Yes, we have come to this. Yesterday the White House was the setting for a scene that seems to capture the total loss of decorum in our politics and press. Playboy reporter and CNN contributor Brian Karem can be shown heaping scorn on fathering conservative social media figures like some Internet troll. Former Trump official Sebastian Gorka then responds by heaping insults on Karem. It was an utter disgrace, but President Trump responded by praising Gorka. Never side deserves praise of any kind.
What is equally troubling is that videos posted by outlets like the Washington Post and reported on cable cut out Karem’s unprofessional taunting and only showed Gorka’s boorish response:
The Post camera may not have captured the initial statements of Karem but there were other videos available that showed the full story. Otherwise, it looked like Gorka simply charged at the line of journalists. Here is the full clip:
Why edit out Karem’s insulting the group? There are valid objections to the event, but Karem’s “demonic possession” line was little more than taunting and trolling. Karem’s response that “we can go outside and have a long conversation” is equally unprofessional.
The entire affair was a disgrace to both the White House and White House press corp. The fact that people immediately edited the tape to create false impressions only magnifies the concern over the state of our political and press values.
We recently saw a young man sue the media, including the Washington Post, for editing of a tape at the Lincoln Memorial to make him look like he engaged in an unprovoked racist attack. It appears that the lawsuits have not deterred some in Washington.