Ted Koppel Backs Trump, Agrees Mainstream Media Is Out to Get Him!

Fox News had the following to say regarding the story:

Koppel, now a senior contributor to CBS's "Sunday Morning," has left the impression from previous comments that he's not a Trump fan. And yet he felt compelled to declare that the president is right that "the establishment press is out to get him."

What's more, Koppel called out two of the country's most influential papers for their coverage of the president, which has left him "terribly concerned."

At a Carnegie Endowment forum this month, Koppel unloaded on The New York Times and Washington Post, saying the papers are not what they were 50 years ago.

"We're talking about organizations that I believe have, in fact, decided as organizations that Donald J. Trump is bad for the United States," he said. "'We have things appearing on the front page of The New York Times right now that never would have appeared 50 years ago."

Koppel argued that analysis and commentary didn't creep onto the front pages the way they do in the Trump era.

"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.'"

Wait, he's not done.

The president is "not mistaken when so many of the liberal media, for example, described themselves as belonging to the Resistance. What does that mean? That’s not said by people who consider themselves reporters, objective reporters of facts. That's the kind of language that's used by people who genuinely believe, and I rather suspect with some justification, that Donald Trump is bad for the United States."

That is a searing indictment from a man who has long been a member in good standing of the media establishment.

And it matches the comments of Jill Abramson, the former Times executive editor, who says in her new book that the news pages of her former paper have become "unmistakably anti-Trump."

Now the big papers and other major outlets would undoubtedly say they cover Trump differently because he's unlike any other president — in terms of shattering norms, divisive rhetoric, blasting the press, criticizing aides and being caught up in the Russia investigation.

The Times and Post have broken plenty of important stories about the administration, not just connected to the special counsel's probe, and both papers have some reporters and analysts who try to be fair.

But the sheer tonnage of anti-Trump stories, the negative tone, and the loaded phrases that creep into news pieces, especially at the Times, too often give the impression of opposition. The same goes for what some of the journalists say on Twitter.

Fox News is right in their assertion that mainstream media sources would argue their coverage of Trump is how it is because he is unlike any other president before.

Check out what The Washington Post had to say in response to Koppel's accusation:

In a critique that he has leveled before, Koppel  argued that outlets such as The Post, the Times, MSNBC, CNN and others  are driven by financial considerations. With Trump come viewers and  readers in large numbers. “He has been wonderful for the industry,” Koppel said last fall.  It’s true that Trump has marshaled an audience for those who monitor  his every step. At the same time, Trump is a more prolific generator of  headlines than any president in memory. The tweets are but a small part  of the story. Another part is his scandalous past, including  mistreatment of women, his tax and financial shenanigans as a real  estate tycoon, his erratic management style that feeds turnover, his  lack of familiarity with government, his unwillingness to read and study  and so on.

 

“A great deal of the reason why the  press is writing all of these negative stories about Trump is that he  deserves it,” said Kalb. Correct.

We agree Trump is polarizing. 

That's why - unlike any other presidential candidate out there or recent presidents - he can get things done!