When Will Reporters Stand Up To Donald Trump?

In a recent op-ed, the news and culture critic for the Los Angeles Times wrote that since there were no cameras in the courtroom, former President Donald Trump had already won a major victory in his hush money trial.

She’s joking, right? She should be. If we’ve learned anything about the cultural archetypes that have dominated American politics for the past three decades, it’s that politicians will do anything for attention. And there is no bigger whore for the spotlight than Donald Trump. Without cameras in the courtroom, neither he nor his attorneys can showboat for an audience, which denies him the adoration he so desperately craves and has sought all his public life.

Our criminal justice system needs to be a serious matter. Televising celebrity court cases turns them into circuses. This is not a reality TV show. It’s not “Judge Judy.” It’s a legal proceeding wherein only the jurors can determine the facts and apply the law. The only people who benefit from a cheapened and weakened criminal justice system are criminals. So, no, cameras would not be better.

Besides, we’ve all seen photos of Trump scowling, nodding off and looking the way an insecure narcissist probably looks when prohibited from being in control. If there were cameras, he’d find some way to use them for some perceived advantage that could distract us from what matters: the facts of the case.

Personally, seeing less of Trump is a good thing, or at least seeing him the way the media covers him, and that’s what the L.A. Times writer doesn’t get.

The media still hasn’t learned how to cover Donald Trump. They’ve had more than a decade, going back to his laughable charade over Barack Obama’s birth certificate, to figure it out, and they haven’t. In fact,