Unless you can share information to back up these sweeping claims that “the media" as a whole is lying to us, unfortunately, I have no reason to think it is anything but a theory. Media companies have been donating money to political parties for a long time, and they're not completely without bias, but it doesn’t mean they’re lying or publishing fake stories. And frankly, I don’t know how they’d all be able to pull off such a coordinated brainwashing effort if they wanted to!

Anyway, what I’ve seen of Trump’s record is a history of lying, impulsivity, recklessness, and self-serving decisions. There’s quite a bit of data from non-news sources showing he failed at managing COVID. I’ve heard him make blatantly bigoted and inflammatory statements and incite people against one another. He is the one spinning a false and dangerous narrative; the media is trying to do its job and keep him in check, but it serves his agenda to erode people’s trust in a free press, so he continues to do so.

I realize that me saying that won’t make you believe it because you’re clearly invested in your own support of him. I doubt I’ll change your mind any sooner than you’ll change mine. But I don’t think continuing to argue about this is in anyone’s best interest right now.