Seller's Remorse

It is not surprising  that most people in the  traditional media dislike and oppose Donald Trump. They usually favor leftists and Democrats and work against Republicans.  With  Trump however they have gone far beyond that to a consistent display of hatred for and obsession with the man that can seem hard to explain. Part of the reason for it  may be Trump’s  rude behavior and arrogant  personality. Some of it may be a reaction to his  harsh criticism of them.  However I  think a lot of it could be caused by feelings of remorse or even guilt, because they helped make Trump president.

In 2012 Democrats in Missouri had the problem of reelecting an unpopular United States  senator.  Their solution was to spend around a couple of million dollars running  ads intended to help the weakest  Republican candidate to win the primary election. It worked. Their choice, a man named Todd Akin, got the nomination and, after making some particularly absurd and offensive  statements and being disowned by many people in his own party, was easily beaten in the general election in a state where the Republicans won the election for president. 

In 2016 Democrats and their supporters in the traditional media  had the problem of electing an unpopular and very unlikeable candidate for president. The Republicans had several candidates with good qualifications and political skill and appeal . They also had a man who looked like another Todd Akin, Donald Trump. Walker, Rubio, Cruz and most of the other Republican candidates were more qualified than Trump, but during the primaries Trump was the one who got the most coverage, attention, and boosting in the media.  He eventually  got the nomination, and it seemed that the Republicans were stuck with another Todd Akin, this time in a campaign for the presidency.  However Democrats and their allies in the media underestimated both how unlikeable their candidate was and how many people wanted a change after Obama, and  Trump was elected. Polls showed that he won by doing better than Clinton among voters who liked neither of them.

Media people may not have played Gene Wilder’s role in making the monster, but they probably at least performed Marty Feldman’s. That could be tough for them to live with.