Mary Dejevsky

Why do American journalists take Trump so seriously?

American Comedian Stephen Colbert (Getty images)

You don’t need to know any more about Stephen Colbert than that he is an American political broadcaster and satirist who hosts ‘The Late Show’ on the CBS television channel, which makes him something of a US household name. Last week, after Donald Trump had given his embarrassingly rambling non-concession speech in the White House briefing room, Colbert made some headlines himself – not just for the diatribe he delivered, which included calling the US president a ‘fascist’, but for ‘choking up’ (The Hill) as he introduced the item.

This is how the website’s Marina Pitofsky reported it

‘Colbert during the introduction to his show looked down while showing emotion, and then added, ‘What I didn’t know is that it would hurt so much…..That office means something and that office should have some shred of decency.’ 

There was quite a lot more in the same vein. Colbert was, it should perhaps be added for readers on the UK side of the Atlantic, firmly in his political commentator, rather than satirical, mode.

Some might say that it is a legacy of Watergate. But American journalists have a tendency to take themselves very, very seriously. Not, I hasten to add, that their British counterparts treat their – our – calling with unrelieved levity; it is not for nothing we call ourselves the Fourth Estate and do our best to hold power to account. For the most part, though, we do what we do without the sanctimoniousness that seems to attach to so many of our transatlantic colleagues.

Anyone who has covered a UK-US summit meeting will know that some differences are stark.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in