Longtime reporter Ted Koppel isn’t beholden to anyone. He can speak his mind and for the past couple of years, he certainly has concerning the decline in how the media is reporting on the Trump White House. While most networks are incensed when Trump trashes them at rallies, Koppel said that this isn’t entirely insane. It’s not the antics of a man with authoritarian tendencies. There are legitimate reasons why Trump says the things he says about the liberal news media. In a recent discussion with Marvin Kalb, Koppel said that he sees things on the pages of The New York Times that wouldn’t have even been considered for print 50 years ago. He also sees the motive behind the recent trend and it’s simple: the media hates Trump and will do anything to ensure he doesn’t get re-elected. Yes, he acknowledges there is a resistance media (via RCP):
We are not the reservoir of objectivity that I think we were," Koppel lamented in the interview.
"We have things appearing on the front page of the New York Times right now that never would have appeared 50 years ago. Analysis, commentary on the front page," Koppel said. "I remember sitting at the breakfast table with my wife during the campaign after the Access Hollywood tape came out and the New York Times, and I will not offend any of you here by using the language but you know exactly what words were used and they were spelled out on the front page of the New York Times."
"I turned to my wife and I said the Times is absolutely committed to making sure that this guy does not get elected," he said. "So his perception that the establishment press is out to get him doesn’t mean that great journalism is not being done. It is. But the notion that most of us look upon Donald Trump as being an absolute fiasco, he’s not mistaken in that perception and he’s not mistaken when so many of the liberal media, for example, described themselves as belonging to the Resistance."
This isn’t the first time Koppel has lobbed criticism at his profession. In October of 2018, Koppel got under the skin of CNN’s Brian Stelter when he said that the network’s ratings would be in the toilet if it weren’t for Donald Trump, despite the anti-Trump bias that oozes from the television set. It’s all part of a rather funny dynamic. The media hates Trump, but they get rating boosts when they broadcast his rallies, which in turn could help him win re-election in 2020.
Video: To consternation of @BrianStelter, Ted Koppel contended during 10/1 Kalb Report @PressClubDC: “You would be lost without @realDonaldTrump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.” Stelter: “Ted, you know that’s not true. You’re playing for laughs.” #NPCLive pic.twitter.com/XGZl9yNzqh
— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) October 3, 2018