Just Lazy Reporting? Or Fake News?

Let me begin with my own biases about the media. As someone who is "old school" I like to hold newspapers in my hands. I have no desire to see newspapers go out of business. As a conservative I am often annoyed and disheartened by the agenda driven reporting of the mainstream media. Here is just one example. On page A13 of the August 12, 2018 edition of the LA Times is an article titled "Asked about her book, Trump calls Omarosa ' a lowlife.'"

Omarosa Manigault Newman was a contestant on Trump's "The Apprentice." She later had a position in the Trump campaign and after that in the Trump White House. This week Omarosa has one of those tell-all books coming out: "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House." I have never been fond of these "now I'm going to turn on my boss and tell you the real truth about him" books. These books are disloyal to those who helped the authors, and seek to profit off of personal "inside" gossip. I have never purchased one of them and I do not intend to purchase Omarosa's. I distinguish these books from those who write about policy and decision making.

Back to the article. The Times tells us that Omarosa claims Trump used racial slurs on the set of The Apprentice, and that Omarosa concludes that Trump is a racist and a bigot. One might think, for purposes of balance and accurate reporting, that the Times would tell us if Omarosa praised the President before her book deal. The Times might have told us that Omarosa was the Director of African American Outreach for Trump; that she described herself as a "Trumplican," after becoming a Republican.

The Times might have told us that in 2016 Omarosa wrote: "I'm black, female and Donald Trump is my friend." And they should have told their readers that Omarosa said: "He (Trump) does not judge people by their gender or race. He judges them on their ability to do the job." Instead, the Times would rather repeat unsubstantiated allegations made by Omarosa in her book. The Times: "In the book, Manigault Newman says without evidence that tapes exist of Trump using the N-word repeatedly on the reality show's set. She acknowledges she had never been able to obtain or hear the tapes but said three unnamed sources had described their contents."

A word on journalistic integrity. I suppose, if the Times were asked about printing this story, they would say that they simply picked it up from the Associated Press. And the Associated Press might say that they were just retelling what Omarosa wrote in her book. But here is a question for all of them - do they normally print serious allegations about public figures when the source of the information admits to having no direct knowledge of the tapes in question, only that three unnamed sources vouch for its authenticity? Is it any wonder that so much of the public has such a low opinion of the mainstream media.

Now, let me assume that Trump has, at times, used the "N" word in private. So what? I have also been told by some on the Left that Trump is anti-Semitic. Really? Would that be demonstrated by his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital? Would that anti-Semitism be reflected in his appointment of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN, and Haley's constant defense of Israel in the Security Council? Richard Nixon was said to not be terribly fond of the Jews. Yet, Henry Kissinger was Nixon's National Security Adviser and Secretary of State. When the Israelis faced possible defeat in the surprise attack known as the Yom Kippur War (the Arabs attacking on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar), it was Nixon who ordered that supplies and weapons be sent to Israel. Some say Nixon saved the Jewish state. Should I care much if he made anti-Semitic comments in private?

Imagine if the mainstream media were not so incredibly anti-Trump and driven by their Left-wing agenda, and were willing to challenge their sources for news. Then the headline might not have been "Asked about her book, Trump calls Omarosa 'a lowlife.'" Rather, it might have been "From Praise to Condemnation - Which Omarosa is to be Believed?" Or, to borrow an old lawyer's trick: "Was She Lying Then or is She Lying Now?"