Yet again this @washingtonpost story not only 1) bends over backwards to avoid (the very plausible) suggestion Trump may be at the root of this problem but 2) also embraces Trump’s narcissistic framing of this issue. /1 washingtonpost.com/politics/gover…
The first mention of the possibility that Trump is behind the federal government’s differential response to state requests—something Trump himself implied he would do—is in the passive voices “officials are wondering whether politics is playing a role.”/2
theintercept.com/2020/03/28/exc…
theintercept.com/2020/03/28/exc…
What could have been a plausible lede—there appears to be evidence that Trump may be following through on his threats to punish unobsequious blue state Governors—is gently hinted at in paragraph 3 as a generic issue of whether politics is being played, with no agency assigned./3
Only at the end of paragraph 8 do they note, “Trump has contributed to the sense that politics could be a factor by publicly attacking Democratic governors who criticize his handling of the public health crisis.” Isn’t that a vague, naive distillation of Trump’s own words? /4
Isn’t it more accurate to say that Trump didn’t just “contribute to the sense” that “politics could be a factor” in the response, he introduced the issue? /5
On the issue of framing, they acknowledge that Trump’s threats to states have had an impact on fearful officials, but they immediately normalize it by noting that it has been difficult for some “to bite their tongues,” suggesting their culpability rather than Trump’s unfitness./6 
There is no need to adopt Trump’s framework by evaluating whether Governors have been “appreciative” and whether they’ve bitten their tongues, or, like Governor Cuomo, had “harsh words.” In this way, Trump’s subjectivity insidiously shapes the framing of the story./7
We are in the middle of pandemic that requires federal coordination and assistance. Trump's metric of whether state officials are "appreciative" should not be one employed by journalists covering the story--unless the story is about Trump's mishandling of this crisis./8
It strikes me as a problem that many journalists seem to be adopting Trump's framework (have Governor's used "harsh words" or successfully bitten their tongues) rather than either a) ignoring it or b) making it the subject of analysis. /9
This tweet from a @nytimes reporter a few days ago reflects a similar perspective: it makes an issue of whether Gov. Whitmer has been "relatively measured" in her critique of Trump?/10
To their credit, this part of the Post’s story is remarkable. But it also suggests the low bar for Trump: the fact that his administration has done the basics for some blue states—provided aide, returned calls, and even “agreed to consider requests”—should not be newsworthy. /11
This story, especially in the second half on the Trump's obsession with political calculations and the Electoral College, contains superb reporting: “The president knows Florida is so important for his reelection...He pays close attention to what Florida wants.” /12
The critical bottom line, then, is not the invaluable and essential reporting but a tendency toward either Trumpcentric (are Governors really being appreciative?) or agentless (are "politics being played"?) framing? /13
