Dem
47
GOP
53
On Saturday, The Washington Post ran an editorial saying that yes, Donald Trump went about it the wrong way, but the White House really does need a large space to hold 999-person state dinners. Having big events on the South Lawn really doesn't cut it, in their view, especially in winter. And the porta-potties that are installed for them are less than presidential. The Post claims that Obama and Biden alumni agree that a large event space was long overdue.
This editorial conveniently overlooks some important points. The reality is that if Trump had followed the official review procedure and asked Congress for the money, it would never have happened. When a fence jumper hopped the White House fence in 2014, it was obvious that a better fence was needed. It wasn't until July 2019 that the permitting process had been completed and construction could begin. Or, to take another example, Congress authorized the creation of a memorial to President Eisenhower in 1999. Architect Frank Gehry was selected in 2009. His first proposal was rejected. Eventually one was approved. Final approval from the Commission of Fine Arts came in 2017. The memorial was completed in 2020, more than 20 years after Congress authorized it. In contrast, Eisenhower planned and executed D-Day in 6 months.
This doesn't excuse how Trump extorted money from companies and billionaires, of course. But if Congress functioned at all, he could have asked it for approval and the funding and he might have gotten it. But Congress doesn't function at all. The Speaker has recessed the House and is hiding somewhere in order to avoid swearing in a duly-elected representative from Arizona. And of course, carelessly destroying a historic structure like the White House is completely inexcusable.
Anyhow, the real story here is that we are now at the point that Jeff Bezos envisioned when he started mucking around with the once-storied newspaper 10 months ago. A lot of the Trump-critical editorials have disappeared because the people who would have authored them (Aaron Blake, Jennifer Rubin, etc.) headed for the hills. Others have disappeared because the editors have put the kibosh on them. Meanwhile, a columnist like Marc Thiessen can write whatever Trumpy stuff he wants, while bragging "we're now a conservative opinion page." The editorial board would seem to agree, given that it's most interested in kissing Trump's rump these days.
So, how is that rightward turn working out for the Post? Not so well, as it turns out (sorry, link is paywalled). The paper has just lost several high-profile staffers, and has just completed its third round of layoffs this year. A fourth is expected in December, and the mood in the newsroom is reportedly "grim" (no wonder).
As one might infer from this, the paper's finances are a mess. The paper's leadership admits, off the record, that the Post is in "severe financial distress." It's lost close to $200 million in the last two years, and that trend is not likely to turn around given that more than half a million subscribers have canceled their subscriptions this year, as they don't particularly want to read or pay for Trumpy propaganda.
There are many other changes, besides the Trumpy turn, that have degraded the paper in a way that its longtime readers will notice. The Opinion section no longer has copy editors, which is not great, since AI or Microsoft Word might catch grammar and spelling errors, but they are not likely to catch errors of fact, or misleading claims, or other such issues. The paper has all but eliminated local coverage, which saves money and also allows them to look the other way as Trump militarizes the capital. A large number of freelancers have been advised their services are no longer needed, with those column inches filled by wire stories or advertorial stuff.
Fundamentally, there are two problems here. The first is that it's a difficult time to be a legacy newspaper; that's why Bezos needed to "ride to the rescue" in the first place. The second is that the "lane" that Bezos envisioned simply does not exist. People who are MAGA already have plenty of "news" outlets to choose from (many of which, it must be noted, don't require costly subscriptions or... reading). And the folks who traditionally subscribed to the Post—Democrats, independents, moderate Republicans, educated people, etc., don't need or want "Fox Lite" and they don't need or want a paper that seems to be deteriorating by the day.
So, who's left? Maybe some people—Marc Thiessen superfans, we suppose, and a few others. But not enough readers to support an operation the size of the Post. Bezos, of course, could step in and cover the overage without missing it; a year of making up the budget gap is the cost of about half a wedding, for him. But he does not appear inclined to do that. So, the scuttlebutt on the street is that within 2 years, the Post might be online only or maybe even out of business entirely. Whatever happens, it is improbable that the paper will be what it once was. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein would be rolling in their graves right now, if they were dead. (V & Z)