Nearly 35 years ago, there was an episode of “The Simpsons” in which Mr. Burns decides to run for governor, and his campaign team arranges for a staged interaction at the Simpsons’ family home. As part of the photo-op, Lisa Simpson is told to ask her father’s boss, “Mr. Burns, your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?”
When she does as instructed, Mr. Burns responds, “Ooh, a tough question, but a fair one.”
The episode has come to mind a lot lately, including a handful of times this week. Mediaite noted:
President Donald Trump expressed approval Thursday after a reporter asked Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store whether Trump should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Norwegian leader didn’t answer the question directly, though Trump took a moment to say, “Thank you very much for that question. I like that question.”
As it happens, the Republican has been saying this a lot lately.
Trump has made no effort to hide his hysterical contempt for media professionals, having referred to journalists as “the enemy of the people,” media outlets as “evil” and reporters as “scum.”
In his second term, however, as Trump-aligned conservatives have started populating press pools alongside actual journalists, the president has started to hear the kinds of questions that make him happy.
This started just a few days after Inauguration Day, when Trump held a brief Q&A with the press, and one conservative actually asked, out loud and in apparent seriousness, “You’re putting the American people first. Your thoughts on that?” The president was delighted.
“I like that question. Boy, I want more questions like that,” Trump said, adding that the person who asked the question is “a very professional reporter, I have to say.”
During a press conference in early March, a conservative told the president that the Biden administration was guilty of “fudging” immigration numbers. “I love that question,” Trump replied.
Around the same time, a different conservative asked the Irish prime minister during an Oval Office event why he let Rosie O’Donnell move to Ireland. “I like that question,” Trump said.
Soon after, a different conservative asked the president to explain why his administration is so “effective” at apprehending “violent illegal migrants.” Trump responded, “I love this guy. I wish more people would ask questions like that.”
Alas, the list goes on. Trump celebrated a conservative who asked about previous Democratic support for trade tariffs, which was soon followed by the Republican professing his affection for a different conservative who had slammed Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland during a recent press conference. “See, this is a kind of reporter I like,” the president said. That Trump approves of sycophants might seem inherently uninteresting, but the pattern stands out because of what it tells us about the president’s twisted perspective when it comes to the free press. In his mind, journalists — good journalists, with the highest professional standards — ask “questions” that allow him to reflect on how impressed he is with himself. Those who do so are, by his definition, “very professional.” Meanwhile, reporters from independent news organizations, who fail to shower him with affection are “fake,” “nasty,” “threats to democracy” and “enemies of the state.” He has certain expectations about what quality journalism looks like, and it involves asking him how awesome his awesomeness is. Each of these exchanges offers a peek into Trump’s beliefs into why the press exists and what journalists are supposed to do — and as far as this president is apparently concerned, there should be no meaningful line between reporters covering the White House and the talking points issued by the White House press office. In other words, Trump celebrating far-right figures who present themselves as White House correspondents isn’t funny; it’s additional evidence of his authoritarian instincts.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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