@havvyhh2 @shoq @dangillmor @jayrosen_nyu

Shiny objects outshining a national shiner

This month, former president Donald Trump appeared at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Gripping the lectern tightly, sweating profusely, with his pupils dilated, Trump told the crowd that if President Biden were reelected, their state would cease to exist.

He mentioned that he could be spending his Saturday afternoon doing something else.
(It was Friday night.)

He crowed about leading his opponent Barack Obama in the polls.

He slurred his words frequently as he veered off his prepared text and back again.

Not a single word about this appalling spectacle by a presidential candidate was published in The Post.

Why?

It seems like a big deal.

Unfortunately, during the rump era, the media, including The Post, conflated what is #new with what is #important.

Though it might not be new that Trump acts publicly in ways that would make him #unemployable in any other career field, it's extremely important given that he could soon be our commander in chief again.

Editors and reporters need to decide
what their mission is:

Is it to focus on what is #new and shiny,
or is it to concentrate on what's #important?

Bryan Fichter, Ellicott City