Trump Set A Trap For The Self-Obsessed Media In Phoenix. They Fell Right Into It.

So, on Tuesday night in Phoenix, President Trump — falling in the polls and under severe fire from Right and Left over his handling of Charlottesville and Afghanistan — launched into the one target that unites his base: the media. Repeatedly, Trump ripped into their patriotism, their ability, and their honesty. He called “the failing New York Times … so bad.” He called The Washington Post a “lobbying tool for Amazon.” He said CNN was “so bad and so pathetic, and their ratings are going down.” He tore into “Little George Stephanopoulos.” He said that the media “don’t like our country. I really believe that,” and that they don’t “want to make our country great again.”

So, did the media calmly and rationally disabuse him of these notions? Did they shake their heads and say that none of this helps the country, and that this was dishonest rhetoric? Did they focus in on the real news of the speech — that Trump promoted an end to NAFTA and a government shutdown and a Joe Arpaio pardon? Or did they respond emotionally, in deeply offended fashion?