Matt Taibbi is one of the last true investigative reporters of the 21st Century. In 2017 he published a book about his travelling the 2016 Presidential election campaign trail. Taibbi was so unimpressed with Donald Trump (as was I at the time) that he titled his book “Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus.” Nonetheless, Taibbi made what has proven to be an important, incisive observation. He gave Trump credit for something that made sense to me, given my 45 years in dealing with the media. According to Taibbi’s real-time observations, exactly one, single decisive move on the part of the “clown” turned the electoral tide in his favor. It was not immigration, it was not the promise of no more war, it was not anti-DEI sentiment, it had no racial overtones, it did not involve abortion, the Supreme Court, nor any other issue the media would have the American public clutch its pearls over.
At a certain point during the general election campaign the media chorus became so coordinated and so shrill against Trump – and his supporters – that Trump gave up on impressing the mainstream media (msm) and instead began treating them overtly as what he later called “the enemy of the people.” Read Taibbi’s book and see for yourself. It is a real time, organic observation that was largely ignored. Instead of self-reflecting and considering what it might do to correct itself, msm declared Matt Taibbbi an enemy. Before that, Taibbi was an ever-present presence on mainstream media. After that he was a pariah. He has since gone independent on Substack (Taibbi Substack) where he has earned more influence than he ever had when the msm embraced him.
Why is this so relevant at the moment? Because what you have witnessed over the past several months (culminating in last Thursday’s Presidential debate) not only proves Taibbi right, it proves that the “clown” wasn’t such a Bozo after all. Exhibit A is the huge portfolio of the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN – virtually every msm outlet – covering up President Biden’s degenerating cognitive state. Even a week ago, the WH press spokesperson was promoted by each of those outlets as stating the “truth” of the matter, “Biden only looks incompetent because people are altering videos” (without a single instance of alteration being offered or proven). Perhaps the best sum up of the collective MSM position over the past year comes from former Congressman longtime MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.
Watch this: Morning Joe
Compare that to what you saw on Thursday night at the live CNN debate. It ain’t your eyes that are lying.
Moving On Up a Little Higher 