ABC's Jonathan Karl Issues Stark Warning About Covering Donald Trump 2024

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

If Donald Trump eventually decides to run for president again in 2024, ABC News’ Jonathan Karl warned it may be “the greatest challenge ever facing campaign reporters.”

Karl posed multiple questions on the problems of reporting on a possible third Trump presidential campaign in a lengthy interview with Deadline published Friday.

Such as, “How do you cover a candidate who is effectively anti-democratic?”

And, “How do you cover a candidate who is … also running against the very democratic system that makes all of this possible?”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/abc-jonathan-karl-issues-stark-113313917.html

You call him out on being anti-democratic and don't kiss his ass. I mean is it really that difficult?

[albacore]

1. How about just calling him on his lies. To his face. Constantly. nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. One of the problems with that is it could get you killed.

His followers are that fucking nuts, as to make covering that orange simpleton hazardous to your health.

I know I'm not saying anything new, but if I were tasked with covering him and his campaign, the fact that a shitload of his fans would want me dead unless I said anything but praise about him is scary.

[RainCaster]

18. It takes a team effort to make this happen

This has to be done by every news writer, reporter, editor, etc. in every news organization. Print, web, streaming, and TV.

They must embrace an accurate terminology - these are lies. Not falsehoods or alternative facts.

[albacore]

27. You have a point. Just one more indication that we are becoming a Banana Republic.

Violence and threats of violence toward the press.

[keep_left]

30. Yeah, I remember Drumpf openly attacking the press...

...at his moronic rallies. It's not much of a stretch to imagine him telling his brain-dead followers to get physical with them. He did offer to pay the legal bills of followers who assaulted protestors. I don't see how he would consider this situation in any way different.

[atreides1]

2. He didn't finish his question!

It should read: “How do you cover a candidate who is effectively anti-democratic?” Without your corporate masters firing you?

[jalan48]

3. The Republican Party has its own media networks. That's the problem.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Nope-- every time he opens his mouth, tell him he's full of shit...

It's not easy, I know-- we kinda tried that last time and he's good at turning it around (his only true talent).

But, it works if you can hold out long enough.

[Thomas Hurt]

5. anti-democratic is an understatement. The Pig isn't just anti-democratic.

His malignant narcissism is driving him to be the dictator of a christofascist theocracy.

[Grasswire2]

7. Jon Karl is codependent to Donald Trump.

Classic relationship. Karl, in his book, used words about Trump that an abused person in a relationship uses.

"He flatters me. He woos me. And then he screams at me and storms off. Then he comes back."

Karl gets scoops from Trump, and sells books. He also allows himself to be beaten up verbally by a pathological narcissist. And used.

It's kind of sick and twisted.

[blueinredohio]

9. Totally agree!

[Sogo]

8. How about a news blackout of the fool.

Let him have his rallies and bray into the vacuum.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

13. "I make you guys lots of money," TFG told the networks.

It's true. His insane lies and antics provide cable news with lots of content to feed the insatiable appetite of the 24/7 news cycle.

When it comes to choosing between democracy and profits, a corporation will choose profits every time. They'll make money no matter what form of government is in place.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. But, It Wasn't True

Despite the infamous Led Moonves quote, the big 3 networks did not see a substantial uptick in ratings for their news divisions.
And Faux, which already had the cult locked in, saw an increase but not huge, and revenues just barely ticked up.
CNN & MSNBC saw big gains, probably because the anti crowd needed respite.
So, as usual, TFG didn't really make people that much extra money.
It's more a myth that took on a life of its own.

[radius777]

32. Trump did drive ratings, as you said yourself the cable ratings were way up.

The main three networks proper are not where the big money is at anyway when it comes to political coverage, which is mainly done by the cable news networks (CNN,MSNBC,FOX), online sites/blogs (politico, huffpo, axios etc) and the major news papers like NYT, WaPo, etc.

Trump is a clown but he's skilled at one thing and that is sensationalism. He was a former reality TV star and tabloid celebrity. He's not a normal politician practicing normal (ie, boring) politics. Thus, he and his crazy antics cause articles to be written, headlines/chyrons blazing on TV sets, books to be sold, etc.

[Escurumbele]

10. How about talking about when trump will be jailed? A fact that will prevent him from running ever

again?

This f^&*^ talk about the SOB running in 2024 when he is facing so many legal battles...S^&*!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? Why talk about the SOB running ever again??? We need to change the conversation, pundits and all need to start talking about when trump will be jailed, that will change the discussion about and it will start making him paranoid and scared.

The ONLY reason that SOB would want to be president again is to avoid jail time, don't people get it? Of course that he will continue to try to destroy the country, to hand it over to Putin, no doubt about that, but the issue is that the talk about that asshole running again for president should not be happening.

And I have to add that this talk about the idiot running again diminishes the so called "rule of law" and "no one is above the law" because obviously someone IS ABOVE THE LAW if he is not imprisoned by next year.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. Jonathan Karl has given some shock treatment to the US this week

raising all kinds of issues that somebody has to raise. I can't think this isn't well thought out or that he went at this alone.

[Escurumbele]

12. To me, that is the wrong conversation, they are telling us that trump WILL get away with all his

crimes, that he will not be put in jail, that no matter how many crimes he has committed, and continues to do so, which are all in writing/video/audio, it doesn't matter because trump IS ABOVE THE LAW.

Just the audio from the Georgia conversation where he asked the secretary of state to find 11,780 votes should be more than enough to put him in jail, and there are people talking about him running for the presidency still...Gee wiz, when does it stop? how can we get to believe that "no one is above the law" and the fu^&ing "rule of law"???? How ???

I cannot believe in any of it if all these crooks continue to get away with their crimes, and on top of it they end up running for office...WTF!!!

I am beyond angry about all these.

[radius777]

33. Karl is a journalist who can only describe 'what is'

not what we wish it to be. Like it or not Trump could run a second time and there's nothing we can do to stop it. He should be in jail but our system and its laws benefit wealthy white collar criminals like Trump and his friends.

Karl's analysis is excellent because of this. He's asking difficult questions of the media itself, for it not to be played by Trump like it was the first time.

[paleotn]

14. Watch some tapes and read some work by guys back in.....

the 50's, 60's and 70's. Note their professionalism, their belief in a free and ACCURATE press and then go do your mother fucking JOB!! Jebus H., I hate these goddamn scribblers!!!!

[brush]

15. I hope he does run because he's going to lose even worst than in 2020.

[cab67]

23. I wouldn't count on that.

Between draconian laws intended to suppress the Democratic vote and what appears to be unenthusiasm for Biden among too many voters, I'm scared shitless about next year and 2024.

[brush]

26. Think that if you want, but that loser is gonna lose again if he runs. Dems...

pro-democracy voters, indys and never trumper republicans will flock to the poles to defeat his autocratic, borderline senile (probably all the way by '24) and criminal ass.

Take it to the bank, which the republican establishment knows and will push someone else like trump clone DeSantis forward.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. We Agree On That

It seems to be lost in the fog that he lost twice by a total of 11 million votes and if not for the continual big lie coverage, the middle would have started ignoring a one term, double loser, months ago.
Also, the election he squeaked by is one in which he was an unknown quantity.
He's created a target rich environment, directly linked to official duties of POTUS, that will be a millstone.

[Cosmocat]

36. You vastly under estimate how stupid this country is

nm

[brush]

37. Ahhh...he lost by seven million not so stupid votes, remember? He totally bungled covid.

Voters remember, and so does the republican party. They'll use him all they can then ditch him for a trump clone like DeSantis who didn't preside over 500k covid deaths.

[Cosmocat]

38. Lol

Yeah, ok

[brush]

39. IMO, even republicans are not stupid enough to go with that loser again.

They'll ditch him.

[Turbineguy]

16. They will sacrifice the World

for ratings and short-term profits.

[Jarqui]

17. Trump is a Pinata dangled by the GOP for media consumption

They'll let him take a whole bunch of hits and then unveil someone like Gov of FL, MoRon DeGenocidis as their candidate. They don't like Trump nearly as much as we don't but he was a means of retaining power.

Who here seriously thinks that there are no significant others in the GOP who crave power and the Oval office?

They have all the inside dirt on Trump. They can gas him when they want. They enabled him. They could have impeached him. They control a lot of the media. When they think it is time, 'Eu Tu Brute?' and TFG is done.

Democrats have to be prepared for that. The GOP are much like Trump: ruthless and unprincipled.

[AngryOldDem]

19. Dammit, this should have been done in 2015!

If the media had asked him the tough questions, looked into his financial health, and treated him like every other candidate who was running for president, I wonder if we would be in this mess. The media, for the most part, treated him like a damn celebrity and did not take his candidacy seriously, so here we are.

It’s too late, baby, now it’s too late.

[Historic NY]

20. I'm hoping for natural resolution to take hold by 2024

[ecstatic]

21. They never got it right. It's really sad

Even with their own livelihoods on the line, they just couldn't get it together.

[merrifield]

22. Why is this hard?

Why is it so hard for journalists to call out Trump? Call him out on his lies, his gifts, his lawlessness, his unconstitutional behavior. You are only afraid, Jonathan, because you want to continue to have access.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

24. JUST DONT LET HIM suck all the oxygen out of the room again!!! Is that really so

hard to do? His schtick has gotten old and once yer 15 mins of fame is over you should get relegated to the trash heap of history. Back in 2016 I dont know how many times I had to turn off some of my fav progressive talk because even there- - it was all trump, all the time. One time I turned on radio... Hartmann I think....hoping to hear what Hilary had said the night before in a debate on military issues, and alll I heard even there was trump, trump, trump. Alll the stupid things he'd said in the debate but not one thing from Hilary. NOT ONE. I just had a sinking feeling that if we Dem voters werent hearing much from our candidate, the Independents and Never Trumpers were probably not either. Its a dilemma- of course we want to know what's going on, but does that mean it has to be all trump all the time? It just created this sense of inevitability about the election that in the end was hard to overcome

[Roy Rolling]

25. Boo Fucking Who

Don’t take the advertising money to broadcast the Orange menace. Don’t give him free airtime.

This is a commercial media fail, and the media is my profession. Reject the ca$h.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

31. "How do you cover a candidate who is effectively anti-democratic?"

You clearly & boldly point out & decry every single anti-democratic utterance & action perpetrated by TFG, his cronies, & his supporters. You highlight & criticize the anti-American, unpatriotic, nature of supporting as POTUS a blatantly corrupt & criminal moron who is entirely ignorant of the US Constitution, contemptuous of the separation of powers, and who admires praises fascists, Nazis, & other authoritarians.

[radius777]

34. Unfortunately half of the electorate wants an authoritarian regime

if it works for them and will advance their agenda. Team R does not care about democracy, that much is clear.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

40. Not half. With a huge, successful PR campaign,

enough of the ones not brainwashed or in the cult could be reminded that true American patriots (and decent human beings) are anti-authoritarian.

Unfortunately, super-wealthy Dems aren't nearly as willing to fund a pro-democracy PR campaign as RW Richie Riches are to a fund pro-fascist one. Nor do Dems in general seem to see the need or be willing to do much more than post & tweet.

[DFW]

35. Pay as little attention to him as possible

In other words do THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what you did in 2016.

That should solve the dilemma.