Kurtz: The Press Has 'Trump Exhaustion Syndrome,' and It Shows

Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz has a name for what ails the press: "Trump Exhaustion Syndrome." In his Oct. 29 column he describes it as "throwing up your hands and abandoning basic fact-checking," and he argues that outlets chase the day's hot story and never follow up.

His example is Alaska. Trump said he ordered the Justice Department to intervene in the state's election. Kurtz says the press moved on the next day. On Sunday shows, CNN's Dana Bash and CBS's Margaret Brennan did press AG Todd Blanche on it. Blanche denied Trump had said it on camera, and Brennan replied, "Yes he did." That exchange is the follow-up the press should do, and Kurtz's complaint is that it is the exception.

Kurtz is no stranger to this beat. He says he has covered Trump since 1987 and interviewed him six times during the 2024 campaign, and he says he is not anti-Trump. He calls Trump "a master media manipulator" who knows provocative remarks will crowd out other stories. In his words, "it's impossible to deny there's a strong anti-Trump element in the media."

Here is what the establishment press misses about its own coverage. Fatigue is a convenient excuse, but readers have noticed the pattern for years: outrage over each remark, then silence once the facts get complicated. The standard Kurtz is asking for, ask the question, check the answer, and stay with the story, is one the audience deserves every day, not just when a story fits the narrative.

This is opinion, and Kurtz's claims about reporters' motives are his own. But his core point, that attention is not the same as accountability, is hard to argue with.