosevelt's Wars".)
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To: Kaslin

I wouldn’t care if Trump were to throw all leftist journalists in a gulag.


3 posted on 02/15/2017 5:55:56 AM PST by I want the USA back (Liberalism is a mental disorder without a cure.)
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To: Kaslin

Until the leak is discovered, the NYT and Washington Post need to lose access to the White House.


4 posted on 02/15/2017 5:56:57 AM PST by boycott
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To: Kaslin
Despite all the smears about Trump and Russia, the media ought to be very happy that Trump is not like their caricature. If he were, some of these reporters would be drinking polonium cocktails.
5 posted on 02/15/2017 5:57:51 AM PST by Truth29
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To: Kaslin

Instead of Trump bleating about “the dishonest media” he should be specific, very specific, in his attacks. His generalities have served their purpose - he has been elected. Now to destroy the enemy.


6 posted on 02/15/2017 6:16:17 AM PST by I am Richard Brandon
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To: Kaslin

“”But when it came to pounding Trump and Flynn, Williams displayed his typically shameless audacity,””

I didn’t even know Brian Williams had a show any longer. What show is he on? Just curious - not interested in watching him.


7 posted on 02/15/2017 6:17:05 AM PST by Thank You Rush
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To: Kaslin

Who is that in the picture?


8 posted on 02/15/2017 6:18:07 AM PST by Thank You Rush
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To: Thank You Rush
I didn’t even know Brian Williams had a show any longer. What show is he on? Just curious - not interested in watching him.

THE poster boy for FAKE NEWS!

9 posted on 02/15/2017 6:42:57 AM PST by P-Marlowe (Freep mail me if you want to be on my Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar Ping list.)
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To: Thank You Rush

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Moran


10 posted on 02/15/2017 7:31:56 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Kaslin
Never-Trumper Brent Bozell complaining about unfriendly reporters.

Irony²

11 posted on 02/15/2017 9:39:16 AM PST by moovova
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