SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Infatuation with Obama; rage against Trump

Jul 7, 2017, 4:37 PM

President Trump and his supporters are absolutely right that there’s a glaring contrast between the way media treat this president and way the press handled his predecessor, Barack Obama.

With Obama, potentially devastating scandals — Benghazi, the IRS, Fast and Furious, the VA — never gained momentum; the press never blamed Obama personally when things went wrong in his administration. For Trump, he’s blamed personally for every embarrassment or disappointment under his watch, and media obsess over dubious charges that remain unproven. But conservatives are wrong to suggest that the treatment of Trump is exceptional. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also got rough handling by the press; it was the always-forgiving, generally glowing treatment of Obama that was exceptional, extraordinary.

Maybe it was his image as a “hip cool dude,” or his historical status as the first non-white president, but media infatuation with Obama set a dangerous precedent that distorts press-relations with the current administration.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Was...

Associated Press

Trump can’t force election changes by blocking counterterrorism funds to states, judge says

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked the authority of President Donald Trump’s administration to withhold some federal counterterrorism funding from states that don’t meet its election administration demands. Courts have largely rejected the administration’s previous efforts, which reflect untrue claims about widespread voting fraud and come ahead of November’s midterm elections […]

13 minutes ago

FILE - This photo provided by NASA shows Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked to the International ...

Associated Press

NASA ramps up support to get Boeing’s astronaut capsule flying after Butch and Suni fiasco

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is throwing extra support and money behind Boeing’s troubled astronaut capsule to get it fixed and flying again as soon as possible. Boeing’s Starliner capsule had so many problems in 2024 that its two test pilots were stuck at the International Space Station for nearly a year. NASA later […]

19 minutes ago

sr 167 fatal motorcycle crash auburn...

Jason Sutich

Fatal motorcycle crash closes all lanes of southbound SR 167 in Auburn

All lanes of southbound SR 167 north of SR 18 in Auburn are closed after a fatal collision Monday afternoon involving a motorcycle and a car.

24 minutes ago

Caleb Flynn listens to court proceedings inside the Miami County Court of Common Pleas on Monday, S...

Associated Press

Former ‘American Idol’ singer Caleb Flynn is on trial in wife’s killing. He says a burglar did it

A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on “American Idol” is on trial on charges that he killed his wife while having an affair more than a decade after gushing to TV viewers about how she encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. Caleb Flynn, 40, has pleaded not guilty to […]

32 minutes ago

FILE - Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito attends Pope Leo XIV's audience for operators of justice ...

Associated Press

Alito steps aside in a major climate case after scrutiny over oil stock holdings

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself Monday from a major climate-change case after facing calls to step aside due to stock holdings in oil companies. A letter posted in the case did not specify a reason, but the conservative justice has previously recused himself from other cases involving companies where he […]

42 minutes ago

mariners rick rizzs...

John Curley Show

‘As long as you’re respectful’: Rick Rizzs lets Curley tell the Detroit story that brought him back to the Mariners

John Curley tells the story of Rick Rizzs replacing Ernie Harwell in Detroit, from the angry fans and columnists to a whispered apology years later.

47 minutes ago

Infatuation with Obama; rage against Trump