CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The NYT Times Continues to Normalize Trump

Photo by Andres Oropeza

“This is in a way the anger presidency.  Anger defines Mr. Trump’s decade on the political stage.  Mr. Trump is not the first president with a temper.  Even the genial Dwight D. Eisenhower was known to be sharp behind closed doors.  Lyndon B. Johnson’s tantrums were Texas size.  Richard M. Nixon seemed to be on a medium boil for most of his nearly six years in office.”  (Peter Baker, The New York Times, March 17, 2026, Front Page.)

The mainstream media, particularly the New York Times and the Washington Post continue to normalize Donald Trump by applying everyday terms to his personality and his presidency.  He has been called an “isolationist,” a “neo-isolationist,” and currently an “imperialist.”  Peter Baker, who has been covering the White House for the past several decades, now believes that it is “anger” that defines the Trump presidency.  These descriptions  normalize the Trump presidency and avoid the rages that are unique to Donald Trump.

Two terms that make the Trump presidency unique in American history are “megalomania” and “pathological narcissism.”  I discussed his “megalomania” several weeks ago, emphasizing his extreme obsession with power, wealth, and self-importance.  In the past year, Trump has used military force in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, West Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Caribbean,........

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