The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

How Trump Ruined the Media’s Weekend

Posted on | June 22, 2025 | Comments Off on How Trump Ruined the Media’s Weekend

Oh, sure, it was a bad Saturday for the Ayatollah, but try to imagine what it was like for the news media. Suppose you’re the lead national security reporter for the Washington Post or the New York Times. It’s a Saturday in June, so maybe you’re out at the beach for the weekend, having a nice seafood dinner with friends at some beachside bistro on the Maryland shore. You’re probably on your third glass of wine when, shortly before 8 p.m., your phone explodes with messages from your editors.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT SON OF A BITCH!”

Which is how reporters talk, by the way, especially when they find out on a Saturday night that they’ve got barely an hour to write the lead for a front-page story in the Sunday paper, and the only information they’ve got is a Truth Social message from Donald Trump. Bwa-hahahahaha!

A lot of reporters had their weekends ruined this way. The front-page story in the Metro edition of the Washington Post carries three bylines (Dan Lamothe, Evan Hill and Warren Stroebel), and down at the end, it gives credit to two other writers, Natalie Allison and Alex Horton, as having “contributed to this report.” Meanwhile, of course, the news desk was scrambling to remake the layout of the front page, and clearing space for the “jump” on page A11, as everybody in the newsroom — skeleton staff on a Saturday night — was scrambling to deal with this story.

It didn’t end there, however. After rushing to get a story in the early Metro edition (the one delivered to the suburbs), then they immediately turned around to do an update for the late city edition. Shortly after Trump’s Truth Social message, the White House put out the word that there would be a 10 p.m. press conference.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT SON OF A BITCH!”

Which is how reporters talk, when they find out they’re going to have to write up a second version of their front-page story — including quotes from the press conference — with just minutes to spare before the presses roll for the late edition. Great weekend at the beach, eh?

OK, so after filing your first version of the story, you might have 30 or 45 minutes before Trump’s press conference, time enough to write up a quote or two from your “intelligence community” sources. And then — as the final weekend-wrecking insult from the president you loathe with ever fiber of your being — at the end of his White House press conference, Trump announces that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine will hold a Pentagon press conference at 8 a.m. Sunday.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT! THAT SON OF A BITCH!”

Which is how reporters talk, when they realize that after a night spent scrambling to write a front-page story, they’re going to have to get up early Sunday and head down to the Pentagon for a press conference by that smug Fox News bastard Pete Hegseth. It’s absolutely . . . perfect.



 

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Category: Donald Trump, Iran, Media Bias

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