It’s certainly not a miracle. It hasn’t thrived since the 1970s. Yet the coverage that followed the speech had an air of uncertainty to it: “As Trump touts ‘thriving’ steel industry and manufacturing, insiders disagree,” read the NBC headline. Politico tweeted a quote from the president’s speech, which included the made-up assertion that “steel companies … were practically out of business when I came into office as president. And now they’re thriving.”
It seems like an eon ago, but commentators wrung their hands in the wake of the 2016 election circus about Trump’s false claims and how to fact-check them. One of the most concrete suggestions from all that hand wringing? When fact-checking the president, begin by helping readers to understand the issues — the state of steel, for example, or the number of jobs in the industry, or how policy has influenced both — rather than the political statements.
Start with the truth, not the lies. Set the stage, then let the show go on.
This was of particular interest in states such as Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where false or ridiculous claims — such as those about a radically different NAFTA, or bringing back significant numbers of coal jobs (or resurrecting Joe Paterno) — gave unrealistic hope to those who were primed to accept it.
But little has changed since the last presidential election.
If media don’t give serious thought to how they approach truth and lies as the next presidential campaign begins, we’re all bound to experience the same circus — unbound to reality — that we faced in 2016.
No matter what Trump says, the data show two things to be true: It’s unlikely the U.S. steel industry will rebound. And those steel jobs are gone.
