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The Agony and Ecstasy of the Trump Reporters

Six months since he left office after dispatching a mob to ransack the Capitol, the journalists who covered Trump are still adjusting to a post-Trump reality.

Donald Trump reporters
It’s reasonable enough to assume that the former president’s return might usher in a second “Trump bump” for news organizations and mediacos. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
July 8, 2021

In the weeks before the 2020 election, when it was becoming pretty clear even to the most superstitious and traumatized Democrat that Joe Biden was headed for victory, the journalists of #thistown began to worry. People you’ve likely read or heard of or watched were concerned about what a Trump loss would mean for their career. That was the talk of the town. Sure, Donald Trump had been a disaster for the country, but what would they do after he left the White House?