When “Stable Genius” Becomes a Lazy Headline: The Press Must Grow a Backbone
Trump’s latest tirade wasn’t just profane—it was a calculated display of narrative dominance. Why do journalists keep playing the supporting role?
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Another outburst. Another headline. Another round of muted outrage cloaked in irony and timid language. Former President Donald Trump once again stood on the White House lawn, hurling profanities and asserting his self-anointed genius. And in response? The usual—reporters recycling his soundbites for clicks while hiding behind “objectivity.”
What’s being missed here isn’t just editorial courage—it’s narrative literacy. Every rant, every incendiary phrase, is part of a carefully constructed performance meant to dominate headlines, bully truth, and flatten nuance. Yet too many in the press treat it like a curiosity, not a calculated move in an ongoing influence operation.
So let’s be clear: repeating Trump’s phrases verbatim without unpacking their symbolic weight does more than report—it amplifies. Journalism isn’t stenography. It’s storytelling with a spine. And it’s time more reporters remembered that.
Instead of quoting “stable genius” with a smirk and moving on, why not ask: What effect is this performance intended to have on public perception? What narratives does it reinforce? And most critically—what would we write if we weren’t afraid of being labeled partisan for calling propaganda what it is?
The truth isn’t neutral. And narrative warfare doesn’t play fair. So the press needs to decide—are they observers of the storm, or are they ready to do some real weather reporting?