I admit that I was incredibly naive, but when Donald Trump got clobbered by Joe Biden in 2020, I was sure we’d see a lot less of him. After a disastrous first term lowlighted by his mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, I expected Trump would return to his first passion: cheating at golf.
Opinion
Trump could have hit the links daily and worked as a greeter at Mar-a-Lago, where his MAGA fans would treasure every moment and the rest of us could get a break from his 24/7 presence on television news.
I need that break for my mental health. I’m tapping out — sort of. I am no longer fixated on TV news shows from dinner until after midnight. About a month ago I self-imposed a limit of two hours, which would probably still be an overload for the average viewer.
I didn’t take my decision lightly. Next year will mark the 50th year since beginning my journalism career as a newspaper reporter in Cheyenne. I’m a newsman, and I considered myself one of the last holdouts who could watch coverage of every breaking event, especially if it involved politics, and crave more.
National TV news has always been a conduit for print reporters and editors to learn what interests people and develop local stories. I will never completely shut that off.
But I can no longer take watching the president’s orange-tinged body and hearing his condescending voice spew lies every day. Trump has shown he has no interest in governing or empathy for people trapped in poverty by his policies.
I’m still following the news every day, of course, by reading accounts from reputable news sources in print and online. If I see headlines scrolling across my laptop screen or phone, I check them out. I’m not living in a news moratorium cave, just being selective.
I’ve been a political junkie since I was a teen, and watching TV news has been an essential part of my daily routine since the days of Richard Nixon. I’d race home when school ended and watch the Watergate hearings, eager to digest every detail about the White House’s greatest cover-up.
How quaint that sounds now, after watching a never-ending cycle of news about Trump’s abominable behavior, including inciting a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, paying hush money to a porn star and being convicted of 34 felonies. It makes Watergate look about as serious a crime as jaywalking.
Trump is back with his “Revenge Tour ‘25,” where he taunts opponents he thinks have slighted him in any way. He’s been shredding the national psyche since 2015, when as a candidate he infamously disparaged Mexican immigrants, insulted then-Sen. John McCain and mocked a disabled journalist.
Does anyone really want to watch Trump hurl childish insults at Rosie O’Donnell and threaten to revoke her citizenship? She’s already moved to Ireland to get away from him, but Trump won’t shut up.
Television news executives must love him for boosting ratings, but the nation is paying a steep price for letting Trump’s midnight Truth Social rants and continuous distortion of facts go largely unchecked and lead broadcasts.
Only a few months into Trump’s second term, I’d watched enough of his unbearably terrible Cabinet picks cause chaos in virtually every federal department. His administration’s total lack of respect for the rule of law is clear and frightening for our democracy.
It was difficult to watch the news after Trump turned over much of the federal government to his “first buddy,” Elon Musk. While the president was playing golf and charging Americans millions of dollars for his travel, security and lavish lifestyle, Musk ran the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Its job was supposedly to root out waste, fraud and abuse.
Musk’s real mission was to use a team of unqualified young goons with nicknames like “Big Balls” to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other critical agencies.
The marauders allegedly took control of a massive amount of Americans’ most sensitive data and terminated or threatened to fire tens of thousands of federal employees, making their lives a living hell. The latter plunged me into a deep depression, because I know these workers didn’t deserve it.
But it was watching hooded ICE agents snatch immigrants off the streets who were here legally that was my breaking point. I am so ashamed and livid that this is happening in America. It breaks my heart, and it’s fully Trump’s fault. I will read dozens of articles about the issue, but I cannot watch those tragic incidents shown on a loop for hours on TV news.
I’m not the only one who can’t take it anymore. Last December, before Trump was inaugurated, a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about two-thirds of American adults have recently felt the need to limit media consumption about politics and government because of overload.
I suspect the number of disaffected viewers is considerably higher now. I have several friends who either stopped or limited their TV news coverage to improve their mental health. It’s difficult to sleep at night after watching a stream of video violence from Ukraine and Gaza.
One friend told me he’ll watch the local TV news or scan news sites on his phone, but prefers to reserve an hour before he goes to bed to watch comedy clips from talk shows. It satisfies his need to stay up with political events but puts a welcome humorous spin on it.
I dream about Trump being so obsessed with burying the Jeffrey Epstein scandal he decides to resign, then signs a massive contract to host a renewed version of “The Apprentice.” The contestants would be staff members tainted by the illegal and immoral things they did in his administration.
If Trump still needed more money, he could use the commercials to hustle anything he can stamp his name on: Trump’s top-secret records, Trump’s bleach, Trump’s judges.
The ratings would be huge and give his acolytes a place where they could worship him. Heck, I could watch that all day.
Thank you, Kerry, for giving voice to those who desire sane and coherent news coverage. I cancelled my cable TV a couple years ago. I prefer binge watch fiction shows. News programs have become click bait to lure viewers for advertisers. Therefore I switched to alternative media, e.g. Political Voices Network, The Lincoln Project, Resolute Square is now Lincoln Square, The Bulwark, and Texas Paul, and of course Kerry on WyoFile. I get my foreign policy material from the print and online journal Foreign Affairs. I also read books.
Some of the alternative sites refuse to show clips of Mango Messiah—”I am the Chosen One”—because it’s all lies and mostly incoherent. Nobody who hasn’t quaffed the MAGA Death Cult’s kool-aid can stand him any more. He is an existential threat and an embarrassment to the US.
Thank you again, for daring to print the Truth and not Alternative Facts, viz. Lies.
Taking a trip down memory lane.
The Nixon scandal. My God, how could he do that? How could he do something that evil? I too, was glued to the Watergate scandal, as I had voted for Richard Nixon and could not believe he did this, could not believe he had to cheat. He would’ve been easily reelected. He cheated
Pretty tame by today’s standards.
Bill Clinton being accused of having oral sex with Monica Lewinsky. My God, how could he do that? How could he be such a scum dog. I did not vote for Bill Clinton as I did not vote in that presidential election. I don’t have to vote for anybody. It’s a freedom I have.
I didn’t like either candidate and I refused to choose the lesser of two evils.
Seems pretty tame by today’s standards. A little side sex from an aide…. Nothing compared to paying a porn star $136,000 in hush money…..
A shout out to Mr. Drake’s haters. If you think all the things that Donald Trump is doing is great. Please move out of state. Please move out of the state I was born in. Wyoming does not believe in lawlessness. Wyoming does not believe in denying people their rights. Wyoming does not believe in using the National Guard against our own people. Even though our governor might.
By the way, there’s 33% more homicides in red states than blue states. The heritage foundation came out with that statistic. Or did they? Maybe you should check it out for yourself I could be biased or even mislead you.
We treat our neighbors well and they treat us well and we need to remember that.
We help our neighbors and they help us We need to stop with all the hate. We are all Americans and we need to back the American spirit.
In reference to Mr. Drake’s comments, I will point out that the news media , including WyoFile, has got out of line. Social media has got out of line. The Internet has got out of line. The media has played a big part in this big frenzy as they continue to gobble up everything the orange one says. Then they repeat it and repeat it and repeat it. It’s a constant bombardment, and Mr. Drake is right we need a break from it. So take a break
If Donald Trump was in radio, they would call him a shock jock. He likes his face on the news and he likes to make outrageous comments and see the results and outrage. Anyone who wants to be president is crazy. So by default Trump is crazy. Joe Biden was crazy, but more sane Crazy
Also anybody who believes the stuff trumps posts-on truth social should send in their résumé to the Trump administration and hopefully move to Washington DC and leave our peaceful state.
News break…. crime rate has declined in Washington DC in recent years Or has it
I know families that have been broken up by this whole mess we call politics. As I said earlier, I was born in Wyoming and we’ve had many good Democrats and we’ve had many good Republicans. I’ve been a registered Democrat, and a registered Republican. I’ve also been a registered independent. I’ve always had friends that were of different parties and in the end, even though we disagreed, we were still friends. All the hate has got to stop.
In reference to the gentleman that made comments about the biases in news, there is not one news source that I know of that is not biased. Ground news tries to point out biases , But , it fails They do try however .The same with straight arrow news, less bias, but still not really reliable.
I myself used to watch various news channels, trying to find a mid ground and then I decided it’s not worth it. CNN his big biases, but Fox News has probably bigger biases. The fact that Trump hired 23 people from Fox News is pretty much an indicator of the tremendous bias they have.
I along with many Americans have stopped watching as much news. It’s for my good mental health that I do not want to lose. It’s easier to read it and print or to hear late night comedians make fun of it. I know it’s still biased, but my mental health is important and I want to keep it.
So give up some news, get some laughs, listen to more music, go out and help your neighbor go for a walk . Or you might lose your mental health for good.
Thanks for listening, John Abas out
My suggestion to Mr. Drake, et al is to turn off MSDNC (now MSNOW), CNN, and the rest of the legacy broadcast media. Maybe he should pull the trigger and get a subscription to Ground News and/or Straight Arrow News to find outlets reporting in a relatively neutral (e.g., centrist) manner.
Where do you find the time to practice your “centrist” political beliefs when all you do is repeat alt-right talking points? Be honest about your fascist leanings.
Chuck
Could you please explain your comment because it makes no sense at all? Are you calling Mr. Drake a fascist. He is not are you calling him a centrist which is pretty much a good thing the middle of the left in the middle of the right. He is definitely not all right.. He is highly liberal, which is refreshing. You might want to clarify what you wrote.
Or maybe just not write anything at all
You do realize that my post was a reply to the comment above it…. right?
Back to the center like defunding police, government owned grocery stores, men kicking women’s asses in sports and open borders
Your gullible ol’ party hyperbole is laughable.
I couldn’t agree more with your “views” Kerry. The Trump abomination and his quest for Authoritarianism is daunting, discouraging and scary for our country. The “tune out” feelings I hear from many people, is that not being uninformed might lead to apathy and a green light for Trump’s ilk to continue their quest unabated.
So while I hope you’ll find rest from it, your great columns are badly needed for the uninformed drop outs to get the refreshing view that give the rest of us hope that this takeover of the US will come to a refreshing end.
Thanks for speaking out Kerry and instilling hope in the rest of us.
I’ve always considered myself a “political junkie,” with TV as my main source for getting my fix. But that’s no longer the case. These days, I switch it off whenever Trump comes on. His nasty, inarticulate, self-serving, and dishonest behavior is more than I care to endure. If he says anything important, I’d rather read about it later in the print media.
I identify totally with your feelings about Trump and overload of bad news about him, Kerry. I fear for our democracy and dread hearing every day what Trump will do next. Thank you for giving voice to what many Americans are experiencing. Keep on printing the truth.
You live in a deep red state who overwhelming supports Trump.
You should move to a lawless progressive state.
I’ve lived here 80 years and can assure you that Wyoming has not always been “Red”. Our citizenry and politics have been always more moderate and embracing. I assume that the move to far right has occurred because conspiracies and belief in fake news has changed some minds and attracted those that prefer a more authoritarian system of government. My hope is that rational actions will bring us back to center.
Amen Bob. I’m in total agreement with you as another Wyomingite that’s been around for awhile.
I don’t understand the MAGA right when they act so outraged over (mainly fabricated) culture wars issues while completely ignoring, or sometimes actively encouraging, the ongoing assault again’st our very democracy and the rule of law by Trump and his so called administration. It’s definitely not what I’d call an American thing to do.
I’m also old enough to remember a time in Wyoming when as long as it was downwind and downstream nobody gave a hoot where a person chose to relieve themselves. I’m guessing that there is probably a pearl of wisdom in that that ought never go out of style.
The best politicians in Wyoming were Democrats. I was born in Wyoming and have lived here for 68 years. The currant politicians, with few exceptions, are the worst I have ever seen.
Funny how the “lawless progressive states” have a lower crime rate than most red states. But why let facts and information cloud your judgement…