Lesson from America: Big tech and mainstream media are crucial in modern-day politics
American democracy is facing arguably the toughest test in centuries as incumbent Republican President Donald Trump lose to democratic rival Joe Biden, who was officially declared the winner of a tightly-contested election earlier this month.
Trump, a reality TV personality with a dictatorial tendency, isn’t going down quietly as he erroneously claims election irregularities and voter fraud, which he has no evidence to support.
Described by the U.S. media as ‘mummy’s boy’ perhaps for his irritable and huffy approach to diplomatic matters, Trump expected another moment of surprise, which was to unexpectedly win the election just like he did in 2016.
But for a person who ran the country as a business entity during his first term in office to be re-elected would have been an insult to the American people. This is the same man who mishandled the coronavirus pandemic leading to over 200,000 Americans losing their lives.
The above factors could have contributed less to Trump’s defeat to Biden. When Trump was sworn into office in 2016, relations between him and members of the press remained repugnant. The President who uses hateful rhetoric against the media also emboldened his officials and staunch supporters to assault journalists verbally or physically.
“Nothing lasts forever”, as a saying goes. The media campaigned intensely against Trump and the President has had a ruder awakening in the aftermath of the poll as what he calls “fake news” push him to the edge of forced White House exit.
As tortuous times abound, Trump’s 17 lawsuits filed Trump campaign, all making similar baseless voter fraud claims have been thrown out by the court. Almost all States submitted that there have been no cases of vote irregularities.
Hopeless yet unwilling to let go of the White House within the next two months, Trump vented on Twitter, his longest-serving press secretary, to showcase his favourite shtick; whining.
Trump made over 55 tweets since election day, most of it attack political rivals and accused them of stealing the election. More than half of those tweets have been flagged by Twitter as ‘misleading’ and carrying unsubstantiated claims.
Big tech Chief Executive Officers like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates have endorsed Joe Biden and pledged to work with the President-elect collaboratively.
Bezos, the world’s richest person has had a fiery relationship with Trump, mostly revolving around Bezo’s ownership of the Washington Post.
“Unity, empathy, and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era. Congratulations President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. By voting in record numbers, the American people proved again that our democracy is strong,” Bezos wrote on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Gates, who has been a sharp critic of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in a show of ditching a Trump era.
“Congratulations to President-Elect Biden and Vice President Harris. Thank you to the election officials and campaign workers who worked tirelessly to ensure a record number of Americans could cast a ballot and have it counted during such a challenging time for our country,” Gates wrote on Twitter.
But Trump’s biggest blow came when Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corporation, once his favourite media conglomerate, turned the heat on him by projecting a Biden victory. Trump and his hardcore followers have been the religious audience of Fox News, Murdoch’s TV flagship in America.
The table seemed to have turned. Last week, Fox News refused to retract a broadcast which projects a Biden win, even after Trump campaigned lobbied the matter with Murdoch in the United Kingdom. On Wednesday, The New York Post published a beaming Biden photo on its cover with the headline “It’s Joe Time”.
After four years of drama at the White House, the curtain has finally come down on Trump aided by big tech and the news media.