With Super Tuesday looming — in which 15 states and territories will hold their presidential primaries and caucuses next Tuesday — one prominent conservative is warning that criticism of former President Donald Trump will soon no longer be tolerated in the right-wing media ecosystem.
In a recent article for Columbia Journalism Review, author Cameron Joseph explored how the Republican base coalescing around Trump is affecting conservative media. Charlie Sykes, who until recently was editor-in-chief of anti-Trump conservative website The Bulwark, told Joseph that the 2024 primary's inevitable conclusion with the former president as the Republican nominee will naturally mean that conservative commentators like him will be shunned from GOP-aligned publications.
"After Super Tuesday, there’s going to be tremendous pressure: if you are not on board, then somehow you’ve aligned yourself with Joe Biden and the Democrats—and of course, that is a fate worse than death for anybody who wants to be viable in conservative media," Sykes said. "In order to stay economically viable in the right-wing media ecosystem, at some point you’re going to have to make your peace with Trump."
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) made a similar argument ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in January. During a gaggle with reporters, he lamented that he never really had a chance in the GOP primary due to conservative media's preference for Trump. His complaint was prescient in retrospect — despite spending millions of dollars and blitzing all 99 of Iowa's counties (also known as a "Full Grassley") he failed to win a single one.
DeSantis repeated his concerns about conservative media in February, saying that right-wing media outlets "have made the decision that their business model just doesn’t work if they offer any criticism of Trump."
"I don’t see the accountability being in place right now for the balance of this campaign," he added. "I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the conservative media wouldn’t even report on it that it had happened."
After the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, the former president may accumulate enough Republican delegates to become the party's presumptive nominee with still months to go before the Republican National Convention. Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who is Trump's last remaining rival, has committed to stay in the race until Super Tuesday, but hasn't made any announcement about her plans assuming she continues to lose.
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Click here to read Joseph's full article.