For much of the media and many Democrats, it’s still all Donald Trump all the time

We’re in the  middle of the worst surge on the border in 20 years, the highest inflation in about 15, the worst violence in the Middle East in 6, the highest gas prices in several, the lowest job growth in months, not to mention the tail-end of a global pandemic, but sure, let’s spend more time covering the former President than the current one.  That makes a lot of sense.

President Donald Trump left Washington DC on January 20th before his successor, Joe Biden, was even sworn in.  He has not returned.  Since then, he has delivered a public speech precisely once, at the Conservative Political Action Conference.  He is currently banned from Facebook and Twitter, but continues to issue press releases through his website.  He has no formal authority and no government-authorized power.  He has not held a rally, nor has he officially announced his intention to run again.

He is a private citizen, nothing more and nothing less, and yet the mainstream media and many Democrats plus even a RHINO Republican or two remain more obsessed with him than the current occupant of the Oval Office.  We’re in uncharted territory when the home page of CNN.com on Wednesday morning, May 19 has more headlines about the former President than the current one.  These headlines include “New York attorney general adds ‘criminal capacity’ to Trump Org. investigation,” “Trump ditches Florida and heads north for the summer,” and “Trump spends post-presidency allowance on high priced aides as he builds out political machine.”  Three other headlines directly relate to Trump, though, amazingly, he is not specifically mentioned there:  “GOP may prevent insurrection commission,” “Why McCarthy is afraid of January 6 commission,” and “How to stop a January 2025 election coup.”

President Biden, however, is given much lower billing and shorter shrift.  Above the fold, there is only mention of him twice, “Biden adopting firmer tone with Netanyahu,” and, an incredibly passive reference to “Advocates push for Biden to use his executive powers to grant clemency for hundreds of women still in federal prisons.”  I’d say this very limited coverage of the most powerful man in the world in the middle of the worst surge on the border in 20 years, the highest inflation in about 15, the worst violence in the Middle East in 6, the highest gas prices in several, the lowest job growth in months, not to mention the tail-end of a global pandemic, isn’t normal, but what really is these days?

Regardless, pathological might be a more accurate term.  This is even worse when you consider the laurels the media regularly heaps on Biden, frequently comparing him to F.D.R., for better or worse, one of the most consequential Presidents in the history of the country.  Here’s a sampling of that meme, The New York Times in barely a month, “Joe Biden is Electrifying America Like F.D.R.,” “How F.DR.’s Heir is Changing the Country,” NPR had “Biden’s 1st Hundred Days: Can He Match FDR or LBJ?” preceded by The New Yorker, “Is Joe Biden Really the Second Coming of F.D.R. and L.B.J?”  Not to be left out, The Washington Post ran with “Can Biden achieve an FDR-style presidency,” or, and I love this one, “Biden isn’t FDR. He’s the anti-Reagan.”  There are others of course, from Time Magazine to USA Today.

Therefore, the media is simultaneously claiming that we are witnessing one of the most consequential Presidents in the history of the country, meaning major changes to our lives and governance are underway, while still devoting obsessive amounts of coverage to the former occupant of the Oval Office, despite that Trump is a private citizen with no official plans to reenter the fray.

Nor is the media alone in this.  Republican Representative Liz Cheney has been all over the news recently, displaying an unhealthy obsession of her own.  She was on Fox News Sunday just this week, declaring that “Former President Trump continues to be a real danger.”  Last week, she declared that, “I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.  We have seen the danger that he continues to provoke with his language, we have seen his lack of commitment and dedication to the Constitution, and I think it’s very important that we make sure whomever we elect is somebody who will be faithful to the Constitution.”

We are 1,266 days, over three years, away from the next Presidential election.  Trump has not declared his candidacy, nor has anyone else.  He will be 78 years old at the time.  The average life expectancy for a man in the United States is 78.54 years, meaning he might not even be alive to run, much less want to run.  One has to wonder what possible purpose this obsession serves, especially for someone who is supposed to be a Republican.  Shouldn’t she be tearing into Biden and saying something along the lines of “I will do everything I can to ensure that the current President is only in the Oval Office for one term”?  Is that too much to ask for a self-declared conservative?  If Trump decides to run again, she can do and say whatever she wants, but why the obsession now over what might not even happen when we have the second coming of FDR in office?

Representative Cheney is also partnering with Democrats to push the supposedly bipartisan commission on the January 6 assault on the Capitol, an obsession shared by the media as well given CNN devoted 3 home page articles to it yesterday morning.  As they describe it, “Wednesday’s vote, which comes as some Republicans have tried to downplay the violence that occurred on January 6 and align themselves with former President Donald Trump’s version of reality is still likely to be opposed by most rank-and-file Republicans, after House GOP leaders mobilized against the agreement that had been struck by fellow Republican Rep. John Katko of New York.”

CNN was very upset with Republican Representative Louie Gohmert who stated the obvious recently.  “There’s no evidence, as has been said on January 7, that this was an armed insurrection,” Gohmert claimed.  According to CNN, he was “echoing an eye-popping claim that’s also been made by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.” Gohmert continued, clarifying: “Armed meaning with firearms. There were no firearms.”

This is undoubtedly true.  However regrettable or appalling the out of control behavior of the unruly, riotous, shameful crowd was (see, I willingly condemn what happened, nor am I attempting to downplay it, except to say a riot is not an armed insurrection), the only person killed by gunfire was one of the rioters themselves, at the hands of the police.  CNN and others, however, are still pushing the idea that the Justice Department has some secret information on all these weapons, despite our lying eyes:  The riot was captured on video!  Where are the weapons?  I saw a dude trying to steal a lectern, some idiot in Pelosi’s office, and the Capitol Police literally waving people into the building, but sure “CNN has also reported that prosecutors said they believe paramilitary Trump supporters discussed transporting guns across the Potomac River into Washington, DC.”

This might be easier to believe if any of their coverage after the breach at the Capitol turned out to be true.  In addition to false claims that Officer Swetnick died after being beaten in the head with a fire extinguisher, we were treated to near endless coverage that the riot was only phase one of an ongoing rebellion.  CNN reported that the “FBI has received information indicating ‘armed protests’ are being planned at all 50 state capitols and the US Capitol in Washington, DC in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, according to an internal bulletin obtained by CNN.”  “‘Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,’ the FBI bulletin states. It also suggests there are threats of an ‘uprising’ if Trump is removed via the 25th Amendment before Inauguration Day.”  Nor was CNN alone in these stories, The Washington Post, USA Today, even Rolling Stone were all onboard.

Needless to say, none of this happened.  In fact, the only ongoing violence since election day has been a reprise of the BLM-driven race riots of last summer, thankfully on a smaller scale.  Another thing that hasn’t happened, and yet is still given breathless, wall to wall coverage including yesterday:  The supposed indictments coming down on Trump from US Attorney’s at the Southern District of New York and the New York Attorney General, Letitia James.  The talk this time is that Ms. James issued a statement, “We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.”

Wait, whatever happened to not announcing or commenting on ongoing investigations?  Here I thought that was a democratic norm, but, anyway this would be big news if we hadn’t heard it all before.  Ms. James ran for office on a platform of resisting Trump.  In her announcement, she declared Trump “illegitimate” and said he was guilty of unspecified crimes (isn’t there another democratic norm of being innocent until proven guilty?).  The investigation has been ongoing for two years, apparently over whether or not Trump inflated or deflated the value of his assets to maximize loans and minimize taxes.  It seems Ms. James and the media have never applied for a mortgage or seen a Zestimate:  I wish I was worth what they claimed and real estate values are all over the place, until you find a buyer.

Once again, we’ve heard this story before:  “Reports” about the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, and his quest to take down Trump are pretty much a cottage industry in the mainstream media.  Practically every month since 2019, every major outlet has reported some variation of theme:  The Washington Post in October 2019, “Meet the Manhattan district attorney doing battle with President Trump in Court,” The Daily Beast in August 2020, “This Footnote from Cy Vance Could Lock Up Trump in 2021,” Slate.com last week “How Close Are We to Criminal Charges for Donald Trump?”  Apparently, indictments are imminent, until they’re not.

Of course, I don’t have a crystal ball.  It’s possible someone, somewhere will turn up something on the most investigated man on the planet (or unless the UFO report shows otherwise, perhaps the known universe), but in the meantime all of this should be taken with a very healthy helping of skepticism if not outright disdain.  We should also recognize the great majority of this nonsense as precisely what is:  Cover for Biden’s completely inept flailing around on major issues so early in his term and pure click bait from liberals still suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome.  Unfortunately, we can expect it to continue, indefinitely.