“The Trump story is not over”

Arjen van der Horst is a foreign correspondent for NOS, the largest news organization in the Netherlands. Van der Horst’s career has taken him from Amsterdam to the U.K. and Ireland and the U.S., where he reported from D.C. from 2014-2021. Van der Horst’s reporting spans from television to radio and weekly newsletters covering the Trump era. 

Van der Horst joined the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents to speak on his time in America, his experiences covering the Black Lives Matter movement, and the downward spiral of American politics.

“The Trump story is not over.”

Van der Horst detailed his experiences covering Trump supporters in America and the election of Joe Biden as president. “Biden is boring compared to Trump obviously...but the Trump story is not over.” Van der Horst continued to explain his thoughts on the supposed end of the Trump era citing the deep loyalties within the Republican party to their former leader and American claims of election fraud. “He might be back in a couple of years.”

The distrust of media in the Netherlands and the U.S.

When speaking on the differences between reporting in the Netherlands versus abroad, van der Horst highlighted the problems facing journalists back home. “You do see a shift in the Netherlands, where people call you ‘fake news.” Van der Horst went on to describe situations in which NOS reporters required protective efforts when covering demonstrations. “I think in general the environment for journalism is not improving. It’s going in the wrong direction. This is what you see both in the Netherlands and the U.S. and the U.K..” Van der Horst added that the distrust in the media in the U.S. is more severe than in the Netherlands. He also spoke on how being a foreign correspondent from Europe in the U.S. was easier due to the curiosity of Americans. “When you say you’re from the Netherlands, a lot of Americans probably don’t know exactly where it is in Europe, so they’re neutral, and they’re curiously interested why a journalist from some small country far away is interested in being there.”

How much does a Dutch audience need to know about American politics?

Van der Horst described a balancing act. Van der Horst and NOS have done a great job detailing the complexities of American politics, from state elections to the flip-flopping of Wisconsin and rural America. But how much weight does this hold for a Dutch audience? Van der Horst admitted to some complaints regarding the in-depth reporting of American politics but also pointed to demand from their audience for American news. “There’s a truth in both. We sometimes do too much and should maybe sometimes take a step back. But, at the same time, there’s way more interest from our audience into everything American than what’s happening in Germany, let’s be honest.”

“No matter where they come from, there’s a general concern that the United States, especially its political system, is sliding back into something that’s not so healthy.”

When asked about a universal feeling that foreign correspondents in the U.S. share, van der Horst cited his experience from participating in a New Yorker documentary about foreign correspondents, others participating in the documentary shared his feelings on the U.S. that it is “sliding back into something that’s not so healthy.” Van der Horst explained this unanswered question of how America can get back to a state that is less partisan, less divided by thought. “Where you don’t see someone with other political beliefs as your enemy, how can you talk in a normal way?” Van der Horst continued by stating: “in that sense, America is losing a bit of its soul.” After personal and professional experiences, he is less hopeful in picturing a united America. “It’s the end of an era, what I witnessed in America. And it’s very uncertain where the country is heading towards.”

On future projects

Van der Horst explained his departure from the United States following the end of the Trump administration and projects he was looking forward to working on. In addition, Van der Horst talked about his interests in documentary-making and long-form storytelling, especially in the environment. Van der Horst is currently working on a documentary titled “In the Wake of the Mayflower,” which tells the story of and scrutinizes the pilgrims and the Mayflower. The series is set to be released in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2022.