HAGERTY: Republicans, take Mainstream Media Accountability Survey

It was such a bummer that “Saturday Night Live” didn’t air a new episode this week. This past week, President Donald Trump held several press conferences that showcased the new norm in White House’s press relations. The unorthodox nature of these conferences would have made for “SNL” gold.

Some choice moments included Trump looking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the eye at a joint press conference saying “I’d like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. We’ll work something out, but I would like to see a deal be made.” Perhaps even more outlandishly, at the Feb. 16 press conference, Trump asked American Urban Radio Networks’ White House Correspondent April Ryan if she would set up a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus. Trump outrageously insinuated that Ryan would be able to set up this meeting because he assumed she was “friends” with CBC members, presumably because Ryan is black. At his Thursday press conference Trump also attempted to explain what uranium is and he dodged a question about anti-Semitism. The least surprising thing he did the entire week was remind the press corps that he won the Electoral College vote.

Soon after this conference, the “Trump Make America Great Again Committee” released the Mainstream Media Accountability Survey. It was a link in an email to supporters and the text in the email reads as follows:

“Friend, You know that I don’t trust the media to report on anything we achieve. Instead, you — the American people — are our last line of defense against the media’s hit jobs. You are our greatest asset in helping our movement deliver the truth to the American people. Which is why I need you to take the Mainstream Media Accountability Survey to do your part to fight back against the media’s attacks and deception.”

To any researcher, this survey is laughable. It was only sent to Trump supporters and the questions are constructed in such a bias way that it is nearly certain that it will receive its intended responses. Clearly, this was not made to conduct real research. It was crafted to fuel Trump’s base and potentially gain some marketable quotes from supporters. Have Democrats conducted surveys that are intended to elicit an intended response from their base? Of course. It’s not an original tactic, but this survey is unique because it targets the media and the adjoining email implies that the only valid source of information is Trump himself.

In response to the press conferences and the Mainstream Media Accountability Survey, Republican Senator John McCain said:

“If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I’m afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.”

McCain is absolutely right. So with the words of this incredibly accomplished and well-respected American hero in mind, I encourage all of my readers to take the Mainstream Media Accountability Survey. Please, don’t hold back in your responses — many of the questions have a fill-in-the-blank option. I especially encourage my Republican friends to take it. The survey was released by the Republican National Committee so for those of you who voted for the Republican Party, this is an opportunity to give feedback to your own party. The current administration desperately needs the constructive feedback of intelligent, competent and young republicans who will soon lead the party.

As a registered independent who grew up in very conservative circles, seeing the levels of vitriol and division existent in our country is disheartening. Discourse has devolved — it’s on us young people to make the political conversation great again. Holding the Trump administration accountable must be a bi-partisan pursuit if it is to be successful. A huge part of that is suspending preconceived notions about people who differ from you politically. Calling someone a snowflake or a racist is easy and frankly those terms have been used so much lately that they are rendered meaningless.

We are living through a turning point in American history. We’ve never seen a president manipulate the press like this. This feud between Trump and the media is incredibly entertaining, at times offensive, and necessary to cover. Members of the press are in an incredibly precarious position. If we don’t write about this feud, we would be telling an incomplete story at best and denying reality at worst. However, this is distracting the media from covering Trump’s legislative agenda holistically. If Trump wants the media to provide more balanced coverage of his administration, all he has to do is adhere to basic social norms and presidential decorum. Is that really too much to ask?