Media Melts Down Over Comey Firing

In this age of magnified reality, a two-way relationship has developed between the dominant media and the Democratic Party, one that eerily parallels a biological phenomenon.

Symbiosis is the scientific term used to describe a specific biological interaction between two different species wherein both living creatures depend upon one another for their very survival. This is the state of the relationship that presently exists between the left-leaning media and Democrats.

The messaging that is occurring as a result of this symbiotic relationship has become so uniform in content and vantage point it is often difficult, if not impossible, to determine its point of origin.

The Comey firing is the most recent incident in a string of media occurrences that illustrates the symbiotic point.

Rather than factually based journalism the print media filled page after page with editorial conclusions, as seen in the following:

• McClatchy’s headline read, "Trump Takes a Dictator’s Stand Against Inquiry."

• The New York’s Daily News ran a front page headline that called the firing a "Coup de Trump."

• The Washington Post posed the question, "Trumpian" or "Nixonian?" The paper also disseminated a story that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to quit over Comey’s firing, a story that was debunked by Rosenstein himself.

• The New York Times reported that prior to his firing Comey had asked the Justice Department for more resources for the Russia investigation, a story that was debunked by Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

• The HuffPost the morning after the firing displayed the headline "Nixonian."

With the abundant references to former President Richard Nixon, it is important to point out that Archibald Cox was a special prosecutor who was investigating specific crimes at a time when evidence that pointed to a commission of a crime had already been obtained, while Comey’s termination has no effect on the multiple investigations that are in progress at the FBI.

The news coverage on broadcast and cable television has been even more hyperbolic than that observed in the print media, as noted below:

• MSNBC’s Chris Matthews stated that Trump’s action created "a little whiff of fascism."

• CNN began its newscast with a graphic that read "Breaking News: The Bedrock of Our Democracy Under Siege," and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, after a perfunctory Nixon reference, called the firing of the FBI director "a grotesque abuse of power." He additionally declared that it was "the kind of thing that goes on in non-democracies."

• On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow used her predictable monologue to invoke Nixon, Watergate, the so-called Saturday Night Massacre, and the Russia investigation.

• Scott Pelley, anchor of the "CBS Evening News," began the broadcast with a false story, saying, "Comey had just asked for more resources for his investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election."

• On ABC’s "World News Tonight," reporter Mary Bruce said that, according to Democrats, " . . . it all comes down to Russia" and then led into an interview with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who echoed the Russia spin.

• Lester Holt began the "NBC Nightly News" by suggesting "a possible ulterior motive" for the firing.

• ABC’s George Stephanopoulos spoke of "calls for a special prosecutor to take over the Russia investigation" and also conjured up Watergate.

• On "Morning Joe," MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski brought on Bob Woodward to talk about the echoes of Watergate."

• Former "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer appeared on "CBS This Morning" to compare the Comey firing to "The Godfather" film and the Kennedy assassination.

Conveniently left out of the reporting was the obvious hypocrisy on the part of Democratic officials who went from condemning Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton server investigation to expressing outrage over the FBI director’s dismissal.

Interestingly, the public appears to have become inured to the dominant media coverage and the attempts at manipulation, despite the questionable origin of predetermined narratives and their partisan nature.

James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read more reports from James Hirsen — Click Here Now.