Trump is getting a free ride from the press on big issues
Trump is getting a free ride from the press on big issues
I have few problems with mainstream media coverage of President Biden: he gets deserved credit for major accomplishments, the age issue is real, and, as always, the press overplays the horse race.
I have major problems with coverage of Donald Trump. In a different way than before, coverage is being manipulated by overemphasizing his deplorable rhetoric --Jews who vote for Democrats "hate" their religion and Israel or there'll be a bloodbath if he isn't elected --at the expense of focusing more on his policies that would affect, adversely, many Americans.
In 2016 the media malpractice was saturation coverage of Trump rallies --CNN made what looked like an in-kind contribution -- and paying more attention to Hillary Clinton's emails than Russian efforts to help Trump.
Today it's keeping voters in the dark on what he would do about the Affordable Care Act and drug prices, fiscal/budget issues and everything about abortion.
Trump poses a real threat to Democracy, the rule of law. There were superb pieces on this peril in the Atlantic and New York Times late last year. It is an existential danger and the press shouldn't let up. But contrary to the Biden camp's hopes I doubt this is much of a voting issue.
Abortion, drug prices, and the Gaza War are.
Biden is getting clobbered with Arab-Americans, young voters and some voters of color for his support of Israel in the war. There is little attention paid to Trump's position. From the vantage point of those Biden critics Trump almost surely would be worse, joined at the hip with Bibi Netanyahu.
He would cut and run on Ukraine, continuing his bromance with Vladimir Putin, which unfortunately doesn't resonate much with the electorate.
It is major domestic issues where the coverage gap is most pronounced.
He used to boast that with Supreme Court appointments he was responsible for overturning Roe v Wade abortion protections --not so much after the backlash to that decision. We know where Joe Biden stands on abortion rights --he'd like legislation to codify Roe v Wade -- and opposes restrictions on the abortion pill.
Trump now is talking about maybe a ban after 15 weeks, much stricter than under Roe v Wade and is trying to stay under the radar on what to do about the abortion pill or other restrictions. Don't let him.
The conventional wisdom is the domineering issues this fall will be immigration, abortion, jobs and inflation.
Don't forget health care. The Affordable Care Act is on the ballot .Trump charges it "sucks" and he'll replace it with something better. That's bullshit; it's the same promise he made during his Presidency and never even offered a proposal.
The ACA subsidies are up for renewal next year. Would Trump terminate them ? Obamacare now is supported by 60% of the public, a record number of Americans signed up this year.
Biden secured passage of a measure that lowers prescription drug prices, like insulin and next year Medicare would start negotiating lower prices for drugs like Eliquis. Millions of Americans would save lots of money.
When he first ran for President, Trump promised he'd negotiate big cuts in drug prices; not surprisingly he abandoned that commitment. If elected again, health care officials close to the former President predict, he'd soften any requirements that would lead to lower drug prices.
He should be pinned down, If he evades is it because he's siding with Big Pharma where he is soliciting campaign contributions ?
The centerpiece for the Trump-loving Republican House this Congress is the shocking Biden deficits. House Speaker Mike Johnson solemnly warns about "dangerous" deficits while calling for a balanced budget. Never mind that the all time red ink champion is Donald Trump, who ran up $7.5 trillion of deficits.
Much of the 2017 GOP tax cuts expire next year. Trump says he not only wants to extend them, at a cost, of almost $4 trillion over a decade, and add some new ones. Biden would nix extending the tax cuts for the wealthy and use part of the savings for deficit reductions.
To pretend he's in sync with the Mike Johnson he'll call for cutting the deficit by eliminating fraud and abuse, which is bogus. He has backed away from touching the big ticket entitlement items, and has shown little enthusiasm for GOP House budget items like scaling back assistance to farmers and rural areas.
How will those Freedom caucus members react when their leader is a conscientious objector on deficit reduction ?
No doubt Republicans would say this will come in time. That wasn't the song that sang a little more than four years ago when the Atlantic's Ron Brownstein tallied up the promises of Sen. Bernie Sanders, then the Democratic presidential front runner, costing as much as $60 trillion.
How about holding Trump accountable ?