Keller @ Large: Media-Bashing Politicians Usually Have Something To Hide
BOSTON (CBS) - I didn't know whether to laugh or cry Tuesday listening to Donald Trump fans on the radio gushing over his pitiful press conference, in which he trashed the press for questioning his much-touted donations to veterans groups.
If you missed it, this dates back to January, when Trump, amid a spat with Fox News, chose to boycott a televised debate, instead holding a so-called fundraiser for veterans' groups at which he claimed to have raised $6 million.
As the months rolled by, media inquiries about whether or not the money had ever actually been collected and distributed were met with shifting stories, outright falsehoods, and, of course, hostility. But they also had an impact.
According to the Associated Press, about a dozen of the 41 groups Trump listed Tuesday as having received checks report they were dated May 24, the same day the Washington Post ran a story questioning the distribution of the funds.
This puts Trump's claim that "unbelievably dishonest" reporters should be "ashamed of themselves" for pressing the issue in useful context.
Would Trump and his backers also prefer if the media had not reported extensively on Hillary Clinton's email follies? Wouldn't we all be better off if the media hadn't exposed Watergate and Benghazi?
And surely veterans would prefer we had laid off the VA hospitals and Wounded Warrior Fund scandals.
Media-bashing has its place, and heaven knows we're not perfect.
But when politicians trash the media, it's usually because we were right on target.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
