It All Comes Out in the Greenroom

Truth be told, I enjoy the challenge. The real reward, however, is the time spent beforehand in the greenroom. Hours waiting to go on air have given me a unique opportunity to meet a bunch of liberal journalists, activists, progressive politicians and Hollywood celebrities. They have all been friendly.

What have I learned from observing the other side of the political universe up close? Liberals are united in the belief that the election of Donald Trump constituted a cataclysmic anomaly in the political cosmos. They believe in their hearts that this cataclysm was instigated by an outside agent using cyber chicanery. Equally clear is their newfound collective purpose in life—to rectify this horrific reality any way they can.

I’ve listened in on numerous conversations about how voter manipulation is the only plausible explanation for Mr. Trump’s victory. One segment producer explained to me that despite the more than $1 billion in total marketing dollars spent on the presidential race—and almost two years of daily news coverage of the campaigns—it was the approximately $200,000 that might or might not have been spent by the Russians on social media that tipped the race in Mr. Trump’s favor. If so, those were the most effective ads in political history, despite the spelling mistakes.

The conversations I’ve heard regarding the president’s mental state have been even more bizarre. I’ve heard it all—he is on medication that causes erratic behavior, he has a mental illness, he has been brainwashed or blackmailed by the Russians.

Mind you, these aren’t presented as far-fetched theories. They are treated like realistic explanations for every tweet, speech and political move the president makes.

I’ve also noticed a remarkable shift in the context of questions asked by talk-show hosts in the Trump era. Questions today are often loaded in an editorial manner. Assumptions and conjecture are spoken like accepted truths. During a recent appearance I was told in advance to expect discussion of the “fact” that Republican politicians who have committed crimes no longer need to worry about being chased from office. On another show the host asked, “Is President Trump guilty or crazy?”

The smartest, most connected, and most quoted person in all of Washington this year is somebody called “Unnamed Source.” This fellow’s unmatched knowledge has regularly led CNN to deploy the “Breaking News” chyron, once reserved for truly developing stories like terrorist attacks and outbreaks of pandemic disease. What will the network do if it ever turns up a real smoking gun—say, a videotape in which President Trump is caught secretly confiding to the Russian president that he will have more flexibility to negotiate after he’s re-elected?

It isn’t only the hosts and the guests. Even the people who book these shows are often eager to promote an anti-Trump narrative. It was considered a major coup when CBS scored a “60 Minutes” exclusive interview with porn star Stormy Daniels. Not only did the interview produce no new information, but “60 Minutes,” like most news organizations, somehow forgot to mention that Ms. Daniels was recruited in 2009, apparently by national Democrats, to run as a Republican for U.S. Senate in Louisiana.

Bookers are especially on the lookout for Republican strategists willing to bash President Trump. Doing so not only gets you invited back, it can lead to becoming a paid contributor. You could even get your own show.

The most serious and unfair consequence of all this is that President Trump’s successes have gone underreported. Historic unemployment numbers, the destruction of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and a potential breakthrough regarding nuclear negotiations with North Korea have all been pre-empted in favor of coverage of more important events—like James Comey’s vaudevillian book tour. Welcome to the new normal.

Mr. Brabender is a partner at BrabenderCox.