Not gullibility, not exactly. Nor personal agreement.
A deep psychological need and professional incentive for normality, with both sides equal, where we share basic values but disagree about how.
Because if it really is this bad, good people would be biased against it, not neutral and “balanced.”
After Trump tells NBC News he could maybe use a "softer touch" on immigration, we immediately get the "different tone" narrative from CNN.
Brianna Keilar: "A change of tone for the president. Softer touch."
David Chalian: "He acknowledged learning something that this requires a softer touch."
I always think there’s also a baked in deference towards the office of the president going back decades that makes it easy for a cynical White House like this one to dupe them.
Feb 4, 2026 23:39
