No figure in history has made more money for the news media than Donald Trump. That led to a very unhealthy obsession with the man, one that became an addiction to “journalists” everywhere. We got reports on how scandalous Trump’s getting two scoops of ice cream was, hand wringing over him not wearing a mask even after he recovered from COVID, and more anonymously-sourced hit pieces than one person can reasonably count.

Despite the dependent relationship they developed, the media tirelessly campaigned against the President, making themselves a de facto arm of the Democrat Party in a bid to defeat him. In the end, regardless of what or who you blame, Trump left the White House.

Even still, they just can quit him.

My conversation with ⁦@brianstelter⁩ on ⁦@ReliableSources⁩ on how Trump’s disinformation forces still pose a threat. https://t.co/5i9zJIn63Q

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 24, 2021

Trump has no outlet to even share “disinformation.” He’s banned from all the social media sites and hasn’t appeared on cable news (or any other forum) since ending his term. Yet, Jim Acosta is still super sure that he’s a danger to democracy. This is the kind of delusion that should get people committed. Stelter and Acosta, among many others, are clinically obsessed at this point. They simply don’t know what to do without the bad orange man around to give them material. In his absence, they stew on their shows about how dangerous Trump still is even though he’s quite literally doing absolutely nothing but playing golf and enjoying being a billionaire.

On a broader note, if you are claiming free speech is a danger to democracy, you are the one who’s dangerous to democracy. That’s a lesson a lot of journalists have been unable to learn over the last few months of mass censorship.

It’s not just cable news, though. It’s also the print media, which are still pushing out anonymously sourced, meaningless claims about Trump as if they are big news.

Trump entertained plan to install an attorney general who would help him pursue baseless election fraud claims https://t.co/ItsZag2u25

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 23, 2021

Trump “entertained” is simply code for “someone made a suggestion to Trump and he didn’t do it.” It’s the same playbook being run that they used the entirety of his presidency. Nonsense, anonymous claims get eyes and what else does the Post have to write about? They’ve already said they won’t be tracking Biden’s lies the way they tracked Trump’s “lies.” The four-year lull is here and only one more Trump story can save them. That’s why impeachment is being pushed so hard. The Democrats and their media allies don’t have a plan to actually govern so why not keep Trump around for another few months?

I’ll also mention that some in right-wing media are guilty of this as well. National Review is still moaning about how Trump has destroyed conservatism while writing immature screeds about “rage monkeys.” The Washington Generals of punditry are back in action and are as dependent on hating Trump as any anchor on MSNBC.

In the end, Trump will likely be back in the spotlight sooner rather than later. Until then, the media will sit in their corners, sweating bullets, desperate for their next hit. They simply can’t quit the guy.

(Please follow me on Twitter…@bonchieredstate)