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On Election Day, the Press Displays Their Desperation in Trademarked Fashion

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Nov 05, 2024
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

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Prose & Contradiction – MSNBC

  • Can we get a point in time when this standard shifted?

Consider how for the past year we have had it hammered on a daily basis that Trump will be ushering in an era of totalitarianism and/or fascist authoritarianism. It has been a quotidian talking point on the network, as they insist it is the promised ruination of our nation.

Hold that concept in mind, as you now watch Rachel Maddow as she proposes that Elon Musk will have either a future where all of his government contracts are obliterated, or he is removed entirely from his own companies.

Legalized Press-titution – VARIOUS OUTLETS

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  • “Oh, this is a surprise – I am so surprised, because I find this…surprising…”

There is a chance if you saw any of the early news on Election Day that you caught a video clip of Kamala Harris knocking on the door of a “random” home in order to “surprise” the residents and “ask” if they are voting. It was presented as a wholesome and organic interlude, with the family beside themselves at the “unexpected” introduction.

But – like so much of her entirely ersatz campaign – it turned out there was full footage showing Harris, the family, and her handlers all commiserating together before they retreated back inside and then Harris appears to “knock on the door” for an initial visit.

Reporting on the Mirror – THE NEW YORK TIMES

  • Give them beanbag chairs and branded pacifiers, or tell them to walk.

Separate from the newsroom staff, the IT and tech workers at The New York Times had their union go on strike on Monday. This could have affected election night coverage as the tech-reliant real-time poll results could have been possibly impacted and a severe risk if any problems arose.

The best part of this is the extended list of demands from the guild, and they are rather infantile in nature. They want trigger warnings at meetings involving sensitive news, time off if their pet passes away, and the removal of scented products in break rooms.

You read that correctly.

Low-Octane Gaslighting – NEWSWEEK

  • It is only slightly desperate to go full Godwin’s Law on the day of the election.

It is a given that the press has not handled things well these past few weeks, as they have not properly scared off enough voters to make this election a walkover for Kamala. Well, if all of the death-to-democracy talk is not doing the trick, there is always the old standby – Trump is Hitler!

Yes, Newsweek resorted to this pathetic approach on Election Day, and just for good measure, it also regurgitated the instantly disproven story from The Atlantic about Trump raging about the funeral costs of a fallen soldier.

Stealth Story Evolution – FOX 26 NEWS - HOUSTON

  • Quiz: Is this a failure of Civics or History?

While preparing for the possible Donald Trump victory, this Texas station prepared its audience for the potential historic nature of his return to the White House. It would have helped if its journalist had prepared by maybe peering back at presidential history first. (Post now deleted.)

Matching Media Memorandum – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • Hey! That’s our job!

The purpose of this category is to show when there is coordination in the press and how they work together to push particular narratives.

Media vet Carlos Quintanilla seems to think it represents an unavoidable truth when they behave this way and not a pathetically lazy way of molding the news cycle.