“Is the Media ‘Sane-Washing’ Trump?” MSNBC Host Challenges NYT Reporter on Air
Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Michael Ciaglo
On Monday, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace confronted The New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker over claims that his publication has been “sanitizing” former President Donald Trump’s often incoherent or rambling statements. The controversy stems from accusations that the media is “sane-washing” Trump’s responses, particularly on key issues, to make them appear more coherent than they might actually be.
The debate comes as The New York Times has faced criticism over the past month for allegedly editing Trump’s answers to sound more reasonable. In a recent article, Baker and his colleagues explored what they described as Trump’s increasing “disinhibition.” Wallace, intrigued by Baker’s choice of words, noted, “It’s an interesting choice… it correlates with a lot of other age-related degenerative conditions as well.”
Wallace candidly shared her own internal conflict about covering Trump. “I have wrestled pretty publicly with this question of platforming Trump,” she admitted. Recalling her experience when Trump was president, she said, “When he was spreading lies about the caravan, we aggressively cut away from it because we knew they were lies, and we thought there was a cost to knowingly broadcasting his lies.”
Wallace suggested that what Baker referred to as “screening for information” could be interpreted as what some critics have termed “sane-washing.” She explained, “Where we pull out the news that he’s trying to make, in an effort to strike the right balance — to not platform the lies — we’re trying to grasp the one thing we think is relevant. Do you reflect on and rumble with that, Peter Baker?”
Baker acknowledged the challenge, admitting it’s something he and other journalists struggle with. “We have to find that balance. It is our job to help readers and viewers have the information they need to make an informed decision,” he said. “How do you do that in a way that doesn’t accentuate untrue statements, false statements, lies, and still give readers and viewers the information they need to evaluate what they’re seeing?”
However, Baker pushed back on the accusation of “sane-washing,” arguing that the intention behind The New York Times’ coverage was not to alter Trump’s image. “It’s not because news organizations are trying to make him sound more like this or that,” he explained. “There’s a concern about how much we go forward in the same way we did in 2016. There’s a lot of second-guessing after 2016 by the cable networks… I think the real question here is that news organizations have to provide context, information, fact-checking, and as much full information as they can.”
Last month, The New York Times faced criticism for editing Trump’s response about affordable child care, which some claimed made his answer appear more coherent than it was. Similarly, The Associated Press was scrutinized for crafting a logical headline on tariffs based on Trump’s rambling remarks. The controversy continues to fuel discussions about the media’s role in shaping public perception of political figures like Trump.
