Eric Boehlert: New York Times can't stop obsessing over "Trump Voters"

[babylonsister]

https://pressrun.media/p/new-york-times-cant-stop-obsessing

New York Times can't stop obsessing over "Trump Voters"
White Trump voters
Eric Boehlert
3 hr


The Newspaper of Record's obsession with endlessly profiling Trump supporters, as if they represent the pinnacle of importance in American politics, lurched into parody when New York Times columnist Bret Stephens recently wrote, "Meet a Secret Trump Voter."

There are 146 million registered voters in the U.S. and the Times published an entire column about one Trump voter, and shrouded it with hush-hush anonymous nonsense. Basically, Stephens interviewed a New York City conservative who thinks Trump saved million of lives during the pandemic, Hillary Clinton was behind the Russia election interference in 2016, and who belittles the women who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Somehow the interview was presented as being deeply insightful about the state of America politics today, suggesting there are legions of 'hidden' Trump supporters out there.

snip//

During Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Times published more than 130 articles in its news and opinion sections that mentioned Trump supporters or Trump voters, according to Nexis. By contrast, during President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, the Times published just seven articles in the news and opinion sections that mentioned Obama supporters or Obama voters.

In the process of getting constant updates from Trump fans, the Times often lets them push unfounded allegations and wild conspiratorial claims.

Trump voter in Ohio: “I’m tired of [immigrants] being here illegally and cutthroating the rest of us.”

That claim is false.

Trump voter in Iowa: “My view is [Obama] purposely got into the presidency so he could ruin America.”

That claim is absurd.

What's strange about the Times' borderline glorification of rural white voters is that a majority of them haven't voted Democratic in at least half a century. That means they aren't swing voters, which are typically the voters that most interest journalists, since they're the ones who can tip an election.

Polls suggest Trump is trailing badly in his re-election run. That means the Times may have just three more weeks to squeeze in more Trump Voter dispatches.

[dalton99a]

1. All the News That's Fit to Print to Normalize Donald Trump and His Cult

[frazzled]

2. It's a conservative columnist, not the Times

Eric Boehlert should know better than this. I rue the day when newspapers decide that only opinion writers on their own side should be published, or decide they need to control the subjects their columnists can write about. Don't underestimate the intelligence of the readership: they know Bret Stephens is a conservative columnist, and they can figure out the idiocy and falsehoods of this voter who was interviewed. The Times is not obligated to fact check the statements made by an interviewee in an opinion column. And they don't need to: we know the claims are absurd. We're not stupid.

We ask ourselves here every day (or at least I do): How can 40% of the people still support that guy? Well, there it is. We know why: they're crazy stupid, and there's the evidence.

[maxrandb]

4. Bullshit!

That's like saying Rush Limbaugh is a "conservative commentator" and the hate radio stations that broadcast him have "no responsibility" because they are just a "radio station"

[frazzled]

6. No, it's like saying

Why don't responsible radio stations also put on liberal commentators? Why do they only put on their own side?

[Maven]

5. No, it's the Times.

The news division has run countless pieces over the last 4 years about what Trump voters are thinking and feeling.

The "five Trump voters in a diner in PA" story has become a genre unto itself at the Times. It's a cliche at this point.

[frazzled]

7. And the Washington Post

They have conservative leaning columnists as well. Opinion pages offer opinions.

[Maven]

8. No. It is not just the opinion pages. It is the *news division* of the Times.

Did you read the article? There are a bunch of examples linked in the third and fourth paragraphs. And I don't think that's an exhaustive list.

[TheRealNorth]

3. I think the majority of the Obama-Trump swing voters

that gave Trump a chance with his bullshit economic populist message in 2016 have already swung back. And those that didn't are probably lost anyway.

The rest of the Trump voters are racist Republicans aka Deplorables.