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What’s Happening at Breitbart.com?
It may be presumptuous and even unfair of me to liken the behavior of a media outlet to a mental disorder, but unfortunately, monitoring Breitbart.com lately has been like watching a very disturbed person. Sometimes sober. Sometimes unhinged. Sometimes giddy. Sometimes juvenile and petty. Sometimes in full rage.
It won’t take but a few minutes of glancing at some of the sillier headlines and reading what passes for serious political commentary, or perusing some of the more extreme responses on Breitbart.com to anyone that dare challenge the wisdom of Donald Trump, to realize that we are no longer in Kansas. And no, Ray Kinsella, we aren’t even in Iowa, hearing voices in cornfields. It’s closer to say that we’ve passed through Alice’s looking glass to a place where the absurd characters are darker and more threatening than even Lewis Carroll could have imagined.
Am I saying that some (not all) of Trump’s supporters are so ridiculously angry that they’ll say anything inflammatory, defamatory, and outrageous behind the convenient veil of online pseudonyms? Yes, I am. Am I saying that certain political commentators have become besotted with Mr. Trump to the point of drooling, blithering idiocy, checking whatever critical thinking parts of their brains at the door? Well, yes. I’m saying that, too.
A few days ago, Megyn Kelly announced she was taking a ten-day vacation in, of all times, August. Aha! Who in the world takes a vacation in August? Breitbart.com noted that Salon.com had called the timing of Ms. Kelly’s vacation suspect. Unfortunately, the Breitbart headline, FOX NEWS’ MEGYN KELLY ANNOUNCES 10-DAY VACATION, didn’t suggest that Salon.com’s speculation was a bit over the top. Instead, it had the unintended consequence of reinforcing Trump fans with a penchant for conspiracy theory who felt Salon was on to something.
But this one, FOX SHOCK: NETWORK CALLS MEGYN KELLY ‘TALENT,’ NOT ‘JOURNALIST,’ Breitbart.com owns. Never mind that anyone who hosts a show and appears before a TV camera in the broadcast industry is referred to as “the talent.” No, it’s clear that even Fox knows that Kelly is anything but a journalist. I mean, like d’uh! I need to lie down. Or perhaps the folks at Breitbart need to lie down.
The previous two items were thought newsworthy enough for Breitbart’s editors to feature on their site. Once posted, they generated the expected response: rabid demonization of Kelly, Roger Ailes, and FoxNews in general from Breitbart’s more excitable readership – some Trump loyalists even making kind reference to Ms. Kelly’s hygiene, thus helping to complete Mr. Trump’s original thought. Whatever … wherever.
Referring to Mr. Trump’s supporters as “low information” will light up Breitbart.com’s phone lines, and they’ll report on that, too. Criticize Breitbart.com as skewing its coverage to promote Trump and you, too, may be featured prominently on the site, as Republican media consultant Rick Wilson found out when he incurred the wrath of Breitbart’s John Nolte:
To anyone not blinded by their own snobbery, Trump’s appeal to this group, even if it is on the single issue of locking America’s back border door at night, is painfully obvious.
But what is the response from the Republican Establishment to these voters? We saw a perfect example of it Friday night on CNN.
Like an embittered Gollum-In-Glasses protecting “My Precious” Jeb, Rick Wilson, a top Republican media consultant, appeared on CNN last night to hurl criticism mixed with a lot of faux-macho ad-hominem at Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
Which is fine. Wilson is even correct on a couple points.
Then he dropped his pants.
One thing to keep in mind when you read Wilson’s quote from last night below is that Republican candidates actually hire this guy to help them win elections — which I think explains a lot. [emphasis added]:
“You do not benefit by trying to draft behind Donald Trump and hope that he collapses and his low-information supporters run into your arms. This is a guy who is increasingly leading a fraction of the conservative base into a very dangerous cul-de-sac. He is promising things that he can never deliver. And it is time for Jeb Bush and other folks to start posting up and really comparing and contrasting Donald Trump’s rhetoric with the reality.”
Unfortunately, it doesn’t bolster a Breitbart journalist’s credibility to complain about his subject’s ad hominem attacks when he engages in similar, but even more juvenile, ad hominem attacks. “Then he dropped his pants.” Oh, well done, Mr. Nolte. Note that Wilson spent a good portion of his time in the CNN interview characterizing Donald Trump’s scattershot pronouncements, not “trashing” Trump supporters, as the Breitbart headline – WHY WE LOSE: TOP GOP CONSULTANT RICK WILSON TRASHES REPUBLICAN BASE – might lead its readership to believe.
Hint to Breitbart’s editorial staff: Try to be thick-skinned enough to take criticism about your reporting and the quality of your work, and remember:
- The stories this campaign season are about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and the rest of the candidates in the field, not about the way a relatively obscure political consultant may have taken issue with Breitbart’s fawning coverage of Mr. Trump.
- Don’t let your site become the story.
- Don’t fixate on your critics.
- Watch some Monty Python from time to time, and quit taking yourselves so damn seriously.
- If your extreme behavior continues, consult a psychiatrist. Valium or other medications may be necessary (even if Tom Cruise disapproves).
Note to Ricochet’s editorial staff: Promoting this post to the Ricochet Main Feed may result in Ricochet.com being labeled a GOP Establishment hack website by one or more of the editorial staff of Breitbart.com. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
I’m not a Trump supporter, but referring to such as “low-information” probably isn’t the way to win friends and influence people. The eventual nominee is going to need those people in the general election.
If Jeb! can’t beat the Donald, whom else can’t he beat?
Breitbart.com chose to publicly demonize Rick Wilson rather than discuss in more detail whether his statements about Trump specifically were accurate. Mr. Nolte took offense that Breitbart.com as a fair and impartial news source could be criticized as something other, which is the real source of Nolte’s anger who decided to make Wilson pay for his criticism fixating on the “low-information” comment and placing it in the headline and then engaging in his own ad hominem attacks. It smacks of Orwell’s one-minute hate sessions in 1984 and not becoming for a media site that wants to be taken seriously as a credible source for news.
Whether Trump’s supporters are low-information is another matter. Some may be incredibly well-informed but angry. Others may be not very well informed and equally angry. Some can be reasoned with. Others, not so much. Occasional glances in the comments section on any given Breitbart article will display both camps in all their glory especially when the Breitbart editors write headlines and articles that gin up their anger.
Oh man! Don’t read the comments. Only jamokes write comm…
Er, never mind.
And don’t even get me started on other Trump sycophants:
I have to admit that I’ve been seriously disappointed in Breitbart.com for the past 6 months or more. It has been becoming more and more like a supermarket tabloid. I dropped The Blaze for this reason, may drop Breitbart as well.
About the only thing I read with regularity on Breitbart is Delingpole. I avoid their Trump coverage.
Well, it looks like Ricochet’s John Podhoretz is now taking on Mr. Nolte of Breitbart. It’s starting to get ugly. Nolte needs to take a nap and the other editors might want to rein him in. These tirades against any Republican or conservative who doesn’t agree with him are damaging the Breitbart brand and legacy.
Breitbart readers’ comments about John Podhoretz:
It gets worse. This also from the Breitbart story about Podhoretz. Apparently no one on Breitbart.com is tasked with deleting offensive or defamatory comments:
What happened to their editors, moderators, managers? Good Grief!
Of course, the comments wouldn’t be complete without the threat of physical violence toward John Podhoretz:
Good one Brian. Conflate the commenters with the staff of the site. Pitiful. I watched the video of a back and forth between Wilson and another Breitbart editor. Wilson was insufferable, calling not just Trump but anyone who likes him total morons. He consistently talked over the Breitbart editor, ignored any points the man made and accused both him and the site of not only being “in the tank” for Trump, but doing so for internet traffic (read profit). What a classy guy. Today I see he has taken to the web to call out the Breitbart staff for something a commenter there is alleged to have done. (Just as you have done.) Let me recap: Wilson claims someone threatened to rape his daughter. The individual claimed to be a Breibart supporter, so that makes the staff of Breitbart culpable. Next I hear that J-Pod has gotten into the act, calling Breitbart readers “rape lovers”. This must be the much trumpeted “civil conversation” that Rob Long is always crowing about. I can tell you this much, this is the last year I pay for Ricochet. Some things make me want to vomit too.
There is no conflation. I dealt with John Nolte’s tirade directly in the post and stand by what I wrote. The Breitbart comments section, of which I’ve shown examples below the discussion post, is not monitored or edited for defamatory remarks. Breitbart.com chooses not to edit the comments. Andrew Breitbart used to keep all the more extreme and inflammatory comments on the site as well because they came from rabid Leftists and socialists. Now, a good deal of the racist, anti-semitic, and sick inflammatory comments are coming from those supporting a Republican candidate for President – which is a very sad state of affairs. Nolte seems to feel that Breitbart.com is above criticism and is surprised when the site is criticized. When an editor or writer behaves like a juvenile and engages in ad hominem attacks, I think he should be called on it.
Absolutely, and I agree.
I don’t really read Breitbart. I’ve gone to their sites a few times, but I’m not an everyday reader, or a monthly reader for that matter. Basically, I am here on Ricochet and then reading what the Leftist media is saying. I feel that I am well informed about what my ideology is and what Leftist ideology is and thus can comment on each competently. J-Pod isn’t someone I would vote for because he is a squish, but he isn’t what these comments say either. I like GLoP and Need to Know. I find him to be funny and whip smart (would love to have a cigar and some scotch with the guy). J-Pod, if ever you are in DC and want to get out of the city and just relax, let me know.
Hate to nip-pick, but I thought it was two minutes of hate.
Rick Wilson is like Mike Murphy, but a bit less lovable.
I remember Podhoretz saying something to the effect that, “George W. Bush is as good as it’s ever going to get.”
Wow! I hope he’s not right. If the future looks bleak in the Midwest, I can’t imagine what it looks like on the coasts.
Heck, I’d vote for Podhoretz, especially Norman. Norman Podhoretz for all Iran communications. Both are smart, and at least that’s something, sometimes…
Nolte and Breitbart.com have completely jumped the shark. I have commented about this for awhile on other threads. Nolte has gotten into name calling with our own Stephen Miller, Rick Wilson, and now John Podhoretz. They all end with name calling and Nolte blocking a bunch of people. Maybe people believe Trump has bought their support because that is the only explanation for their cheerleading. Very disappointing
Twitter is a disaster for civilized discussion.
Well, Rick Wilson has never covered himself in glory in this regard. The Wilson v. Breitbart feud comes down to which jerk is your jerk if you’re taking sides. I vote neither myself, and frankly Rick’s conduct over the last few months has me rethinking my own positions and behavior where they match his.
Yes, that’s a low point for John Podhoretz – probably because John Nolte referred to him as “Son of Someone” which has to rankle – I’d be shocked if it wasn’t an attack regularly used to wound John emotionally rather than engage in an argument and a hot button for him because of that.
Breitbart’s problems are driven from the fact that the whole website was Andrew Breitbart who was basically a journalistic Dennis the Menace – a joyful troublemaker. The shift was noticeable on the “Big” pages as soon as he died and it’s sort of continued that way based on traffic.
There’s an odd idea even within the party that the Republicans should be monolithic and its not. You can see this on the pundit sites too as they move from pseudo-scholarly at one end (the NR/Ricochet/Commentary nexus, nearly indistinguishable from each other) towards the increasingly strident at the other (vdare/Taki’s/etc.)
Breitbart’s been drifting towards the extreme end for a while which it probably wouldn’t if Andrew was still alive; I think he was just too cheerful to be on the depressive end of the party.
What Clay said x1000. I have a Twitter account that I will under no circumstances comment on because that way lies madness.
I do like having big news sites Tweet me news however – it’s like a lazy man’s RSS feed.
What polls do we have on Trump supporters? I suspect that many, if not most would not vote for Bush no matter what, rendering a Trump third party run unnecessary to elect Hillary. Some folks on the right see Bush as a rino and no amount of information, argument, exhortation is going to change that. The objective here is to defeat the Democrats and elect a conservative. That means Carly, Cruz, Jindal, maybe Walker but maybe not Rubio or Christie. A lot depends on what these supporters have stuck in their heads because what happens in there heads, it would seem, stays in their heads. We need to know this. Bush supporters need to know this.
I noticed a decline too after Breitbart’s death. Much like Steve Jobs he was kind of the driving force behind the “Big’s” . I tend to like Nolte and J-Pod in general but both have said things that give me pause. Nolte can be quick to be snippy and J-Pod has said things on GLoP podcasts that give me the impression he doesn’t get out of New York and LA orbits much and can be a little snobby (though I suspect it’s not his intent). In any case I don’t drop by Breitbart anymore unless a link leads me there. The comment section alone has gotten pretty toxic. I wonder how much of that has to do with being so used to Ricochet though?
You obviously haven’t read my essay (peer-reviewed by Ricochet commenters) about how Trump is like a post-Nixonian archetype of the sublimated Will to Power in the medieval mode, or you wouldn’t hold that view :-P
Percival is right. The goal is to win in November and it will not help to name call or future allies.
Clearly the pseudo refers to the lower sort of commentary on Ricochet, like my own columns.
Are we sure Nolte isn’t a pseudonym for Charles Johnson?
I’m becoming quite concerned lately with what appears to be the “main-streaming” within the conservative media of the Trump candidacy. In particular, outside of Special Report, there appears to be a process of legitimization of Trump going on at Fox News. This, in my view is extremely dangerous. The more credibility that is given to him, the more unserious the party is going to look to the broader electorate and all of the stereotypes that are presented to the bumper-sticker and meme voters will be substantiated. The movement is in extreme danger of wasting a window of opportunity where the strongest candidate field in generations is presented to the public. Serious people with serious, thoughtful (and in many ways, diverse….which is not a bad thing) ideas are being drowned out by the Trump circus. Conservative media outlets like Breitbart should be doing their part to de-legitimize Trump as the clown that he is instead of supporting him.
Brian Watt,
It is cheap trick to publish comments from another site. Unless the site has enough money to edit the comments you are letting any troll’s opinion be spokesperson for the site.
I am surprised that the editor’s promoted this post. It will just open up wounds instead of cause people to come together. There is more heat than light in it.
Your number 5 was:
This goes against the spirit and the letter of the CoC. The editor who promoted this needs to take CoC 101. Calling a person insane is a stepping over the line.
Do you really think this is helpful?
Are you not reacting badly too?
I agree we should all not take ourselves too seriously. A few jokes should be added.
Q: How many Trump supporters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. The MSM will change the light for them.