Transcript: Trump’s Vile New Colbert Smear Reveals Firing’s Darker Aim
Now, granted, there are lots of other reporters and media entities doing their great work day in and day out. But every time I see another settlement, or every time I see another Stephen Colbert being fired, I think it’s chipping away at the power and importance of the media in ways that are disturbing. I think you’re right that it’s too soon to draw any conclusions. And luckily, there are many outlets that are continuing to do objective, really good reporting that so many Americans depend on. But man, I just feel like these have been some really lamentable points along the way.
Sargent: No question about it. I just think that there’s a danger in doing his work for him and inflating his power. By all means, it’s absolutely a very disturbing pattern. The big picture, though, seems to me to be somewhat nuanced. All that terrible stuff’s happening, but the reporting is very aggressive. And his approval rating is going down, down, down, right? We’re seeing the polls getting worse and worse for him, including on his core issue. By the way, I should point out that there’s been incredibly aggressive reporting on Trump’s authoritarian immigration crackdowns. And I suspect that that’s going to get worse for Trump, too, now that he’s got all this money for ICE to turn it into his own personal gestapo or whatever. The reporting is going to get incredibly aggressive on that and tell some really intense stories. And Trump can tweet all he wants. He’s not going to be able to hold that back. Am I again being too optimistic?
Sozan: No, your points are well-taken. It makes me think of an important point that we’ve heard from experts in authoritarianism around the world and in the U.S. One of the most effective ways for civil society and the media and others to fight back against an authoritarian is to just keep continuing on with business as usual and almost minimize the authoritarian, to say, Look, we’re all going on with it. We’re standing strong. We’re doing our thing. We’re going to get through this. We’re even going to find moments of joy. Our country is going to be on the right track again. And that is powerful in setting a national psyche where the nation can overcome a bad chapter of authoritarianism. So your point is well-taken. I think, six months in, we’re still seeing how it’s all playing out.