Surviving Autocracy

by Masha Gessen

The journalists in the room had observed Trump’s campaign, and many of them had reported on it firsthand. It was hardly news to them that Trump was a habitual liar. But Spicer’s first meeting with journalists served as an announcement that the staff and rituals of the presidential administration would now be deployed to enforce Trumpian reality. This was news, and journalists looked for ways to report it. On CBS, anchor DeMarco Morgan said, “We want to play for you a press briefing by the new White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. . . . It was very unusual.” CNN, breaking with tradition, declined to air the press conference live. NBC’s Meet the Press host Chuck Todd tried to confront Trump counselor Conway. “Why put him out there for the very first time in front of that podium to utter a provable falsehood?” he asked. “It’s a small thing—but the first time he confronts the public, it’s a falsehood?” “Chuck,” Conway said, “I mean, if we are going to keep referring to our press secretary in those types of terms, I think that we are going to have to rethink our relationship here.” In other words, it was acceptable for the White House press secretary to lie, but it was not acceptable to call his lie a lie.