Don't Blame Me
On RFK and the media's "guilt and fear," Lemon vs. Elon, and more
Some quick hits on a few topics — for free and paid subscribers…
Two days after the New York Post broke the Hunter Biden laptop story (and the brains of the establishment elite), and we saw the massive censorship collusion racket between the press and intel agencies and tech platforms, I was a guest on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show to discuss George Stephanopoulos’ softball interview with candidate Joe Biden. In that appearance, I talked about the two big reasons we saw coverage of the laptop and the revelations on it precisely the way we did within the corporate media — it was guilt and fear.
I expanded on the “guilt and fear” narrative in my book, “Uncovered,” and it’s something I’ve written about several times in Fourth Watch, and think about often. Portions of the Acela Media believe they were responsible for helping get Donald Trump elected in 2016, and they feel tremendous guilt about it. At the same time, they are fearful of the backlash they’ll get from random people on social media as well as their friends in elite circles in NYC and DC. They will never make the same mistakes again.
And it’s important context to so much of what we see in the coverage of the 2024 cycle. But it also specifically relates to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Take this bizarre moment from CNN earlier this month, when they reported on the private conversations an RFK VP contender, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, from 11 years ago, with two people (one anonymous and one an anchor on the network who is on maternity leave), about Sandy Hook conspiracies. This is the framing from Jake Tapper after Rodgers denied the substance of the report:
This oppo research disguised as ethically dubious journalism might seem out of left field. But it’s an instructive and illustrative example of a media trend we’re likely to see more of as the 2024 election really gets going.
Get ready for hysterical coverage of RFK. Why? Because he’s a threat to President Joe Biden, in his pursuit of defeating former President Donald Trump. And the corporate press is not going to be stuck in the same “guilt and fear” cycle as they were in 2016.
The significance of RFK to 2024 was the topic of my most recent column for TheHill, headlined “Who’s afraid of RFK?” It tracks key swing state polls that show RFK has real power to sway the electoral college, particularly as he continues performing well nationally with young and minority voters (and enjoyed massively better favorables than both Biden and Trump).
The media has the mental scars and night terrors and therapy bills to remind them they can’t make the same mistakes again. So, watch the fury unleashed if RFK emerges as a real player — and particularly in the key swing states. Prepare for all the greatest hits that put Kennedy on the “disinformation dozen” collaboration between the Biden administration, mainstream media and tech platforms, aimed at banishing him from digital existence and polite society. Prepare for hysteria. Because it’s eminently clear already that while RFK may not win the presidency — or even a single state — he can certainly play a crucial role in the eventual results. He’s a Kennedy, after all.
‘Don’t blame me,’ the Acela Media will signal, as they gleefully amplify whatever ‘RFK is dangerous’ hit piece du jour is drummed up by the Democratic operatives working to diminish him. ‘It’s not our fault this time! Please don’t be mad at us if Trump wins again! We tried!’
Through my role as a contributor on NewsNation, I discussed the column and the potential RFK impact several times this week — and what to watch for from the left-leaning press if they really think RFK could impact the election positively for Trump. I also discussed another important topic these days, which is the way tech companies are increasingly being targeted by both sides of the political aisle to be held liable for all sorts of possible major crimes in our society. I’m not some big defender of tech companies — you know, the ones which censored the New York Post in October 2020. But I don’t want the government getting involved either — and I worry about the censorship reverberations if tech platforms suddenly felt they could be held legally responsible for what their users say and do.
We have passive censorship right now — we post something on X, or YouTube, and it might get flagged by an algorithm, and demonetized or taken down by some human moderator. But what if we suddenly get “active censorship"? What if you hit post on X or YouTube and it gets put into a queue, to be viewed and assessed before it goes live. These are the unintended consequences of trying to blame a platform for the bad behavior of the users on it.
Back next weekend with a full newsletter, but for paid subscribers, below you’ll find my thoughts on Don Lemon vs. Elon Musk, and a preview of my column on NBC vs. Ronna McDaniel.