Did a politician challenge the next president to ‘bring it’?
Nov 29, 2016, 7:05 AM | Updated: Nov 30, 2016, 11:49 am
How should reporters cover a president who makes stuff up?
Back in the old days, it was the news media that held the president accountable. But when President-elect Donald Trump takes office — with his Facebook and Twitter following as big as a network news organization — it will be the president who holds the media accountable.
And it has reporters wondering what the ground rules will be.
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Emily Bazelon writes for The New York Times. She say’s there are two options reporters have.
“We’re seeing in Donald Trump, I would say an unprecedented level of attacking the press for doing its basic job,” she said.
And in that kind of atmosphere reporters have to decide how brave they want to be.
“Do you simply say, well Trump claims ‘x’ even though you know ‘x’ is false,” Bazelon said. Or, do you start off by challenging what Trump says with headlines that point out all of the President-elect’s false claims, she added.
Well, so far, if we’re talking about the Trump tweet alleging vote fraud, I think the answer is pretty clear. Trump has falsely said he’s won the popular vote, even though he’s clearly losing to Hillary Clinton. And he’s said he only lost the popular vote due to millions of people who voted illegally.
“Significant allegations with no proof, no evidence,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “If you have it team Trump, bring it.
A politician challenging Trump to “bring it.” Watch your Twitter feed, America.