The media totally distorted Trump's 'bloodbath' quote. And it doesn't care

The American media, the people who breathlessly warned about misinformation and disinformation during the pandemic, are not to be taken seriously on the topic. 

This past weekend proved the point, as one national news outlet after another willfully distorted Donald Trump’s use of a single word.

“Bloodbath.”

Anyone who went back and watched the context of Trump’s word will know instantly he used it in an economic sense, to describe the looming Chinese takeover of the American auto industry. 

Much of the American media tried to make you believe in headlines and social media promotions that he was threatening bloodshed if he doesn’t win the 2024 election.

Media told a blatant lie about Trump

Whatever you think of Donald Trump, that is a lie. 

It is also exactly the spin of the Democratic Party that is bird-dogging Trump’s every spoken word.

It is a lie that must be told with such pretzel contortions that you can be assured it was done with full knowledge.

This weekend, the major news outlets of this country became one great choir of disinformation that tried to plant that lie in the minds of the American people.

Now, I don’t really care if you dislike Donald Trump. I think our choices for president are uniquely awful. As I watch this election play out, I watch with dread.

I do care, however, about journalism, and this was another example of how mainstream media has become the servant to one particularly political persuasion — more proof that my industry needs to reform itself along with many of the other institutions in American life. 

What Trump actually said in that speech

What exactly did Donald Trump say in his speech?

“If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now … you’re going to not hire Americans and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100% tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected. Now if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That will be the least of it. But they’re not going to sell those cars. They’re building massive factories.”

Trump had so thoroughly wrapped the word in a discussion about trade and imports that you cannot leave that out of your headline.

Otherwise, the headline ends up reading like this one from NBC News: “Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election.”

Watch the footage. “Bloodbath” wasn’t part of some rousing line. The applause line came before when Trump promised to “slap” a 100% tariff on Chinese automobiles manufactured in Mexico.

Scarborough called out, deletes tweet

Here’s a Forbes.com headline:

“An Even Darker Trump: Warns Of ‘Bloodbath’ If Not Elected And Calls Some Migrants ‘Animals’ And ‘Not People.’ ”

The migrants Trump railed against were pretty specific — criminal gang members crossing the border. However, Trump is open to criticism here in that his claim that foreign governments are releasing violent prisoners to migrate to the United States is slim on evidence.

Sinema showed Dems who they were:They didn't like it

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough tweeted out, “Donald Trump’s America. And he is proud of it. Promised another ‘bloodbath’ if he loses again.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk slapped back, “Jan 6 was not a ‘bloodbath’ by any definition and Trump was referring to job losses in the auto industry when he used that word. Your post is extremely misleading.”

Not long after, Scarborough deleted his own tweet.

Journalism is OK with its political bias

So many news anchors and reporters were busy this weekend blocking and tackling for the Democratic Party that I don’t think they really care if anyone notices. Such is the state of American news media. 

A Gallup tracking poll shows confidence in U.S. media has fallen to historic lows at 32%. That’s even lower among Republicans, 11%, and independents, 29%.

Democrats are the one cohort with a high opinion of national media at 58%. They apparently know when they are well served. 

But there is a significant drop-off when Gallup measures younger Democrats. Only 51% between the ages of 18-34 say they have confidence in U.S. media.

Journalism is not alone in its falling popularity. Many of America’s major institutions from Congress to the Supreme Court to the U.S. military have lost significant trust among the American people. 

The nation’s media are not afraid to point out the declining confidence those other institutions. And we need to do it with ourselves.

The decline in trust in mainstream journalism is steep, and it is obvious to most Americans that the media has taken sides in our larger political debate. There is a word for that — a word that describes when your news feed repeats the same spin and distortions of a single political party.

And it’s not “journalism.” 

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.