Those are real headlines about Biden's age at top news orgs, reimagined as heds about Trump's mental unfitness for the job. We should treat those Trump traits and the politics around them as *themselves* being the news. Link to full argument below. END newrepublic.com/article/1856...
Mike Barnicle’s throwdown Wednesday should open the floodgates: Coverage of Donald Trump’s mental fitness for office is not just fair game. It’s necessary.
Greg, I think this argument, while correct, avoids the issue of the virulent attacks some journalists have suffered when doing accurate reporting. Trump’s supporters will aggressively respond to critical stories of their idol in personal and persistent ways that are new to most journos.
If he ends up nosing past Harris at the finish line, it will be largely due to egregious reporting by mainstream media. He shouldn't even stand a ghost of a chance, because he actually belongs in an institution--prison or mental health. Instead, he's being propped up as a legitimate competitor.
“the media adopted the premise that Biden’s age mattered precisely because it went to Biden’s core mental capacity “to do the job as president,” thus meriting extensive journalistic attention.” Exactly!
Ignoring that Barnicle was a serial plagiarist who spun falsehoods throughout his career simply because he made a point you agree with isn't a good look, Greg.