The press’s attempt to secure Donald Trump the 2024 GOP nomination could be a case of “be careful what you wish for.” While major newsrooms may see a ratings and subscription boost, the press may not want another four years of President Donald Trump. Trump is no longer a circus act, but rather an older, more tired boor and loudmouth, obsessed with relitigating the 2020 election. The public doesn’t want to spend another four years watching every single person in the news industry focus obsessively on Trump, his every utterance and action.
The New York Times recently gathered a group of columnists and opinion writers and asked them the same boilerplate questions we’ve been asking since Trump’s candidacy in 2015. While some writers tried to say something interesting and original about Trump, it amounted to nothing, as everything about Trump has been said and done. Originality regarding Trump has become nearly impossible.
Ross Douthat was the only one who had the moral courage to have a little fun with the exercise, to go where his colleagues didn’t dare to go for fear of appearing to be unserious thinkers. He was the only one essentially to admit, “Everything about Trump, including this exercise, is boring.” He was the only one unafraid to say the obviously correct thing we all feel and know.
The news industry may assume another Trump presidency will be great for business, but they may find themselves heading down the path to terminal, soul-crushing boredom, dragging any remaining viewers and readers with them.
