E.J. Dionne: “The larger battle, captured by the phrase ‘winning the news cycle,’ involves a fierce competition to push reports that help your own side to the top while sidelining those that serve the interests of your opponents.”
“In the Trump era, this clash has fundamentally changed because the president and his lieutenants have realized that lying works; shameless dissembling is now standard operating procedure for the White House. Partisan outlets go with President Trump’s versions of events, even when they are demonstrably false. Mainstream outlets feel duty bound to report them, even as they debunk the lies.”
“Moreover, our chief executive instinctively knows what Alexander Hamilton taught long ago: that the despot’s ‘object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’ ’ If the news gets troublesome, Trump and his minions create all manner of controversies and distractions that consume a lot of media space and time.”
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