This is the profile of the author, Brue Maiman: “Maiman spent 30 years in media as both a radio broadcaster and as a news and opinion writer for both radio and print, including Yahoo, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee and other McClatchy properties and numerous local outlets. I currently work for the United States Postal Service.”here.

Postal Service worker or not, he is a very frequent guest columnist on HUFFPOST, all of his article are here.

Here’s an excerpt that I liked:

The other defensive chestnut is, “Hey, it’s not our fault.” Here’s New York Times columnist David Brooks on PBS NewsHour shortly after the town hall telecast:

“We in the media don’t get to decide who we cover. Basically, the American people get to decide. And they get to decide by their votes and their preferences in polling.”

If you’ll permit a stereotypical Valley Girl response: “Gag me with a spoon.”

Gag me with a spoon, indeed!

Here’s another:

When I think about how many people still believe the lies that Trump has told, told in front of reporters, and continues to get away with telling (which has never been good for America), I say it’s because no reporter has ever stood up and said, “Sorry, Mr. Trump. That is absolute crap. You are telling a lie. You’re lying. Stop lying.”

I can picture the thin-skinned Trump responding as he did at the town hall, “Ya know what? You’re a nasty person.”

“Maybe so, but at least I’m not a liar,” would’ve been my comeback.

Maimin writes the following early in his essay…

“Many of our most influential editors and reporters are acting as if the rules that prevailed under previous American presidents are still in effect,” warned James Fallows of The Atlantic. “But this president is different; the rules are different; and if it doesn’t adapt, fast, the press will stand as yet another institution that failed in a moment of crucial pressure.”

… then refers to Fallows in his conclusion:

If journalists are tasked with using credible sources to support a story, why do they continue to give credence to a person with absolutely no credibility?

We are long overdue for reporters to muster up the guts to jump down Trump’s throat and call him out for the fraud that he is. Every single time he opens his mouth.

Otherwise, as Mr. Fallows has warned, “the press will stand as yet another institution that failed in a moment of crucial pressure.”

Anyone think that’s a good idea?

Here’s an example of a reporter who donned his oven mitts when Trump evaded being confronted with his lie:

“One stat before we go,” Trump said. “Venezuela was very crime-ridden. They announced the other day [a] 72 percent reduction in crime in the last year. You know why? They moved all their criminals from Venezuela right into the good old U.S.A., and Biden let them do it. It’s a disgrace.”

Raj gently pushed back, asking where Trump was getting those numbers, and the ex-president stammered.

“Uhhhh, I guess I get them from the papers in this case,” Trump said. “I think it’s a federal statement or, well, they’re coming actually from Venezuela. They’re coming from Venezuela.”

Raj appeared skeptical, saying, “We’ll have to check on that” before thanking Trump for his time and inviting him to debate President Joe Biden in Michigan. From RawStory “‘Uhhhh’: Trump short-circuits as local TV anchor pushes back on dubious claim.”

I would hardly call this a “push back.”

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