Why would anyone think that Trump could be deranged, when he makes reassuring statements like this?:
“I was sort of like a hot guy. I was hot as a pistol. I think I was hotter than I am now, and I became president. Okay. I don't know. I said to somebody, was I hotter before or hotter now? I don't know. Who the hell knows?” – Donald Trump, August 26 2024
Absolutely. I spent over years in DC politics and media, from working for Clinton to watching the press give Dubya THE WHITE HOUSE and the right their middle east wars and one thing that's gotten even worse during the HillaryvsTrump/Biden/Harris vs Trump era is the cowardise and dishonesty of the DC press corp. And I didn't think that was even possible.
Your points are absolutely compelling. I guess the problem is the press, on average, has never had to deal with such a madman and is, to use a sports metaphor, choking.
Flabbergasted might be a better word. The POTUS is usually an extremely capable politician; often with extensive experience in either government, or success in business. Trump is neither; a charismatic scammer that failed at business, and only pretending to be a success on TV.
FOX still explains away his poor planning and increasingly erratic blunders, like they're moves in a 4D chess game. Which is why a walloping 90% of FOX News viewers *still* think that despite his mistakes in this teeny weeny new Forever War he just started, that he's still doing a bang up job. While the MSM is just gob smacked when he does and says idiotic things, and can only face-palm in horror, like kids who've just realized that Dad is a raging alcoholic.
Donald is not a used car salesman right now in Queens *only* because his father gave him $600 million dollars of spending money as a youngster.
David Sanger of the New York Times bought it: “Mr. Trump’s tactic of escalating his rhetoric to astronomical levels certainly helped him find an offramp he had been seeking for weeks. Without question, it was a down-to-the-wire tactical victory.”
Is Sanger so stupid that he thinks the orange idiot actually had a strategy here? NYT political reporting is beyond repair.
The impression I get from network coverage is one of hanging onto every change in direction, or “tone,” as if we’re just the fascinated observers of the maneuvering of Olympian gods.
DF: All well said. As is he case with most human decisions, even Trump's, his 180 on destroying Iran this week probably has multiple causes, which likely include some or all of what you flagged.
As to the reportage, as you regularly note, the legacy-media's treatment of Trump alternates mostly between sane-washing and stenography, with occasional moments of deeper analysis that you rightly suggest we need in greater amounts and above the fold. I don't understand why the legacy outlets that haven't bent the knee to Trump (NYT, for example) don't thread more above-the-fold analysis into their reporting.
When historians study the slide into fascism of the United States of America -- well, if there still ARE historians, which would require avoiding a civilization-ending nuclear war, which with Trump at the helm is anything but certain -- they will assign a great deal of the blame to the cowardly, overly deferential Washington press corps.
No, you're a Cassandra. Our society desperately needs you--or at least someone who does what you do. But in so doing you shame them horribly. The ones with souls, anyway. Don't expect them to even come to your funeral; much less write nice obits.
Why would anyone think that Trump could be deranged, when he makes reassuring statements like this?:
“I was sort of like a hot guy. I was hot as a pistol. I think I was hotter than I am now, and I became president. Okay. I don't know. I said to somebody, was I hotter before or hotter now? I don't know. Who the hell knows?” – Donald Trump, August 26 2024
Source: https://polinews.org/people-react-after-trump-tells-rally-goers-that-he-was-hot-as-a-pistol-stormy-daniels-says-otherwise/
Absolutely. I spent over years in DC politics and media, from working for Clinton to watching the press give Dubya THE WHITE HOUSE and the right their middle east wars and one thing that's gotten even worse during the HillaryvsTrump/Biden/Harris vs Trump era is the cowardise and dishonesty of the DC press corp. And I didn't think that was even possible.
There was never any workable from Iran. Who knows why he suddenly quit?
Maybe only he knows. Just a whim.
Your points are absolutely compelling. I guess the problem is the press, on average, has never had to deal with such a madman and is, to use a sports metaphor, choking.
Flabbergasted might be a better word. The POTUS is usually an extremely capable politician; often with extensive experience in either government, or success in business. Trump is neither; a charismatic scammer that failed at business, and only pretending to be a success on TV.
FOX still explains away his poor planning and increasingly erratic blunders, like they're moves in a 4D chess game. Which is why a walloping 90% of FOX News viewers *still* think that despite his mistakes in this teeny weeny new Forever War he just started, that he's still doing a bang up job. While the MSM is just gob smacked when he does and says idiotic things, and can only face-palm in horror, like kids who've just realized that Dad is a raging alcoholic.
Donald is not a used car salesman right now in Queens *only* because his father gave him $600 million dollars of spending money as a youngster.
To your last point: https://contrarian.substack.com/p/tom-the-dancing-bug-956?r=2ht56&utm_medium=ios
My gasted is flabbered by this:
David Sanger of the New York Times bought it: “Mr. Trump’s tactic of escalating his rhetoric to astronomical levels certainly helped him find an offramp he had been seeking for weeks. Without question, it was a down-to-the-wire tactical victory.”
Is Sanger so stupid that he thinks the orange idiot actually had a strategy here? NYT political reporting is beyond repair.
Infuggincredible.
The Iranians are still controlling the Strait. They haven’t conceded a single thing that I I’ve seen.
The Republicans could stop this. Why don’t they? Why doesn’t the media say that everyday?
Yes! I should write about that again. This is from a year ago: https://presswatchers.org/2025/03/media-ignores-a-big-way-to-slow-trump-flipping-3-house-republicans/
Once Primary season is over, House Republicans facing tough odds in November may yet regrow small portions of their spines.
Or at least wriggle defiantly.
The good news is that you can follow Dan Froomkin, Danny Kemp and an english language feed of AFP on Bluesky
The impression I get from network coverage is one of hanging onto every change in direction, or “tone,” as if we’re just the fascinated observers of the maneuvering of Olympian gods.
DF: All well said. As is he case with most human decisions, even Trump's, his 180 on destroying Iran this week probably has multiple causes, which likely include some or all of what you flagged.
As to the reportage, as you regularly note, the legacy-media's treatment of Trump alternates mostly between sane-washing and stenography, with occasional moments of deeper analysis that you rightly suggest we need in greater amounts and above the fold. I don't understand why the legacy outlets that haven't bent the knee to Trump (NYT, for example) don't thread more above-the-fold analysis into their reporting.
When historians study the slide into fascism of the United States of America -- well, if there still ARE historians, which would require avoiding a civilization-ending nuclear war, which with Trump at the helm is anything but certain -- they will assign a great deal of the blame to the cowardly, overly deferential Washington press corps.
Totally agree! Maybe they will cite me! ;-) https://presswatchers.org/2024/10/if-trump-wins-blame-the-new-york-times/
Thought I had. Apologies.
No, you're a Cassandra. Our society desperately needs you--or at least someone who does what you do. But in so doing you shame them horribly. The ones with souls, anyway. Don't expect them to even come to your funeral; much less write nice obits.