On Wednesday afternoon, the Atlantic staff writer Rosie Gray tweeted, “only 9 hours or so till the next massive newsbreak
that will prevent us from having lives again.” Hallie Jackson, White House correspondent for NBC News, replied jokingly a minute later — “wuts a life” — to which Ms. Gray replied: “I remember vaguely there was a time when i had one.” By evening, Ms. Gray’s original message had been “liked” more than 850 times.
Her co-host, Steve Doocy, said: “The president, the White House, Congress needs to do something about it.”
Apropos for a president enraptured by reality television, the White House drama has begun to resemble a kind
of O. J. Simpson trial for politics, gripping the nation and minting a menagerie of unlikely celebrities.
“The breathless pace of events reminds me of O. J.
and Monica days,” said Jeffrey Toobin, who covered the O. J. Simpson murder trial and the scandal involving Ms. Lewinsky for The New Yorker.
The swirling story around President Trump’s dealings with Russia is being compared in journalism circles to past blockbusters like Watergate
and the Monica Lewinsky scandal — with a 21st-century twist.
But there is this uncertainty about what is happening minute to minute, day to day.”
“There is this sense that every day is going to bring something startling, if not calamitous,” he added.
Many right-leaning news sites are covering every twist of the White House developments and resisting the notion
that the administration is embroiled in a major scandal.