Ari Melber Tears Into The Media For Big Mistake Of 2018: Understating The Anti-Trump Blue Wave

Last updated on December 29th, 2018 at 04:25 am

MSNBC’s Ari Melber tore into the mainstream media on Thursday for what was one of the biggest mistakes of 2018: understating the anti-Trump blue wave in the midterm elections.

According to the MSNBC host, pundits were quick in 2010 and 2014 to declare a red wave in favor of the Republicans, but they didn’t do the same in 2018 – even though Democrats won by a larger margin in congressional elections.

“So many pundits were on the wrong side of the wave,” Melber said. “It can be uncomfortable looking into a story that involves fact checking yourself.”

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Melber said:

Here you can see the GOP margins for those midterms. And here is the 2018 Democratic edge in the midterms – larger than both of them, topping 8% nationwide. Larger than any Democratic pick up since Nixon’s criminal presidency. Those are the electoral facts this year. If you feel like you haven’t heard much about this, that may be because so many pundits were on the wrong side of the wave. It can be uncomfortable looking into a story that involves fact checking yourself.

The media botched their post-2018 election analysis

Heading into the 2018 midterm elections, pundits appeared reluctant to predict a blue wave for the Democrats, regardless of what the polling showed. After the shocking presidential election results in 2016, they seemed unwilling to express any certainty.

But even after the votes have been counted and Democrats gained 40 seats – the biggest Democratic gain since the Watergate era – it seems to be an afterthought forgotten in whatever nonsense Trump is spewing at a given moment.

It’s important not just that voters get a true analysis of what happened in this year’s elections, but also that lawmakers do, too. After all, Republicans and the president need to know that the public is opposed to the path they have taken.

The biggest political story of 2018 was the major revolt against the Trump presidency by American voters – and the media largely brushed it under the rug.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.