Has President-elect Biden fixed COVID-19 yet? I saw he had a news conference that “urged” national mask wearing as a primary plank in this platform. I laughed out loud. If Donald Trump had “urged” mask wearing as his “plan,” the media would have eaten him alive. Instead, the media praised the Biden “leadership.”
I’ve voted for Trump the last two elections, but I was never a Trumper. I have oft acknowledged his personal failings and his child-like behavior. With that being said, I would wholeheartedly agree with the narrative that claims Trump has endured a continuous negative mainstream media. I accidently watched Oprah’s buddy, Gayle King, a couple of days after the election. It was a complete lovefest about Joe Biden, his family and even the family dog. Treatment that was never afforded to Trump, even in the early days. ABC, NBC and CBS have longed for the days of Democratic leadership that caters to their ideologies and it has been delivered. It has also been delivered with a significant cost to those entities.
56.9 million people tuned in to the national news media heavy hitters for the 2020 election. In 2016, 71 million viewers tuned in. That is 15 million people that utilized other type sources, or simply didn’t care enough to check any source four years later. If that trend continues, major news media are looking at 45 million in 2024 and 36 million in 2028.
In summary, the national media has paid a tremendous price to move from news readers to opinionists and it will forever change our world going forward.
My favorite thing about government is watching them flail about in situations that they cannot control. Government is wasting their time trying to lockdown, close and reduce gatherings to protect the population against COVID-19. I understand why they are trying and probably support some of the efforts, but it is of little use or benefit.
The American people have spoken on this issue. They have decided to let it “burn.” That’s probably a bad decision, but it is an evident decision when you go to public places. A huge majority of the people have simply decided not to comply with recommendations or directives; or at least decided “living life” was more of a priority than slowing the spread of the virus.
I’m not passing judgment on either approach, just pointing out that this “horse is out of the barn” and it’s unlikely that any governor, health department or a president with 79 million votes is going to do anything that can get the horse back in the proverbial barn.
It appears to be, every person is for themselves at this point.
One last presidential nugget. Showtime began airing a documentary on Ronald Reagan this week. Sadly, it is another liberal swing at conservatism from Hollywood. The series aptly named, “The Reagans,” summarizes Ronald Reagan as some type of precursor to Donald Trump. The series degrades the character of Reagan by accusing him of dog whistle politics and racist overtones.
At the same time, the Democratic roots director paints Nancy Reagan as a manipulative power player in the presidency and features the one and only, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Oddly enough, Fauci criticizes Reagan for not responding appropriately to the AIDs epidemic of the time. Color me shocked that Anthony would criticize his bosses or have time to sit for a documentary interview.
(Guy Speckman can be reached at gspeckman@me.com or trying to get the horses back in the barn)