ESPN reporter Ed Werder takes great offense at media outlets accurately reporting the content of a recently-leaked video featuring Donald Trump—namely, to outlets quoting the Republican nominee on one of his preferred methods of interacting with women, to “grab them by the pussy.” The fact that newspapers and cable news would quote Trump verbatim so offends Werder that he has spent five hours decrying it on Twitter and pushing back on anyone who disagrees.
Update: Werder criticized the media for quoting both “fuck” and “pussy”; not all of his tweets are explicit as to which specific Trump quote he is denouncing at the given moment.
Defending the values of the media opting for less accurate information, the decency of obscuring the true words of a presidential nominee. Should have known.
Because what Donald Trump says has nothing to do with Donald Trump. (Whether it’s about “us” or the “United States” is not quite clear.)
The rules of journalism: to obscure the words of a presidential nominee in order to shield the public.
You see, the quoting of “pussy” is not just a topic that happens to be amid debate right now, it is a topic worthy of it. And Werder refuses to quit when it comes to making sure the subject gets the debate it so deserves.
Really, it’s simple: you can think about a presidential candidate’s quotes all you like. Just don’t repeat them, and certainly don’t allow a newspaper to print them.