Decisive round nears in Trump vs Media

Donald Trump’s relationship with the news media has always been intriguing, and now, as president of the United States, he is looking for a knockout, saying he will soon present “awards for bad journalism”. The announcement of the “winners” in a few days’ time will ironically be a major news topic in itself, though few producers or consumers of news will be taking his judgements seriously.
The White House, Congress, the Senate and the electoral system in America – as well as the media – have come under scrutiny for various reasons, triggered this past year by Trump’s victory in the presidential race. The media were sure Hillary Clinton would win and Trump has blamed their pro-Clinton bias for fostering the overwhelming negativity that greeted his ascent to office, his administrative appointments and his policies.
First, the media fixated on the Clinton camp’s accusation that he was propelled to the White House by hackers and other clandestine operatives in the pay of Russia. That damaging accusation has largely faded from the headlines, in part because it served no one in America well. The media recognised that, by continually suggesting Trump was not the genuine choice of the American electorate, they could be seen as irresponsibly and unpatriotically undermining the political 
system.
The charge that Trump is some sort of “Russian plant” hasn’t gone away completely, but it’s been superseded by concerns that poorer US citizens are being “maltreated” and that Trump is obsessed with overturning his Democratic predecessor’s policies. Then there is the problem of North Korea developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, on which the media 
condemn Trump’s aggressive pronouncements despite agreeing with him that America faces an intolerable threat.
If Trump is correct in saying there are corrupt and dishonest elements within the US mainstream media, a president elected “by the people and for the people” is pointing at a major flaw in America’s democracy. If the conventional media are correct in questioning Trump’s honesty and ability to lead, they are doing the same. Yet this is the democracy that lifted Trump to power and put his 
finger on what he calls “a bigger nuclear button” than the one within reach of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
The media will happily report on Trump’s awards for bad journalists, each outlet having its own reasons for doing so. But the coverage, whether gleeful, mocking or serious, can’t paper over worries about American democracy. US politics is no longer “normal” by any measuring stick. Criticism is made not to engage in thoughtful, necessary debate but for the sake of political expediency. The situation has reached the point where even the most self-evidently truthful accusation can be dismissed as “fake news”.
Democracy is a system of 
governance that allows for attacks on individuals’ character, but it’s always been the unwritten rule that the attacks must be within the realm of sensibility and objectivity. Trump and the media have both accused one another of treason, a charge that is beyond the pale and should not be tolerated in a functioning democracy. Not all is fair in love, war and politics, as has long been noted. But honesty should be the uppermost characteristic of criticism. The showdown between Trump and the press will play out for a long time to come, but it is constantly overshadowed by the question “Who can be trusted?”