Journalism legend Ted Koppel, during a discussion with Marvin Kalb at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace earlier this month, shocked the panel when he admitted that President Trump is mostly right about the biased media.
It had to be especially surprising considering the panel was discussing Kalb’s book, titled “Enemy of the People: Trump’s War on the Press, The New McCarthyism, and The Threat to American Democracy.”
Koppel went into a rather detailed analysis as to why Trump’s perception that the media is against him is, well … accurate.
“I’m terribly concerned that when you talk about the New York Times these days, when you talk about the Washington Post these days, we’re not talking about the New York Times of 50 years ago. We are not talking about the Washington Post of 50 years ago,” he explained.
“We’re talking about organizations that I believe have, in fact, decided as organizations that Donald J. Trump is bad for the United States.”
From @newsbusters: ‘Ted Koppel: Trump’s ‘Not Mistaken’ That Liberal Media Are Blatantly ‘Out to Get Him.” https://t.co/J8EWOMTC8J
— Byron York (@ByronYork) March 19, 2019
Koppel continued by pointing to the New York Times coverage of the famed Access Hollywood tape in which Trump was heard describing his fame and popularity with the ladies in vulgar terms. The fact that the Times was willing to eschew decorum and print those words on the front page was a sign that they would do anything to stop the Trump train.
“I turned to my wife and I said the Times is absolutely committed to making sure that this guy does not get elected,” Koppel recalled. “So his [Trump’s] perception that the establishment press is out to get him … he’s not mistaken in that perception.”
You can watch a bit of the conversation in the clip below (it starts at the relevant segment) …
Mocked CNN
While Koppel is focused on the New York Times and the Washington Post in this discussion, he also took a few shots at CNN and their rotund political analyst, Brian Stelter, just a few months ago.
Koppel mocked Stelter face-to-face during a National Press Club panel discussion in October, saying CNN’s “ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump.”
Video: To consternation of @BrianStelter, Ted Koppel contended during 10/1 Kalb Report @PressClubDC: “You would be lost without @realDonaldTrump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.” Stelter: “Ted, you know that’s not true. You’re playing for laughs.” #NPCLive pic.twitter.com/XGZl9yNzqh
— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) October 3, 2018
Stelter fought back against the famed journalist’s assertion, to which Koppel responded by condescendingly stating it must be a “sensitive subject” for him.
Criticized Trump Too
Koppel didn’t completely let his own negativity toward the President stay caged, stating that there may be “some justification” to the idea “that Donald Trump is bad for the United States.”
Still, he added, “[Trump’s] not mistaken when so many of the liberal media, for example, described themselves as belonging to the Resistance.”
“We are not the reservoir of objectivity that I think we were,” Koppel told his colleague.
