Commentary
What's Black & White And Red, White & Blog All Over?
- by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, August 1, 2024
Outraged media pundits assailing Donald Trump for fumbling his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago Wednesday are dead wrong. He may have been speaking to that crowd, but it was never his target audience.
The people he wanted to reach were not in that room, or even Black folk or sensible non-Blacks watching at home. And it certainly wasn't the "mainstream media" that slammed him for being tone deaf, cognitively dysfunctional, or reverting to his historic racist rhetoric.
Actually, the last part is right, because his racist rhetoric -- whether explicitly demonstrated as it was at the NABJ event, or more nuanced and dog-whistled -- is an integral part of his core messaging to his actual audience: his racist White nationalist base.
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In other words, he pulled one on the NABJ -- as well as mainstream media covering the event -- by using it as a way to bullhorn his messaging to his intended audience. The fact that he sparked so much non-base outrage in the process was just icing on the cake.
Look, I may hate Trump, which I really do -- and long before he was a political figure -- and don't think he belongs anywhere near a leadership position in America, much less the White House, but I've always given him props for his media skills. He is a maestro, and he demonstrated that Wednesday by delivering the message he wanted, precisely to the audience he wanted, and he used an audience he will never win to pull it off.
Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.
I think it was actually a missed opportunity on all fronts.
I agree that Trump likely had a broader audience in mind that he was playing to, but that panel was a sh-t show, plain and simple. To open out of the gate being that hostile with her approach and questioning was unprofessional and/or intentional. I'm not saying it was a bad question - but that's not how you "welcome" an invited guest and her approach did nothing to actually spark a conversation and productive debate. Being more nuanced would have served the sitting audience, and anyone watching, a lot of good to spark a discussion vs. going for the jugular out of the gate.
No Trump's rhetoric and bobbing did not help - but stating "his actual audience: his racist White nationalist base" is just pathetic. I can totally understand why anyone does not like Trump, but these constant attacks on his base as a bunch of racist nazis is just ridiculous and really irresponsible as it just promotes further divide and America's growing distrust of the media.
You gotta give him props showing up to a place where he knows he may not be welcome. I don't see Kamala showing up to a UFC or NASCAR event to shake hands and kiss babies...
@Dan Ciccone: Glad to see he reached you.
That was mean.
@ Joe - Even in the face of someone mostly agreeing with you, your childlike responses aplify your lack of objectivity. Two things can be true at one time - Trump can be an ass, but the journalists can be inept.
That's not an endorsement of Trump - that's just being objective. Her questions were fair - but that is not how you open up a panel.
@Dan Ciccone: Clearly, you've never seen me open a panel.
Dan--Agree with your assessment of an unwelcoming opening from the conference hosts. However, these are not normal times, and the MSM treating TFG as 'normal' continues to be a disservice to American voters. When members of your race have been continuously and outrageously dsparaged in public, a seasoned journalist would not be doing anyone any favors by not calling out the overt racism:
“You have told four congresswomen of color who are American citizens to go back where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabid’ to describe Black district attorneys,” she said, asking, “Why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”
A completely valid and necessary question, IMO.