What’s more 2k17 than podcasts and President Trump?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Luckily, thanks to failing, fake news journalistic institutions like Slate and The Washington Post, you can get you a podcast that can do both.
Slate’s Trumpcast launched last March, in the middle of the Republican primaries that would cement his legitimacy as a candidate. The first episode was titled “Is Donald Trump a Racist?,” and thanks to host and Slate editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg, it provided a nasally voice of skepticism to in-depth Trump coverage.
And the podcast hasn’t stopped yet. It offers interviews with various Trump experts — reporters, historians, psychologists, etc. — and a brilliant segment involving a Trump impersonator and some DT Original Tweets™. And most importantly, it’s short — rarely clocking in at longer than 30 minutes.
Of course, despite the impressively definitive name, Trumpcast isn’t the only podcast exploring our new president’s validity.
Can He Do That? is a brand-new podcast from The Washington Post asking that very question. Digital editor Allison Michaels hosts the weekly show, which features a different Post reporter and issue every week. And where Trumpcast is snarky and cynical, “Can He Do That?” is as analytical and serious as the name and prestige of the organization would suggest. The first episode — released after Trump’s inauguration — focused on his Twitter use. And while it was an intriguing listen, it did lack good impersonations of the man himself.
As journalists become more and more focused on covering President Trump, regardless of beat, it only makes sense that Trump-focused podcasts will continue to pop up — regardless of political slant. Podcasting might be the most direct form of journalism. No matter how written out and calculated they might be, there’s something uniquely intimate about voices pouring from earbuds into your brain.
“We’ll guide you through exactly where Trump is charting a new course, where he’s not and what it all means for America,” Michaels said at the beginning of “Can He Do That?”
But regardless of whether Trump is charting new territory politically, his presidency is already paving the way for new audio journalism. Outside official White House audio, few podcasts were dedicated strictly to former President Barack Obama. So, like it or not, Trump is already doing something right for America.
Now, the only question is when we’ll see the official Donald Trump podcast — hosted by Donald Trump.
