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1. The bIAsEd MEdiA
In mid-September, the Trump administration bestowed press pool status on reporter—sorry, “reporter”—Beni Rae Harmony as she traveled to Ireland to cover the president.
Then, on September 26, the 24-year-old(!) Harmony, who worked for the network Real America’s Voice, took CNN’s spot on the presidential plane after Trump refused to let the network onboard.
Last Friday, Harmony switched sides, going from covering the White House as a member of the press to serving Trump as his newest assistant press secretary.
There are so many questions here, but let’s start with the most obvious one: Do you think she’ll get back pay?
Every once in a while a “journalist” will jump from the press side into a comms role in a presidential administration. Tony Snow did it. Jay Carney did it. I find such shifts distasteful, but whatever. Not everyone is a priss like me.
What has never happened before (so far as I can tell) is a supposedly straight news reporter working as a pool representative covering the president on behalf of the full American media blob one week then becoming a paid shill for that president a few days later.
How bad was it? OMG. Whatever it is you’re imagining, the reality is worse.
Buckle your chin straps; it’s about to get wild.
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