MONITOR

Stop Airing Trump’s Press Briefings

Enough is enough — have we learned nothing from 2016?

Yamiche Alcindor of PBS NewsHour asks U.S. President Donald Trump questions at a press briefing. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

During Monday’s coronavirus press briefing, President Donald Trump aired a four-minute video montage that championed his purportedly early and aggressive response to the pandemic. The clips, taken out of context, resembled a campaign ad rather than an assessment of the outbreak. CNN cut away just as the video began playing. MSNBC aired it but then largely ignored the remainder of the briefing. CNN’s John King and MSNBC’s Ari Melber characterized the video as propaganda.

Such criticism rings hollow and feels a day late and a dollar short. For years, mainstream media, including CNN and MSNBC, have happily provided a large audience for Trump’s lies and disinformation. Trump has spread propaganda at every White House press briefing, and Monday’s briefing was no exception. And though a few news organizations have pledged to refuse to air future ones, many intend to continue doing so. But with only six months until the next presidential election, there is only one viable solution: All news media must stop airing Trump’s press briefings.

Let’s face it: In a battle between Trump and the media, Trump has won. Shortly after he declared his candidacy in June 2015, his Ku Klux Klan-like campaign rallies plastered the…