It's clear that President Trump peddles propaganda of the moment as evidenced by his statements on Friday to "Fox and Friends" and then to the unusual press scrum that followed. Mr. Trump will say anything that serves his purpose at that moment and both settings were ideal for him to accomplish his goal of continually misleading the American people. "Fox and Friends" will never disagree or call out any of the president's misstatements, and the in a frenzied press scrum, no one is able to fact check him on the spot. Mr. Trump simply doesn't care if you fact check him later and prove that what he had said was false because he'll just change the story next time. For example, he tweeted that he fired Michael Flynn for lying, but on Friday said that he wasn't. Or when he was quickly called out for saying that he'd like people to stand up at attention when he speaks like North Koreans do for Kim Jong Un, to which he later said he was joking. The first example illustrates lying as a strategy and the second clearly illustrates a lack of personal discipline.
And as Republican strategist Al Cardenas explained, it's better to tell 18 lies than just one. The press doesn't know where to focus their collective attention because of so many blatant falsehoods and the public simply becomes numb, using his word, to it all. Listening to Mr. Cardenas and Congressman Mark Sanford (R-SC), who just lost in his primary race, is obvious that the Republican party does not consist of conservatives. Conservatives still in the Republican political party are retiring or being drummed out of office. The Republican party now consists of Trump sycophants and the president is building on that cult of personality on a daily basis.
But make no mistake, the president sowed some bad seeds this week in ending the idea that is America, and that's why it's significant. First, he insulted the United States' closest allies at the G7 summit while carrying the water for the authoritarian president of Russia. Then, since the summit in Singapore, Mr. Trump has continually sung the praises of the world's most repressive dictators, saying he's 'honorable' and that he 'trusts Kim.'
The president all but admitted that he lied to The New York Times about the letter that he dictated for his inept son, Donald Jr., while his campaign manager, a man he's known for over twenty years, is now in jail, while his personal lawyer/fixer is considering cooperating with Federal Prosecutors. And no, the Inspector General's report did not in the slightest exonerate the president of wrongdoing.
However...
In a rare moment this week when the actions of the president have spoken louder than words, which received condemnation from all Americans and especially (thankfully) evangelicals is the Trump Administration policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. Cruel, non-Christian, inhumane, un-American - take your pick, but more appropriately take them all. This policy is putting a stake through the heart of what America is as an idea.
Chuck Todd prefaced a question to presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway as harsh when he asked if the administration was using these children as a bargaining chip to get Democrats and moderate Republicans (a dying breed) to the table for immigration negotiation - an unnamed White House official said so. Ms. Conway forcefully called that out saying that she dared to that unnamed official to say that to her face. Her righteous indignation, as Helene Cooper noted, was laughable because the fact is that the administration is using these kids as a bargaining chip for a stupid, unnecessary wall, basically extorting pols who aren't going along.
Donald Trump on Friday said this was a Democratic law, but like so many others, this is a false statement. It is a Trump Administration policy that could end with a single phone call, as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said this week.
As for the economy, the one thing that has been good, the president doused his bad seeds with fire water, solidifying trade wars with rivals and allies alike (He denies there is a trade war.), and Iowa farmers are already seeing the rotten fruit, or soybeans as it were.
Panel: Carol Lee, NBC News; Helene Cooper, The New York Times; Al Cardenas, Republican Strategist; Bret Stephens, The New York Times
No comments:
Post a Comment