By Hunter

During the campaign, CNN went farther than any other network in booking toadies to explain away Donald Trump's most offensive statements, positions and gaffes. We heard from Jeff Lord. We heard from Trump's ex-campaign runner Lewandowski. We heard from Kellyanne Conway, and from the Bullet Necklace Lady, and all of them spent their airtime lying openly and egregiously to CNN's viewers with little to no pushback. Trump's various burping speeches were broadcast without interruption or any helpful asterisks when the man lied even more egregiously than his subordinates could manage.

It was and is a stain on both journalism and the nation, and all of that kowtowing and debasement wasn't enough to keep them from being the first network targeted by Trump's new "White House" for retribution.

The White House has refused to send its spokespeople or surrogates onto CNN shows, effectively icing out the network from on-air administration voices.

“We’re sending surrogates to places where we think it makes sense to promote our agenda,” said a White House official, acknowledging that CNN is not such a place, but adding that the ban is not permanent.

A CNN reporter, speaking on background, was more blunt: The White House is trying to punish the network and force down its ratings.

Putative leader of the nation Donald Trump is upset with things that the journalists of CNN have reported about him. He will therefore punish the network by denying them access—until the network shapes up and reports only the news Donald Trump wants them to report.

The absence of professional con-artists could only improve the network; it certainly couldn't hurt, but any recent glance at the channel continues to suggest it is, still, the outlet most dedicated toward hurling ideological propagandists toward their audience and calling it "news." If CNN is looking for sympathy from the nation it so eagerly misled during this trying time when Donald Trump is attempting to force yet another round of corporate compliance to his will, they are out of luck.

Still, it's worth noting. Trump's personal targeting of American companies that criticize him or announce things he doesn't want announced is the act of an authoritarian. His obsessive narcissism and devotion to punishing his enemies in acts of official government power has already tilted his White House toward acts more befitting a banana republic.

And every journalist and every outlet is soon going to be facing the same question CNN's heads face now. Do they lose access to Trump's collection of liars and propagandists, or do they report the news accurately regardless of the tiny man's ire? It seems a simple enough question, but not one of America's major news services was able to make the right choice the first time around. So we wait.

(Published 2017/01/02 at 12:29 am)