In my memory, Politico and the Washington Post ran about nine negative dismissing stories about Trump to every positive one.
It certainly got Donald Trump completely wrong.
It is hard to believe, but it has been more than a month since Donald Trump won the presidential election. Since then, the media have developed an obsession with “fake news.” Fake news, they tell us, may have swung the election in favor of Mr. Trump—the implication being that no one who knew what was actually going on could possibly have voted for him.
The latest version of the “fake news” theory is that the Russian government was behind it. The Russians were apparently so keen on a Trump presidency, they set up a network of news outlets to spin things in their—and therefore Trump’s—favor. Anonymous groups of “experts” have complied a list of Kremlin stooges, and mainstream outlets are reporting this as gospel. American Renaissance and Vdare.com have now been unmaksed as outlets for Russian propaganda. Even Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have now spoken out against the scourge of “fake news.”
The purpose of these smears is obvious. The mainstream is losing its hold on its audience, which is turning to alternative news sources, including American Renaissance. The legacy media seem to think that if they say we are “fake” or “propaganda,” the masses will come back to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The irony is that it was mainstream outlets that have had their predictions proven chronically wrong for the last 18 months—not us or Breitbart—and no site has been more guilty than Politico. The preferred source of political news for Beltway operatives, for this entire cycle, Politico was not only wrong about most everything, it also did everything possible to denigrate Donald Trump, who they constantly assured us, could never win anyway.
A lot of their stories came from “insiders”—which underlined Politico’s status as privileged reporters, constantly rubbing shoulders with important “insiders.” A typical headline would be, “Insiders: Trump Administration Will Be a Disaster.” Somehow, the insiders were almost always anonymous.
Here are some of Politico’s greatest hits.
2015:
June 7th: The man to beat in Iowa: Scott Walker
June 16th: The 10 best lines from Donald Trump’s announcement speech
The opening two sentences were typically dismissive:
“Donald Trump launched his quixotic presidential bid Tuesday in a speech at his Trump Tower office building in Manhattan.
The discursive, pugnacious announcement was one of the more bizarre spectacles of the 2016 political season thus far — and one of the most entertaining.”
July 10th: Insiders say Scott Walker is dominant in Iowa
July 14th: The power players behind Scott Walker’s campaign
July 24th: Insiders: Trump has peaked
August 7th: GOP insiders: Trump is biggest loser
This was about one of the Republican candidate debates, which Mr. Trump regularly dominated.
August 14th: Insiders: Trump can’t win early states
August 14th: The 199 Most Donald Trump Things Donald Trump Has Ever Said
October 2nd: 5 reasons to bet $5 on Marco Rubio
December 4th: Democratic insiders: Trump is easy prey for Clinton
December 7th: The 7 craziest things Trump has said
This was on how nuts it would be to ban Muslims.
2016:
February 6th: ‘Trump Is Falling Fast’: An Election Gambler Predicts New Hampshire
Mr. Trump won the state by almost 20 points.
February 12th: Insiders: Hard road ahead for Trump
February 14th: Insiders: Trump flopped in debate
In this debate, Mr. Trump flayed Jeb Bush. The next primary was in South Carolina, which Mr. Trump won decisively. Mr. Bush then dropped out.
February 24th: Rubio looking ahead to wins on March 15
Mr. Rubio dropped out of the race on March 15.
April 6th: Wisconsin meltdown puts Trump on track for convention fight
April 27th: Trump declares race won, but it’s not
April 29th: Insiders: Clinton would crush Trump in November
May 13th: Insiders: Trump stumbled in general election pivot
The subtitle: “Democrats aren’t worried by Hillary Clinton’s recent defeats.”
June 17th: Insiders: Trump’s Orlando response was terrible
This was after the Jihadist massacre at the Pulse nightclub. Mr. Trump Florida in the general election.
June 17th: GOP insiders: Trump should pick Newt for vice president
Mr. Gingrich, who attacked Mitt Romney for being too anti-immigrant in 2012, refused to criticize affirmative action while he was speaker in 1990s, and won Wilmot Robertson’s title of “Majority Renegade of the Year” as far back as 1986. He was obviously a terrible choice.
July 1st: Insiders: Clinton dominates Trump on the ground
August 4th: Trump vs. the Constitution: A Guide
August 12th: GOP insiders: Trump can’t win
August 19th: GOP insiders: Trump’s overhaul won’t succeed
This was about Mr. Trump hiring Steve Bannon.
September 27th: Insiders: Hillary won
This was about the first debate.
October 5th: Insiders: Pence outclassed Trump
The vice-presidential debate, which even Politico admitted was uninteresting to most Americans, had fewer viewers than any vice-presidential debate since 2000.
October 12th: How Long Can Evangelical Women Stay Behind Donald Trump?
October 14th: GOP insiders: Trump’s chances fading
November 4th: Democratic insiders: Clinton’s ground game will sink Trump
November 8th: Trump hopes for a miracle
Well, Politico, better luck in 2024. Until then, your readers will be better informed if they read American Renaissance.
