‘Dangerously misleading’: How the Beltway Media Sanitizes Trump’s ‘Unhinged’ Rambling

Former President Donald Trump often accuses the mainstream media of pushing “fake news” when they give him any type of negative coverage. The mainstream media, Trump argues, are hopelessly biased against him. And Trump has, at times, even accused right-wing Fox News and Fox Business of being unfair to him in their coverage.

But journalist Parker Molloy has a totally different perspective.

In an article published by The New Republic on September 4, Molloy argues that many mainstream media reporters are guilty of “sanitizing” Trump in their coverage and downplaying just how “unhinged” his “incoherent ramblings” are.

Molloy previously addressed this topic in an article published by Media Matters on March 12, 2020. And the reporter believes the problem has “only worsened” since then.

“As Trump’s statements grow increasingly unhinged in his old age,” Molloy warns, “major news outlets continue to reframe his words, presenting a dangerously misleading picture to the public.”

Molloy cites the New York Times’s recent coverage of Trump’s speech at Moms for Liberty’s annual summit as an example.

“While speaking at an event put on by the extremist group Moms for Liberty,” Molloy observes, “Trump spread a baseless conspiracy theory that ‘your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation’ — referring to transition-related surgeries for trans people.

In their write-up of the event, a glowing piece about how Trump ‘charmed’ this group of ‘conservative moms,’ the Times didn’t even mention the moment where he blathered on and on about a crazy conspiracy that has and will never happen.”

Molloy emphasizes that reporters do their audience a disservice when they treat Trump like a normal politician and fail to adequately report the more “unhinged” things he says.

“This ‘sandwashing’ of Trump’s statements isn’t just poor journalism; it’s a form of misinformation that poses a threat to democracy,” Molloy argues. “By continually reframing Trump’s incoherent and often dangerous rhetoric as conventional political discourse, major news outlets are failing in their duty to inform the public and are instead providing cover for increasingly erratic behavior from a former — and potentially future — president.”

Molloy continues, “The consequences of this journalistic malpractice extend far beyond misleading headlines. By laundering Trump’s words in this fashion, the media is actively participating in the erosion of our shared reality.”