Why did something like Bridgegate hurt Chris Christie more than any of Trump’s scandals hurt him?
Shame is a necessary component of the mainstream media's "gotcha" game.
The media can only police public figures as much as public figures care what the media has to say about them. That's one revolutionary aspect of Trump's use of social media - his public image and communications strategy is completely divorced from established media channels that have long enforced the bounds of what "acceptable" political behavior is.
It is no coincidence that the people most ardently opposed to Trump (i.e., the media class) are also the ones who have the most to lose from his style of politics being normalized. They are really just lamenting the loss of their preferred station in the discourse.
Ah yes I forgot it’s the media that is responsible for making things like stacking the government with your kids, using campaign money to payoff your mistress, and simping for foreign adversaries bad 🙄
