Jake Tapper is one of the many faces to stand out in the aftermath of Election 2016, earning praise for his honesty on the air while combating the label of “fake news” and distrust in the media. He’s made plenty of appearances away from CNN to seal that status, including Friday night’s sit down with Bill Maher. The two discussed Trump’s use of conspiracy, his war with the media, and his success in the lowering the bar for political lies to a point we’ve never seen before.
It’s all new for many in the media and the cobwebs are starting to shake off of the media according to Barney Frank earlier in the show, with Tapper in the group leading that charge. For the CNN host, it isn’t a political tactic to report facts and it isn’t a political tactic be decent. Trump is indecent in his eyes, especially when he attacks the handicapped or calls a war hero a coward. He also takes exception– though not personally– to Trump’s attacks on “the fourth estate” and his use of “fake news” to undermine reporting by the media outlets he disagrees with.
That said, he does give Trump a nice compliment for his choice of vocabulary. He uses the best words, you could say.
Before Tapper’s odd solo interview mid-show, Maher’s two-person panel of Andrew Sullivan and Barney Frank got into it over one of the host’s hot topics: liberals blocking “free speech.” Most of this segment deals with the treatment of Charles Murray at Middlebury College and the violence that followed, with Sullivan and Maher painting with wide strokes against liberals while Frank is quick to call out a small group. It makes for a fine segment, but none of it is as persuasive as Allison Stanger in the New York Times. She’s the Middlebury professor injured in the protests and she effectively makes many of the same points as Maher without firmly hitting the gas while people are under the bus:
Students are in college in part to learn how to evaluate sources and follow up on ideas with their own research. The Southern Poverty Law Center incorrectly labels Dr. Murray a “white nationalist,” but if we have learned nothing in this election, it is that such claims must be fact-checked, analyzed and assessed. Faulty information became the catalyst for shutting off the free exchange of ideas at Middlebury. We must all be more rigorous in evaluating and investigating anger, or this pattern of miscommunication will continue on other college campuses…
There is no excusing what happened at Middlebury, and those who prevented Charles Murray from speaking must be punished for violating college rules. But what the events at Middlebury made clear is that, regardless of political persuasion, Americans today are deeply susceptible to a renunciation of reason and celebration of ignorance. They know what they know without reading, discussing or engaging those who might disagree with them. People from both sides of the aisle reject calm logic, eager to embrace the alternative news that supports their prejudices.
The discussion continued a bit in the Overtime segment, expanding to the Democratic candidate for president in 2020 and the future of the Supreme Court. It was a special set up this week for Maher, but it could make for a fresh change If this ended up being some new format for the show. Pairing guests would be a little more difficult, especially if one voice wants to rule the entire show, but it does remove some of the clutter that happens with four guests all attempting to speak at once.
(Via Real Time / New York Times)