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Funny how Trump-era aggregators, curators, activists, and indie digital journalists have been saying for years they can't wait until Trump is gone while some full-time journos seem wistful about his leaving
It's almost like the supposed integrity gradient there was BS from Day 1 https://twitter.com/nickconfessore/status/1343980464978206721
It's almost like the supposed integrity gradient there was BS from Day 1 https://twitter.com/nickconfessore/status/1343980464978206721
The gambit—and it was 100% a cynical *gambit*—some fulltime journos pulled the moment they saw Trump would be good for their bottom line and follower counts was to attack the sincerity, integrity, and wisdom of any non-fulltimer who (a) criticized Trump (b) got attention doing it
I've said since 2017 that when Trump is gone I'll go back to focusing on the many subjects I care about, am expert in, and am good at discussing that I focused on pre-Trump—as unlike certain of the really snarky journos wistful over losing Trump I have other talents and interests
Anyone—from any walk of life—who says anything other than that Trump being gone from DC is a *profoundly* good development for every person living in America has a serious problem, and if you wouldn't *gladly* fade into obscurity in the shadow of that you also have a real problem
When Trump is gone some folks in media—particularly the young(ish) white male legacy-media columnists who spent these 4 years green with envy at not getting all the attention they craved—will discover their problem wasn't Eric effing Garland but being absolute trash at their jobs
The idea that the same media outlets that covered Trump's *empty pre-speech podiums* in the 2016 campaign and repeated each of the 25,000 lies he told thereafter in real time with belated fact-checking are now going to call Trump critics outside fulltime media too thirsty is rich
When a would-be dictator tries to destroy American democracy and rule of law and citizens from all walks of life upend their lives to contest the fall of our great democratic experiment and all you can say is "I bet they're insincere" that's some serious, weapons-grade projection
I don't work fulltime in journalism or get paid to write columns or tweets but nevertheless spent 5 years facing death threats, stalkers, trolls, libel, malicious gossip, anxiety, misquotes, bullies, hitpieces, doxxers, attempts to get me fired, and worse, so **** Nick Confessore
But for all that, I was and am lucky beyond belief compared to the millions of Americans *directly* terrorized by Trump's policies who took extraordinary actions online and off to combat this man and his "movement," doing so with the same sincerity as me but no fanfare whatsoever
My point is that the effort to talk back to this corrupt presidency was almost *entirely* led by people whose job wasn't to do so and who weren't paid for doing so, so the focus should *always* remain on whether those whose job was to do so and who were paid to do so did so well
So well-paid NYT reporter Nick Confessore implying that it's equally or perhaps even more important—as compared to critiquing major media—that we shine a light on average citizens who in Nick's galaxy-sized act of projection opposed Trump insincerely gets it exactly back asswards
