The media could be the only effective opposition to Trump… but will it?
Opinion
Four years is a long time and there is a danger that serious journalism could be pushed towards the margins if the media continues to normalise Trump’s actions.
There is now a clear and present danger that the media in both the US and the UK will increasingly normalise not just US president Donald Trump but the direction in which he is now taking America.
Pulling out of the Paris climate accords, just after parts of California went up in smoke. Never mind, it was all a rip-off really.
Leaving the World Health Organization, even though the loss in funding could mean the death of thousands of children all over the world. Never mind, we always knew that was what he planned.
Sworn in, watched by the three richest men in America (if not the world), Trump was still hard at work on Monday, this time adding billions in extra profits for Big Pharma as he removed Joe Biden’s price caps on medicines. As a result, some prescription charges reportedly increased by more than 4,000%. Never mind, but a strange way to cut the cost of living for Americans within 24 hours of becoming president, as initially promised.
As he pardoned more than 1,500 convicted for the 6 January Capitol Hill violence, it was already all forgotten that for hours Trump sat watching the events unfold on television and did nothing to stop it and could himself have been indicted.
Good job
Harry Cole of The Sun got his contribution to normalisation in early on Monday as he urged everyone to take a deep breath “and calm the hell down”.
Trump may well be a disaster: “But there is just as much chance that he will not be — and whisper it quietly — he might actually do a good job.”
Obviously, the Daily Mail trotted out former prime minister Boris Johnson, who wrote: “As the pulse of power surged from the battered Bible into the hand of Donald Trump, I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked to prevent. The pulse of power had to travel further than normal as Trump became the first president in history to take the oath without his hand actually being on the Bible.”
While noting that Trump failed to mention Ukraine, Johnson said the speech “ranged from surging optimism to pure bullishness of a kind seemingly calculated to have his opponents chewing the carpet”.
Comedy among the bleak
At least there were some almost comical moments in an inauguration speech otherwise marked by a grim carrying out of previous campaign threats, watched by a stony-faced Biden.
There was a marvellous moment when it became clear that Melania Trump’s hat prevented her husband from landing a kiss on her cheek. As one of the very few hats on display, was it deliberately chosen for protection?
The announcement that Trump wants to send astronauts to Mars to plant the Stars and Stripes sent Elon Musk into paroxysms of unbridled joy — presumably at the prospect of even more billions for his SpaceX company.
There was barely controlled laughter from former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton when Trump implausibly announced that the Gulf of Mexico was going to become the Gulf of America in the future.
When the tearing up of almost everything Biden had achieved was complete, it clearly overwhelmed the sound system and there was a delicious blip in the ceremony when everybody had to wait in silence before it was possible to belt out America the Beautiful.
Fate of TikTok
As for TikTok, it is now far from obvious what the final outcome will be.
During his first presidency, Trump had been happy to see TikTok sold or kicked out of the US, and there was an overwhelming vote in the House of Representatives.
The matter seemed to have been decided in recent days when the supreme court upheld the move and the app was actually switched off — momentarily.
And then Trump started to change his mind. Perhaps a 90-day moratorium and maybe a US company could own 50% of TikTok’s US operations to deal with some of the security issues involved.
And then there was the telling sign that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew not only attended the inauguration but was also invited to the more intimate church service before the swearing-in ceremony.
Trump did not mention TikTok during his main speech, but said later that he was now “warming” to the organisation. The reason is clear: he got a 36% share of the youth vote via TikTok and, as he admitted, Republicans traditionally fail to attract younger voters.
He will also have noticed the sense of shock among the 120m American TikTok users and might try to find a way to a deal to avoid an unpopular decision.
Trump may be home and dry for four years, but it is not impossible that he is already thinking of a legacy that can be passed on to another MAGA supporter, perhaps even vice-president JD Vance — and TikTok could be useful.
There may be a stake that could pop up in the hands of Musk, who was strutting about performing fascist one-arm salutes during the festivities.
Unprecedented attack
As with the future of TikTok, and the genuine security issues involved, an important task for the media in the coming months — or even years — will be to distinguish between what Trump can and cannot do.
There are still laws in place and a justice system to be supported, even as it comes under unprecedented attack.
Trump can, for example, declare an emergency on the southern border of the US, but if he tries to rescind the right of children born in the US to hold American citizenship, he will come up against the 14th amendment of the constitution — the constitution he swore to uphold this week.
Effective opposition
There is an opportunity for the media to become the only effective opposition to Trump over the next four years.
It is not clear that the US TV networks, which did so much to create the Trump phenomenon in the first place, will rise to the occasion, rather than being cowed by the fear that a Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission might come after their licences.
What future for The Washington Post as an organ of opposition when its owner Jeff Bezos is there enjoying the inauguration along with the other compliant technology billionaires?
Over the next four long years, there is a danger that serious journalism could increasingly be pushed towards the margins.
They must resist the normalisation of Trump.
Raymond Snoddy is a media consultant, national newspaper columnist and former presenter of NewsWatch on BBC News. He writes for The Media Leader on Wednesdays — bookmark his column here.