Remember that time the media melted down? No, that other time. No, no the third most recent time that the media lost its mind and began howling in the streets while tearing its hair out.

That’s right.

Helsinki.

Trump met with Putin. He’s a traitor and a spy who takes orders from Moscow. Why didn’t he mildly lecture Putin about democracy the way that Obama would have?

Here’s a little window into what Trump was doing from a Wall Street Journal article.

Before President Trump headed to meet Vladimir Putin last month, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein requested a meeting in the Oval Office. He was ready to indict Russian officials for election hacking and wanted to know if the president wanted the Justice Department to announce the charges before or after the trip.

Mr. Trump told Mr. Rosenstein to issue the statement as soon as possible, adding that it would strengthen his position in talks with Moscow, according to people familiar with the exchange.

The highly technical term for that is, Good Co, Bad Cop.

Trump can sometimes be both good cop and bad cop. North Korea is one example. But the latest sanctions show that he’s done far more to take on Russia while at the same time remaining on friendly terms with Putin. It’s like Obama’s policy, but with the addition of actually doing things.

The media however ignores what Trump does and focuses entirely on what he says. It’s understandable that a profession obsessed with its own power of saying things would entirely miss the point.