
Mainstream political reporters are pushing a false narrative that Donald Trump is not a Republican, but rather some sort of independent figure. But the facts show that Trump is a Republican backed by conservative Republicans who has relentlessly promoted a Republican agenda.

Donald Trump was forced by Democratic leaders to cave in and support a bill that provided hurricane relief and temporarily raised the debt ceiling.

Mainstream media reporters are incorrectly spinning the moment as evidence that Trump isn't a Republican. But his record shows quite the opposite, and Democratic senators are calling out the press for pushing a big lie.

Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer got the better of Trump in the deal, which has led to internal strife and acrimony amongst Republicans. But the mainstream press has taken this one moment, ignoring countless others, to promote a false narrative about the Trump presidency.


MSNBC's Ari Melber pointed out that the deal came about because enough Republicans were unwilling to vote for short-term Hurricane Harvey funds, endangering its passage, and that the one-off agreement says little about the future of Trump's ideology.

Journalism professor and expert Jay Rosen highlighted the press marching to the beat of the same drum with a tweet highlighting coverage from multiple outlets – the New York Times, Washington Post, and Associated Press – all pushing the same angle. According to these reporters and outlets, Trump "isn't a Democrat or Republican" but instead is "the first independent to serve as president in modern times," and is "a different kind of president."

It isn't true, and it isn't very hard to see hundreds of Trump's own actions making it very clear he is representative not only of the Republican Party, but of the wing of the party most associated with conservative ideology.

Trump campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination pushing some of the issues they hold most dear — racism, immigration anxiety, demonizing Muslims, and endorsing torture and war crimes — and was rewarded with the lion's share of primary votes, nearly doubling his closest competitor.

The other nominees never had a chance, largely because Trump fully embraced conservative politics, building on the years of these issues being promoted on outlets like Fox News, the quasi-official propaganda arm of the right.

In the general election, Republicans embraced Trump as one of their own, and he received 88 percent of the Republican vote and 81 percent support among conservatives.

To now describe as separate from the GOP doesn't make any sense, as two Democratic senators were quick to point out.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) pushed back on the New York Times' version of the story as "absurdly untrue," noting that in the White House, Trump has pushed the Republican Party line on "Judges, climate, tax policy, ACA, LGBT, school vouchers, women's rights, consumer issues, Wall Street, etc..."

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) was also unimpressed with the media's quick adoption of positioning that is extremely favorable towards Trump: "Trump sides w Schumer/Pelosi once, world forgets he aligns w hardline GOP on immigration, climate, healthcare, taxes, spending etc etc."

Trump is a Republican president, nominated by the Republican Party thanks to strong support from the most conservative elements in the party. As president, he has pushed a conservative agenda, supported by the party's conservative leadership in the House and Senate — the average Republican in Congress votes with him 94 percent of the time.

While that agenda has been hugely unpopular and a legislative disaster, the desire to separate him from the mainstream of the right does not square with the facts of his presidency.

The mainstream media needs to stop romanticizing a version of Donald Trump that does not exist, and report on the Republican leader and figure that he truly is.