OPINION:
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If former President Donald Trump wins the upcoming presidential election, the mainstream media should get the credit.
Don’t get me wrong: The media hate the former president more than most. But in their blatant attempts to defeat him, journalists are making misleading and even false claims in support of President Biden. Americans of all political stripes recognize the attempt to fool them, which may spark a very human response. Instead of doing what the press wants, voters may assert their independence and show their anger at the establishment by reelecting Mr. Trump.
The media’s misinformation and disinformation campaign is largely focused on two issues: inflation and crime. Not coincidentally, these are two of the top issues for voters, according to the most recent Harvard/Harris poll. If Mr. Biden is going to win a second term, he needs voters to have some level of confidence that inflation and crime are under control. The media is duly painting a rosy picture — one that looks little like the reality that Americans encounter every day.
Take inflation, which has battered families under Mr. Biden. The media portray soaring prices as a problem that has been solved, even as inflation has risen in the past two months. In March, The New York Times was quick to note that inflation is still “down notably” from its 2022 peak — a refrain that was echoed by outlets and pundits far and wide. Similarly, after the April 25 announcement of a dismal first-quarter economic growth rate of 1.6%, the Times led its story by praising the economy for remaining “resilient.”
The message to Americans is clear: There’s nothing to see here, certainly not the failure of Mr. Biden’s agenda of corporate welfare, regular welfare and blowout spending. But people know better. Americans don’t view inflation the way the press does, as if the only measure that matters is what happened in the previous 12 months. They’re looking at price increases going back years, and since Mr. Biden took office, prices have soared by nearly 20%.
The pain is even worse when you look at the costs that people encounter most often. Gasoline prices have spiked by more than 50% under Mr. Biden. Food staples such as butter, meat, bread and sugar have risen by 20% to 40% or more since January 2021. When the media tout 3.5% inflation over the past year, Americans’ response can only be incredulous: Do journalists think inflation began only a year ago?
The media line on crime is equally manipulative. Outlets such as USA Today declare that “crime stats show improvement,” while other national and local outlets tout apparently massive declines in criminal activity.
That would be welcome news after several years of soaring crime, especially violent crimes like murder and carjacking. But once again, Americans know the real story.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that more people report being victims of crime, even as crime rates ostensibly fall. That’s because, as John R. Lott has masterfully shown, nearly one-third of police departments have stopped reporting crime data to the FBI. Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore — some of the cities most associated with rising crime — no longer shine a light on how bad things are. What’s more, arrest rates are falling nationwide, which leads people to report crime less often. Why call the police when you don’t think criminals will be held accountable?
Journalists should report these facts, but instead, they churn out story after story about the receding crime wave, even as they downplay the continued pain of inflation. The press gives the impression that Americans are in a better place, and in an election year, that narrative serves a single purpose. The transparent goal is to convince people that Mr. Biden’s policies have engineered some dramatic turnaround.
Journalists are smart enough to know better, and voters are smarter than the press gives them credit for. Just 8% of Americans believe that mainstream media coverage is free of political bias. That number won’t grow if mainstream outlets continue to tell people not to believe what they see every day. They recognize that policies from Mr. Biden and his fellow Democrats have driven the inflation that’s crippling families and the crime wave that’s claiming lives.
By claiming the opposite, many in the media think they’re helping President Biden beat former President Donald Trump, but it’s really fostering even greater anger toward those who hold the levers of power. That doesn’t benefit the current president — and the former president could hardly ask for a better gift.
• John Tillman is CEO of the American Culture Project.
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