# If Trump wins the White House, will the Mainstream Media admit it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 18, 2016, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239 "2016-09-18T07:32:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/21 "2016-09-18T15:57:25Z")
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**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/22 "2016-09-18T16:00:26Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Troll. Ban. > > I mean, how much more of SA’s schtick do you need? :rolleyes: Do you really think he is sincere when he posts this garbage? Why wouldn’t I be, and why do you characterize it as ‘garbage’? Here we have a situation where the nation’s largest and most influential news organizations are trying to create the news rather than report on it. And the news they’re trying to create is that Hillary Clinton be elected president. They are deliberately withholding information from their readership that they feel reflects positively on a candidate they hate, and so far not a single poster to this thread seems to see anything whatsoever wrong with that. I put this in Elections rather than the Pit for the express purpose of discussing this onerous abuse of the power of the press and its obvious left-wing bias rather than provide a platform for the sort of person who thinks this is just peachy to respond by taking potshots at me. I realize that people like you would prefer this place to be nothing but a left wing echo chamber, but at least have the decency to frame your complaint as what it is. It’s hardly garbage to be pointing out that this country’s mainstream media is deliberately withholding the fact that as many people currently favor the opponent of their favored candidate as favor that candidate themselves and are in effect trying to cut half the country’s votership out of the discussion. It’s the worst abuse of the power of the press I recall having ever seen. > [@Lobohan](#): > > When I think about what kind of stupid asshole would actually support Trump, I’m often at a loss as how to visualize them. Then I remember, oh yeah, Starving Artist. Do you never tire of being wrong? Just like you were wrong when you claimed I get my info from right wing radio and television, I’m not ‘supporting’ Trump. I’m not going to vote for him and have said so many times. But of course to many of the less intelligent denizens of this allegedly ignorance-fighting website, criticism of wrongdoing on one side = ‘support’ for the other. It’s unsurprising for you to be found amongst that group. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/23 "2016-09-18T16:03:32Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Do you never tire of being wrong? Just like you were wrong when you claimed I get my info from right wing radio and television, I’m not ‘supporting’ Trump. I’m not going to vote for him and have said so many times. But of course to many of the less intelligent denizens of this allegedly ignorance-fighting website, criticism of wrongdoing on one side = ‘support’ for the other. It’s unsurprising for you to be found amongst that group. I believe you’re a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/24 "2016-09-18T16:13:58Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > If in fact Trump were to win the popular vote he would almost certainly win the electoral college. Right, a popular vote winner/EC loser combination hasn’t occurred in like, forever. Trump losing by such a mechanism would be highly entertaining, though noisy. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/25 "2016-09-18T16:16:46Z")
To expand on post 23: you lead off with a premise that references stories from Fox News and the Drudge Report, but you claim you don’t get your news from right-wing radio and television? Well, I guess technically not, since Drudge is on the Internet. Never get your news from any of these sources, do you really want to stick with that? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/26 "2016-09-18T16:20:04Z")
> [@El Kabong](#): > > I believe you’re a liar. Despite dozens if not hundreds of such allegations over the years, when called on it not one single person on this board has been able to prove I’ve ever lied about anything. The reason for this should be glaringly obvious. But having said that, I’ve grown tired of the silly slapfests that I used to spend so much time participating in in the past. Call it late-stage maturity or whatever, but now that the thread has been moved to the Pit I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/27 "2016-09-18T16:21:47Z")
The thread title is a fundamentally stupid question. The “mainstream media” is a collection of commercial entities, not a political movement, and certainly not a delusional political movement. The mainstream media is the reason Trump is doing as well as he is. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/28 "2016-09-18T16:29:17Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > To expand on post 23: you lead off with a premise that references stories from Fox News and the Drudge Report, but you claim you don’t get your news from right-wing radio and television? Well, I guess technically not, since Drudge is on the Internet. > > Never get your news from any of these sources, do you really want to stick with that? Okay, now I see why you said what you did, and I’ll admit your point is well-taken if somewhat off the mark. _Fox’s_ online website is a good deal different than its television namesake. It’s pretty much a straight forward news reporting site, albeit one unlike the more mainstream media in that discouraging word can occasionally be found about Barack Obama. Same with _Drudge_. When people talk about someone getting their information from right wing talk and television though, they’re usually talking about Fox News on television and the influence of or things said by people like Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, etc., or about agitators like Rush Limbaugh. I watch/listen to none of these people. And now like I said in my previous post, I’m out. I didn’t want this in the Pit and I’m not gonna participate now that it’s here. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/29 "2016-09-18T16:29:52Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Despite dozens if not hundreds of such allegations over the years, when called on it not one single person on this board has been able to prove I’ve ever lied about anything. > > The reason for this should be glaringly obvious. > > But having said that, I’ve grown tired of the silly slapfests that I used to spend so much time participating in in the past. Call it late-stage maturity or whatever, but now that the thread has been moved to the Pit I’m out. I know you’re still reading this, so I’ll just point out that you are, as usual, missing the point, which is your credibility, or rather complete lack of same, on this board. But hey, if you really insist your silly OP was a perfectly serious question, I won’t argue further. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/30 "2016-09-18T16:31:34Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And the news they’re trying to create is that Hillary Clinton be elected president. They are deliberately withholding information from their readership that they feel reflects positively on a candidate they hate […] If that’s the case, then you won’t have any problem – or any trouble – citing how the media outlets you listed in the OP reported on Clinton’s much more favorable polling a few weeks ago? We should expect that CNN and NYT to have reported on it prominently (because it fits with the narrative they’re trying to push), and Drudge and Fox to have reported on it as well (because they are reputable news organizations who do not wish to create the news). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/31 "2016-09-18T16:36:35Z")
Paper towel tube! First!! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/32 "2016-09-18T16:37:20Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Just got online tonight and began perusing some of the country’s major news sites to see what was up. Apparently Donald Trump has virtually erased Hillary Clinton’s lead in some of the major polls. Here’s how this fact came to light: > > _Fox News_: “TRUMP TALKS TOUGH: Back to ‘Law and Order’ as polls show tight race” > > _Drudge Report_: “WIRE: TRUMP CATCHES CLINTON IN ELECTORAL COLLEGE…” > > _NY Times_: Crickets > > _CNN_: Crickets > > _USA Today_: Crickets > > _NPR_: Crickets > > Of course all the cricketing sites had numerous articles and/or opinion pieces lambasting Trump for one offense or another, but not a peep was to be found anywhere to acknowledge the fact that the race is now neck and neck. > > So now that Trump’s candidacy has given the mainstream media self-granted permission to throw off its poorly maintained charade of impartiality and come down four square in opposition to Trump and apparently only print negative items about him, I find myself wondering about the quandry it will find itself in should Trump actually win the election. Will the media report it in the manner of a catastrophe, something along the lines of > > _“ **OH, SHIT, TRUMP TAKES WHITE HOUSE! THE END IS NEAR!** ”_, > > or will they follow present form and just remain silent on his victory, unable to bring themselves to acknowledge it and contenting themselves instead to snipe at him editorially and in smaller articles over any and everything he and his administration thinks, does or says? > > We live in interesting times. The only thing “interesting” about this little rant is that all the mainstream media that you claimed had failed to report this situation had actually reported the same stories several days earlier, so what you are seeing is that Fox News and Drudge are simply repeating old stories, apparently to keep them alive. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/33 "2016-09-18T16:39:05Z")
Sometimes the board rules forbidding the demanding of fucking off to a fellow Doper seriously hinder my enjoyment thereof… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/34 "2016-09-18T16:39:21Z")
Considering the OP basically boils down to “The Drudge Report says Trump will win” it’s easy to see why all the legitimate media aren’t reporting this story. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/35 "2016-09-18T16:40:35Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I didn’t want this in the Pit and I’m not gonna participate now that it’s here. Then, you should have posted a debate, rather than a snide rant, in Elections. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/36 "2016-09-18T16:45:20Z")
The only people it seems to be a rant to are the ones who seem to have no problem with the subject being criticized. To me it was more a case of making fun of a rather egregious form of media bias. And I didn’t post it as a debate because I didn’t post it in Great Debates. The subject pertained to the election so I posted it in Elections, which for some silly reason I thought was appropriate. And if the mainstream sites had already reported it like you said, why do most if not all the comments I’ve seen around here lately talk about Trump being behind in the polls rather than having pulled even? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/37 "2016-09-18T16:46:48Z")
I’ve seen nothing BUT discussion of how the race has tightened in the mainstream media over the past week. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/38 "2016-09-18T16:49:33Z")
Well, there are lots of threads and lots of comments but I haven’t seen anything along the lines of Trump having pulled even in the popular vote, nor of his having pulled ahead in the EC. YMMV and that’s fine, but I haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/39 "2016-09-18T16:52:58Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Well, there are lots of threads and lots of comments but I haven’t seen anything along the lines of Trump having pulled even in the popular vote, nor of his having pulled ahead in the EC. YMMV and that’s fine, but I haven’t seen it. Sorry there were bombings in New York City that pushed your favorite story off of page one. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239/40 "2016-09-18T16:54:52Z")
I just want to point out that this post, and any by me that follow, do not mean I’m participating in this thread. Just so that’s clear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-wins-the-white-house-will-the-mainstream-media-admit-it/766239.md?page=3)