Molloy: CNN's "Message of Unity" Spin on Trump's Helene Response Is Classic Sanewashing [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.readtpa.com/p/cnns-message-of-unity-spin-on-trumps

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the South, media coverage has played a huge role in shaping public perception of the recovery efforts and the political responses. And, well, CNN really dropped the ball during one Monday story. On September 30, they aired a segment where correspondent Kristen Holmes reported on Donald Trump’s visit to Georgia, claiming that Trump was “offering a message of unity.”

Unity? Really? This is a perfect example of sanewashing, where media outlets sanitize the extreme rhetoric of political figures like Trump, making it seem as though they’re reasonable or conciliatory when they’re doing nothing of the sort.

Here’s the problem: while Holmes painted Trump as a leader focused on unity and recovery, she completely skipped over the fact that he spent much of that same day spewing lies and pushing conspiracy theories. Trump falsely claimed that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was having trouble getting President Biden on the phone (Kemp, by the way, had spoken to Biden the night before and publicly thanked him for the federal aid). Trump also accused Democrats of going out of their way to withhold disaster relief from Republican areas—again, no evidence, no truth, just the same divisive playbook Trump always uses.

And yet, here was CNN, framing him as some kind of unifying figure. Holmes even pointed out that Trump was being treated like a “sitting president” during his visit, receiving briefings from FEMA and the National Guard, but she failed to mention that Trump’s claims about the disaster response were flat-out lies. This is classic sanewashing: presenting an extremist figure as reasonable by glossing over the divisive, harmful stuff they’re actually doing.

*snip*