The Miami Herald was once considered the gold standard of journalism in the Sunshine State. At 120 years old, it was the pride of South Florida, winning two dozen Pulitzer Prizes, covering the Miami Dolphins and Hurricanes teams, and regarded as the serious news organ of the state. This was the paper that grew so early publisher John S. Knight could grow into the Knight-Ridder news syndicate. The paper broke the Gary Hart Scandal, and it was respected with reporters gaining national fame: Gene Miller in the '60s-70s, Edna Buchanan and her gritty police beat reporting, columnist Carl Hiassen who became a best-selling novelist, and of course serving as the home of nationally-syndicated humorist Dave Barry.

Those days of glory and respectability are long gone. What is left is a rag that now sits in fifth position statewide in circulation and is reduced to running mostly baseless hit pieces on Ron DeSantis and Republicans. Among the weekly tabloid-level “reporting” they have become known for was the attempt to slam DeSantis for prioritizing seniors with COVID-19 vaccines, as well as claiming he had been fundraising with a fake news outlet. (It was the humor site The Babylon Bee.) In a dose of self-own glory, Herald reporters challenged his office for “proof” that arrests were made from a new immigration law – and for evidence, they were referred to reports on the arrests made in their own newspaper. Even non-DeSantis news finds the paper shaming itself, such as when the city closed public parking garages for the sake of crowd control on Spring Break, and in its report claimed that denying all vehicles was said to be racist…somehow.

Quite literally, for discerning readers in Florida, when a story from The Herald breaks, the initial reaction is, Okay, how did they screw up THIS story…?

Such is the case with the BREAKING news item this once esteemed paper put out late Monday. Herald reporters Julie Brown and Ben Weider were very excited to deliver this scathing report – it was learned that Donald Trump had flown on a jet formerly owned by infamous rapacious figure Jeffrey Epstein.

Why Trump flew to campaign events on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane last weekend https://t.co/hc9CMwnQJh

— Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) August 13, 2024

Now, it can be expected that reactions to this headline would run according to political stances. On the Left, this probably led to shrieks and cries and accusations, while on the Right, there were probably loud defenses and accusatory language. While occupying more of a right-of-center position, my initial reaction was, “Is this a big deal - Epstein cannot possibly be using it any longer?” (Epstein died in jail while awaiting arraignment approximately five years ago.)

The meat of the non-troversy is this: Trump had a planned event in Bozeman, Montana, but his personal jet experienced mechanical issues and needed to land in Billings. While that grounding took place, he initially chartered a small plane to make the Bozeman event, and then his campaign chartered a larger jet from Threshold Aviation Group out of California. That plane, used for an initial flight to Wyoming and then two more in Aspen and Denver, is the one previously owned by Epstein. Following the Denver events, Trump’s repaired plane — dubbed "Trump Force-1" — was once again available.

The plane is owned by a private outfit. The Trump camp may have been unaware. Then comes the always prideful moment for any news outlet – when the story provides elements disproving its entire premise.

Trump’s use of the plane is likely to add to public scrutiny surrounding his relationship with Epstein, even though no evidence has surfaced that Trump was involved in Epstein’s crimes.

Well, that sure sounds like a disappointment for the paper. It also sounds like it made this BREAKING report completely and utterly useless.