Thomas ZimmerDec 18, 2023
The sole purpose of this bad-faith dreck - “Trump, the moderate!” - is to muddy the waters by laundering rightwing talking points and injecting them into the broader discourse as “legitimate” positions. And the New York Times is eagerly helping, in the name of “debate” and “neutrality.” Shameful.
Show threadThomas ZimmerDec 18, 2023

It is November 2023, and the New York Times goes “Trump, the moderate? From a proper rightwinger? We love it!”

Not that any more evidence was needed, but the mainstream media is certainly not coming to the rescue of democracy.

Show threadThomas ZimmerDec 18, 2023
In fact, this perfectly captures the perverse dynamics that govern much of mainstream media coverage: Since there’s been a lot of “Trump dictatorship is a real threat” pieces recently, the Times believes it’s high time to “balance” that with some, uhm, different perspective.
Show threadThomas ZimmerDec 18, 2023
Again, this is neither surprising nor new. These are the same outlets that have populated their opinion pages with reactionaries since 2016, deliberately hiring rightwing hacks in a panicked attempt to demonstrate “balance” and how much they listen to “real America.” What a disaster.
Show threadThomas Zimmer
As always with such disingenuous nonsense, let’s not waste time pointing out the flaws in “arguments” that were never meant to stand up to scrutiny, only to muddy the waters. Call out the underlying reactionary political project instead, and how this drivel is intended to further it.
Dec 18, 2023 at 10:05pmIvory for iOS
Show threadTon ChrysopraseDec 19, 2023
@tzimmer_history Accurate headline, though. His authoritarianism certainly isn’t a secret.