New York Times columnist Frank Bruni says the election will deliver a verdict on Donald Trump, but the media face a verdict as well–a “moment of truth”: Will ratings cause the media to continue covering Trump despite the end of the “he’s a candidate for president” rationale making his every word worth reporting?
“I’m a little nervous that the media won’t quit him as thoroughly or as soon as it should,” Bruni said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday. “Trump without TV coverage is like a plant without sunshine, soil and water. So he’s going to continue to make a bid for our attention. He’s maybe going still be a good economic thing for the media, but we have to say what is the public interest for continuing to keep our cameras on him and keep writing about him–especially when he’s trying to be so disruptive to and undermining of democracy itself?”