By, Kathy Six
February 15, 2025
It's More Than TDS: Legacy Media Befuddled
What might cause democratic politicians and legacy media's heads to explode? Well, let's dig in and see what is
creating such outrage. Many might simply designate such outrage to TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome). Although it is true, there are many who have President Trump living in their head, and it's much bigger than simple hate.
Legacy media has had to make some major shifts in how and what they report. For the last 16 or more years they could rely on being the mouthpiece of the administration with little more than softball questions prepared ahead and no expectation to think outside the box. For democrats, they've not been required to break any story. On the other hand, for republicans, particularly Trump, the goal was to report created deceit or prevarication to the public fed to them by the administration.
There's a New Press Secretary in Town
In this Trump term, the media faces a new landscape. The press room once reserved for legacy media as the elite reporters, and I use the term reporters loosely, is now a mixture of newer media platforms and has stripped the legacy media of their thrones. In addition, they are no longer able to toss softball questions of which the press secretary will "circle back to". Instead, Leavitt has taken the podium with confidence and is prepared to answer even the most difficult questions, and does not hesitated to scold the press if a question that was already answered resurfaces. For example, she stated in a press conference on January 28th, "I have now been asked and answered this question four times." Befuddled by this new urgency to ask innovative questions, the wind has been taken out of the sails of reporters whose only job recently has been to smile and ask the simplest of questions.
In addition to a new landscape within the press room, news is occurring at such speeds, the previously sloth like reporters are unable to keep up. Since prior reporting meant taking a democratic point and finding a positive spin while doing the opposite to republicans, this pace is requiring the media to digest and report out so quickly, they haven't the time to determine what the public should hate about Trump and his administration. The previous gimmick of attaching a negative spin on anything republican is now at breakneck speed. The reporters are frustrated and out of their league. Real reporters are taking their place and legacy media sees the writing on the wall.
I've Got a Shiny Thing: Look Here
Another subterfuge by legacy media was to hang a shiny "thing" before the public. By focusing on one thing, they assumed would outrage not only democrats, but even potentially some moderates or republicans, they could distract the public from anything of substance. A fine trick if there wasn't a whole lot of news coming at them so that shiny distraction lasted all but a few seconds. In addition, what they've been choosing to micro focus on has been either insignificant to the public or the opposite of public opinion. Take DOGE for example. The legacy media attempting to distract the public with cuts the media insisted would take food out of children's mouths in Ethiopia had but a few minutes of public pause before Elon Musk provided dollar amounts and where that money was actually going, sending the media into panic mode.
While legacy media is trying to figure out how to navigate the real world of reporting and, of course, finding themselves way out of their depth, democrats are also coming apart.
In a ridiculous exchange with RFK and Bernie Sanders, a five-minute confrontation by Sanders over a onesie that declared the parent was against vaccines was parody for the watcher. As Bernie's face turned red with self-righteousness, RFK remained calm and repeatedly stated he wasn't against vaccines. Sanders went on to insist that RFK make the people running the merchandise on the site of a company he'd founded but no longer controls, remove them from the site. As we watched this nonsensical demand from Sanders, we couldn't help but wonder how the hearing time could have been better spent learning RFK's plans.
From TDS to EDS
Not only do many liberals suffer from TDS, but we also now have EDS (Elon derangement syndrome). Bear with me as I insist on these acronyms in reflection of the fodder we see from democrats. Trump creating DOGE was well received by the majority of Americans no matter their party affiliation. Imagine an American taxpayer saying, "Sure, waste my money. I don't care how you spend my hard-earned tax dollars." So, what is the response on the left side of the aisle? Hate Elon Musk. Complain he was never elected in spite of the fact that over 3 million people work for the federal government that are not elected. Tell people you just won't stand for his crazy ideas of getting rid of government waste. As the American people watch, they are bewildered at the dems position. Making sure liberals are left with their mouths hanging open, Elon provides numbers and specifics on a regular basis. Even the most hardened liberals have a secret little cheerleader in their head for every crazy spending item being struck from the books.
Democrats have also been digging into stall tactics in the hopes of preventing Trump from moving forward on promises he gave while campaigning. They've worked hard to see how long they can drag out confirmation hearings knowing full well they cannot overcome the votes. Most recently it's been Kash Patel and RFK being dragged along but don't worry, there will be more.
Unhinged and Democratic Frenzy
The unhinged behaviors of democratic politicians have been watchful absurdity. Maxine Waters, also known for crying out for more looting during the "summer of love" riots, goes unhinged when trying to enter the Department of Education. She and at least 30 other democrats berate and belittle the security guard at the front door. By Trump's orders, the DOE is on hold as it is being evaluated for downsizing or potentially being eliminated. Waters demands the guard's ID of which he pulls out. In a moment of realization, he has what she didn't expect, Maxine flips at his badge and tells him it's not good enough.
Other unhinged moments are easy to find. Let's look at Schumer's insistence that tariffs on Mexico will ruin your Super Bowl watch party. Schumer's point is lost on the average American football fan that is likely choosing a huge variety of food and beverage items that may or may not include avocados or Corona. The panic and outrage Schumer hoped to stir up fizzled into opportunities for amusing memes on social media.
Trump Reprimands Failures of Leaders in N. Carolina and California
Trump seems to have an endless number of opportunities to show the corrupt incompetency of democrats in the states. North Carolina and California were the most recent casualties of democratic foolishness. As victims of hurricane Helene finally sigh in relief at Trump's visit, democrats run like rats, hiding the embarrassment of having promised a mere $750 per family to repair the complete devastation of their homes. While people are still homeless after four long months, Trump promised another ten million in rebuilding assistance, removal of red tape so building can get started and infrastructure becoming top priority. After discovering FEMA was broke because they'd spent billions on illegal immigrants, public outrage had been at an all-time high.
Immediately following his time with N. Carolina hurricane victims, Trump flew to Los Angeles for a roundtable discussion on the wildfire devastation. Trump chided mayor Karen Bass for not eliminating red tape to allow property owners to return home and begin rebuilding. While she insisted she'd already provided opportunities for residence to return, angry Los Angeles residents unapologetically confirmed that the mayor had told them they were unable to get to their properties for 18 months. To that, Trump replied, "That's too long."
He also made it clear that those fires were a direct result of improper handling of water. By explaining how rerouting and essentially turning off the flow of water from the mountains and northern Rockies, left the hydrants without pressure or completely dry, Governor Newsom is "hung out to dry".
Look the Other Way: The Border, Illegal Criminals and Lunacy
The media has been silent on the border as of late, as well. When the closing of the border (actually closing, not just saying it's closed) dropped the illegal crossings by 93%, the legacy media has completely avoided the topic. Meanwhile, many democratic mayors and governors have shamefully defended illegal criminals, insisting they will not abide by the rounding up and returning them to their home countries. While state residents listen in horror to their mayors and governors insist on keeping criminals in their state, Trump continues to keep the ball rolling. What is most disconcerting about the defiance of refusing to turn over criminals that are not citizens, is the strategic plans by democratic groups teaching criminals how to avoid detection. Some of these materials and trainings are actually paid for with your tax dollars.
It seems the media and democrats are in a state of complete frenzy. As Trump rolls out his work to meet his campaign promises, indeed, heads are "exploding". It's no wonder even staunch democrats are not only confused but questioning their allegiance to a party that is going over the mountain that is even steeper than previous liberal cliffs. One must wait to see if the legacy media gets on board or continues to run in confused circles. We will also have plenty of more opportunities for democrats to give us food for fodder. While some may jump ship before it is under water, most will go down without a life jacket. The impact on the next election will be very telling.
Kathy Six is a retired teacher and current school board member of Fruitport Public Schools, and sits on the Muskegon County Republican Executive Committee.
