OPINION:
This is how the media works: President Donald Trump is being labeled an outright utter racist for telling progressive members of Congress to get out, go back where they belong — back to the socialist-styled countries of corrupt governance they love to defend.
But Virginia’s governor, who apologized for a “racist and offensive” costume in his yearbook photo, is still happily governing.
Double standard?
You decide.
Trump, in a tweet, said progressives in Congress should “go back and help fix the totally broke and crime infested places from which they came.”
He didn’t name names. But it was largely accepted he meant Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley — all, with the exception of Omar, were American-born.
Anyway, to hear the media tell it, Trump may as well have called for these four to be strung from a tree.
“Donald Trump’s racist tweets show he doesn’t understand America,” CNN wrote.
“Donald Trump’s latest tweets cast him as racist in chief,” USA Today wrote.
“[Nancy] Pelosi responds to ’xenophobic’ Trump tweets,” ABC News wrote.
“Trump’s racist attack prompts trickle of criticism from handful of Republicans,” The Guardian wrote.
And all off the Mediaite website — almost as if this were the only news of the day: “CNN’s John Berman Blasts GOP Lawmakers’ Silence Over Trump’s Racist Tweets: What Are They ’So Afraid Of?’” And this: “Newt Gingrich Defends Racist Tweets: Trump ’Better Off’ When He Shows How ’Anti-American’ Congresswomen Are.” And this: “Fox’s Jessica Tarlov Blasts Trump’s ’Disgusting’ Racist Tweets: ’The Next Round of Birtherism.’” And this: “NY Times Columnist Thomas Friedman Blasts Trump’s Tweets in Emotional and Profane Tirade on CNN.” And this: “House Republican Defends Trump’s Tweets By Explaining How They Are ’Clearly Not Racist.’” And this: “Sen. Kamala Harris Calls Out Trump Tweets: ’Absolutely Racist and Un-American.’”
Really?
Is there no news to report?
Perhaps something, for example, on Virginia’s Ralph Northam, the Democratic Party’s blackfacing, KKK-ing executive in chief?
In February, Northam said this, as CNN noted: “[I’m apologizing for] the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.”
It was widely reported.
“Governor Admits He Was in Racist Yearbook Photo,” The New York Times reported then.
But it didn’t take long for the Democratic camp to rally. Once it was clear Northam wasn’t going to resign, his party faithfuls jumped to man the guns.
“Virginia Governor, Ralph Northam, Defies Calls to Resign Over Racist Photo,” The New York Times reported, later in February.
Suddenly, the messaging changed.
Suddenly, Northam developed amnesia and couldn’t quite recall if he was the blackface or hood-wearing guy in the photo after all — no, in fact, upon second reflection, he was really quite sure that he wasn’t the guy. In fact, fast-forward a few months and it was this, from U.S. News: “Mystery of Racist Photo in Governor’s Yearbook Left Unsolved.”
Isn’t that special.
Trump tweets, and the media world goes nuts, drawing conclusions and making connections that advance the idea of a oh-so-very-racist president.
A Virginia Democrat apologizes for being racist, then recants — and the media world yawns.
That’s not just a double standard. That’s a targeted attack. But surely, the media can come up with more to cover than Trump’s Twitter feed.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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