As Twitchy told you last night, the New York Times dropped a yuge bombshell about ten years’ worth of Donald Trump’s tax return figures. Sorry, did we say “bombshell”? We meant dud. Apparently the New York Times was under the impression that we were literally born yesterday and had no idea that Donald Trump is actually a pretty craptacular businessman and has been for decades.
Well anyway, that New York Times scoop has really given CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski some things to think about with regard to the media’s relationship with Donald Trump. And he decided to share his thoughts with all of us.
Thread –> https://t.co/QZsOjZ6EE9
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 8, 2019
Thread https://t.co/POfhMW48lP
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 8, 2019
Well, if Kaczynski’s CNN colleagues think we need to read it, then by all means. Let’s:
I've been thinking about with the NYT story is how false perceptions of Donald Trump's wealth/business acumen represent a big failure on the part of the media going back decades.
Here's one example from 1994 when Mar-a-Lago was opening. AP reports the royals are joining… pic.twitter.com/iTqBnqLVYV
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
The report cites the membership director and says Trump handled the paperwork personally. https://t.co/TXkZbM6n84 pic.twitter.com/GsiLFaHcuI
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
Even the New York Times reported it uncritically, and quoted Trump saying he personally handled the applications.https://t.co/FfshnHSlKK pic.twitter.com/2iAsn5zvCw
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
The same thing happened with a bunch of other celebrities and notable figures too. So what happened? Buckingham Palace had to release a statement calling it false. Trump released a statement claiming he didn't say they were signed up, just given memberships. pic.twitter.com/TVWDzkfMF8
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
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The New York Times was forced to run a correction a month after the story ran.
But it shows how the glitzy claims Trump would make about his wealth or businesses were accepted uncritically for decades by a media desperate to fill coverage space. pic.twitter.com/tTl2jFN7Mq
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
I wrote about this at BuzzFeed in 2016 and how later reports cited Trump as the source of the anonymous rumor. And I could provide a dozen examples like it from the 1980s-2000s.https://t.co/RwT18eMjDr
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
Here's another example I wrote about. How Trump falsely claimed to have the highest speaking fee ever. The media just ran with his claims – but he was forced to reveal in a deposition in his lawsuit with @TimOBrien that it wasn't true. https://t.co/La43TTsWzF pic.twitter.com/uTZm4Emzdq
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
It was something we just continually found in 2016, the more and more we dug into Trump's claims, the more and more we found them to be untrue. Another example was his claims of donating his Apprentice salary to charity – two entirely different claims…https://t.co/YcZ4AZcvgk pic.twitter.com/htvsfXBy3l
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
Another was a claim about donating millions to a cerebral palsy charity, including donating a building. It was reported in lots of placed, among them the New York Times at the time – but records we found, and later reports, showed it came from Fred Trump
https://t.co/4oN2LmyEbn— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2019
So basically, the media’s been propping Trump up for years by indulging his dishonesty. Wow! Andrew’s as adept at reporting brand-new information as the New York Times!
CNN is going to win a pulitzer for telling us what most of us have known for decades. pic.twitter.com/so0qdPMLGf
— BT (@back_ttys) May 8, 2019
They’re so proud of themselves. And you know what? They should be. Because nobody covered themselves in glory over Trump quite like CNN.
Meanwhile, throughout 2015 & into 2016, media outlets, including CNN, showed Trump rallies nearly at length and invited him to appear on shows via telephone, giving him carte blanche to say whatever the hell he wanted. Only dried up in May '16 when he unofficially won nomination https://t.co/J4tXJB53z6
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) May 8, 2019
If Stelter and KFile think media failed in reporting on Trump for decades, perhaps they can walk upstairs and knock on the door of the guy who signs their checks. https://t.co/GNkZyhtUq2
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 8, 2019
Wait until @KFILE finds out who got him his Apprentice deal at NBC… He's going to be very surprised!
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 8, 2019
"It was Zucker who, as president of NBC Entertainment, broadcast 'The Apprentice' […] That show, more than anything, reversed Trump’s fortunes, recasting a local tabloid villain as the people’s prime-time billionaire." https://t.co/IMTrehxYdt
— Ryan (@alwaysonoffense) May 8, 2019
Jeff Zucker and CNN are complicit in this fiasco
— Deborah V (@socalscootergal) May 8, 2019
It's a real mystery how we got here. https://t.co/RJvNwFKKVA
— BT (@back_ttys) May 8, 2019
It cracks me up that KFILE thinks he's breaking new ground here.
— BT (@back_ttys) May 8, 2019
Is there anyone at CNN with even an iota of self-awareness?
Dude, you’re in the media.
— Sir Gumbeaux (@SirGumbeaux) May 8, 2019
Now the media is doing the opposite, publishing critical pieces without checking.
— Andrew M. (@zuldiras) May 8, 2019
It’s always fun when the media finally begins to grasp what most of us have known for decades; that is that our media is really, really bad at its basic duties.
— #That’sTrue (@PaulWDrake) May 8, 2019