Fox News media critic says Donald Trump isn't crazy — the media is
On Tuesday, former Republican congressman and current MSNBC morning host Joe Scarborough questioned Donald Trump's mental fitness, as did one of his guests, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson. That was a bridge too far for Fox News media critic Howard Kurtz. Early Wednesday morning, Kurtz said that Trump may deserve some of the flak he's getting for criticizing the family of slain Iraq War hero Capt. Humayun Khan, "but now, for the first time in this campaign," he said, "we're starting to see some major-league news outlets asking this question: Is Donald Trump mentally ill? Is Donald Trump crazy? Does Donald Trump have some sort of problem up here?"
"Anyone running for president gets every single part of their life questioned," Kurtz said. "Your judgment, temperament, your record, your policies: Everything is fair game to be hammered." But questioning someone's sanity is different. Trump beat 16 well-qualified Republicans to get the GOP nomination, he noted. "Could a crazy person do that?" Trump "built a hugely successful global business with his last name a brand everybody recognizes," Kurtz added. "Is that a mark of insanity? This is a guy who built a reality TV show, 14 successful seasons on NBC. Could you do that if you're just a little bit loco?" He suggested that no, reality TV stars and successful politicians can't be crazy, and Scarborough, Robinson, and the "other pundits here or there who are questioning Trump's sanity" are just "dovetailing with the Democratic effort" to portray Trump as "dangerous, unprepared, unfit."
"Criticize the guy all you want — he's running for president," Kurtz said. "Hillary Clinton should get the same level of scrutiny and criticism. But those people who think that Trump is somehow not in full possession of his faculties, despite the fact that he's running a very competitive race against a former secretary of state, senator, and first lady — maybe they have a screw or two loose." Watch Kurtz's critique below. Peter Weber
The Week
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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