Commentary: Here's Why The Cable News Networks Should Not Air Tonight's Trump Rally Live

There might still be two weeks until the mid-term elections, but there has already been plenty of self-flagellation from journalists over the best way to handle daily coverage of the Trump Administration. Donald Trump and his merry band of half-truth tellers have exploded the traditional way of covering a Presidency. When lies and misdirection are seen more like political theater than a moral failing, it can be difficult to figure out how to report the news. 

Donald Trump seems to instinctively understand the dynamics of the cable news channel universe and he has realized that news networks abhor a vacuum. They need something to talk about, preferably something that brings some heat to the conversations. And our President is quite happy to fill that intellectual vacuum with his patented mix of made up stories of personal triumph and half-baked policy initiatives that will never happen. When he offhandedly mentions a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class that will somehow be voted into law while Congress is in recess, he knows two things. Some people will just hear "Trump wants to cut my taxes." And there will be plenty of airtime devoted to debunking his plan. Allowing him to not only dominate the news cycle but then go out and argue the news media won't take his plans seriously.

Given all of that, it's not surprising that the fact President Trump is set to speak at a rally tonight, following a day of attempted bombing attempts on some of the people he considers opponents, will get the cable news commentariat busy speculating what the President will say about the day's events at the rally. This afternoon I listened to MSNBC anchors and guests prattle at length about the likelihood he'll say something controversial. As much as I hate to admit it, that eagerness for a fight is all over cable news today. You can see it playing out like the script to some C-level political satire. The President says something noteworthy and for the next 24 hours, the cable news networks are dissecting his comments with a level of scrutiny and insider speculation usually reserved for the release of a new Star Wars movie.

So here's a thought to consider if you're running a cable news outlet. Don't take a big, soulless chomp out of the red meat that's likely to be part of tonight's presidential rally. Don't air the event live - not even part of it. Tell the viewers you're monitoring it and will cut in if something important happens. But don't let Donald Trump define your programming. How do you handle the Trump era as a journalist? One of the ways you do it is by not getting sucked into the fatal attraction relationship with a President who lives to troll the news media. Don't air his comments live and minimize the amount of time you spend responding to his worst comments.

Instead, you air the comments and tell viewers, "While this is what the President was talking about tonight, this is what he didn't want you thinking about." And proceed to walk viewers through the other 20 newsworthy things that happened today. Journalism isn't a stenography class. It's an attempt to fairly curate the news. Stop worrying about whether you'll be seen as even-handed by people who already think you're enemies of the state. Use those college-educated brains to help viewers determine what is important and what is the political equivalent of three-card monte.

Don't air tonight's Trump rally.