Guess who’s picture is not being featured?

Over the past several years, especially since Donald Trump was defeated for re-election and Joe Biden became President of the United States, there has been a weird and annoying trend in the news: when something big happens, when some important action or decision takes place, instead of the story being the thing that happened, the focus (as evidenced by the news story headline and lede) becomes about how Donald Trump reacted to it. For example, take a look at these stories:

— New York Times: Trump Rages at U.A.W. President After Biden Endorsement

Clearly, the important story is that the United Auto Workers union endorsed President Joe Biden for re-election, not how Trump feels about it (quite obviously, he wouldn’t be happy not to get the union’s endorsement).

— CNBC: Trump lashes out at financial monitor in business fraud case after she reports errors

Once again, the real story here is that the independent financial monitor in the Trump business fraud case in New York has found serious irregularities in the Trump Organization’s business operations, including a questionable $48 million loan. Surely, it is not a surprise, and not the main story, that Trump is unhappy about the monitor uncovering his potential wrongdoings.

— The Guardian: Angry Trump fumes after $83.3m damages ruling in E Jean Carroll case

By now, you can identify the pattern. The big headline should be that a Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million dollars for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of an earlier rape. That Trump was then “angry” about being hit with such a huge verdict is merely a very foreseeable consequence.