Tell the New York Times Donald Trump's praise for dictators is newsworthy

The Times devoted more convention coverage to delegates' fashion choices than to Trump's praise for Kim Jong Un and Victor Orban

Last week, Donald Trump used his speech at the Republican National Convention — before the largest audience television he’ll have to himself in the entire campaign — to praise Hungarian strongman Victor Orban and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and to tout their desire for Trump to return to the White House. It was a chilling indicator of what Trump really meant by his much-hyped call for unity: all of America falling in line under his rule, with serious consequences for those who dare dissent.

Trump’s decision to use the most important speech of his campaign to praise Orban and Kim put into stark relief the choice facing voters this fall: Freedom, or fascism.

Or rather it should have.

Instead, it was all but ignored by the news media. The New York Times, for example still hasn’t mentioned Trump’s convention comments about Orban and Kim in a single news report, and it has drawn only brief passing mention in a single opinion column.¹

The Times has quoted Trump claiming in his convention speech that “every” television news outlet “has said this could be the most organized, best-run and most enthusiastic convention of either party that they’ve ever seen” and suggested his lack of self-control might be a political asset — but hasn’t told readers he praised the leader of one of the world’s most repressive regimes. It has published articles (yes, more than one) portraying the convention as a “fashion spectacle” and told readers that Hulk Hogan’s wife was in Donald Trump’s box at the convention. The Times told readers (in several different articles) that Trump made a “somber appeal to unity” and declared that “we must not demonize political disagreement” — but didn’t mention that Trump praised a dictator who ordered the assassination of his own brother.

Over the weekend Trump followed up on his convention praise for Orban and Kim at a rally in Michigan at which he again touted Orban’s endorsement of him and praised Chinese President Xi Jinping as “brilliant” because he “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.” The New York Times covered Trump’s Michigan rally, quoting him saying “I took a bullet for democracy” and calling Democrats “the enemies of democracy” — but no mention of his comments about Orban or Xi.²

Trump’s praise for foreign dictators and autocrats isn’t one of his weird quirks, like the goofy jokes³ he keeps telling about Hannibal Lecter. This is a presidential candidate who has said he wants to be a dictator, who regularly urges his supporters to become violent on his behalf, who incited a deadly insurrection in a desperate attempt to cling to power, and who threatens “retribution” against journalists and political adversaries praising dictators and strongmen who lead oppressive regimes.

When Trump praises Orban, Putin, and Kim Jong Un he is signaling how he intends to govern. It might well be the single most important thing for voters to know and understand about Donald Trump. It is probably the single most important and revealing passage in the history of convention speeches. And the news media has ignored it.

Maybe you’d like to join me in submitting a tip to the New York Times:

1. Maureen Dowd: “he soon strayed from the teleprompter and the unity theme, going back to the stream of consciousness he prefers, talking about Hannibal Lecter — ‘He’d love to have you for dinner’ — and slamming ‘Crazy Nancy Pelosi,’ praising Viktor Orban and blasting the ‘green new scam.’” That’s it. Just three words in a single opinion column. Zero news reports.

2. I’m focusing on the New York Times here because it is the nation’s most influential news outlet, and for illustrative purposes. Other outlets have behaved similarly.

3. ?