President Trump is his own worst enemy… again.
The latest example is his rash decision to ban three major news networks — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — from White House grounds because of their so-called “negative coverage.” Even Trump termed it a “ban on the free press,” which is certain to impress the judge that hears the inevitable appeal.
Fittingly, the five networks that make up the rotating pool that providing coverage of the president’s events — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC — made the decision to cease their White House coverage as a way to object to Trump’s attempt to censor the press. In doing so, Trump lost what he craves most: attention, and more specifically, attention through television.
As noted by New York Times reporter Peter Baker, television coverage is Trump’s drug of choice and he’s addicted to it.
Baker talked to Ramin Setoodeh, the author of “Apprentice in Wonderland” about Trump’s career on reality TV, who gave this insight into our 47th president: “This is the most important thing for Trump. When I interviewed him for my book, he told me the only thing that matters is ratings. It doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or a bad person. If you have good ratings, you’re successful… To him, this (not having the media cover him) is equal to being canceled. This is equal to having a hit show and having the networks pull it from the lineup. This is a real crisis for the president.”
The crisis could soon be resolved by a lawsuit filed by the three banned networks, but perhaps they should think twice before pursuing resolution.
First, the drivel that comes out of the White House press conferences, particularly that feature Trump, is nothing more that self-serving headlines meant to sizzle and outrage for a day to keep Trump’s name in the news — regardless of the validity of the story or its importance. All Americans would be better off if the networks didn’t take the bait.
Second, any good reporter could spend their time more productively doing research on stories concerning the White House that weren’t red meat handed to them. It’s nauseating to viewers, and self-demeaning to the networks to keep licking the hand that smacks them.
Third, there’s a chance viewers would reward the networks if they covered solid stories rather than a constant feed of Trump’s idiocy. Yes, Trump says outrageous things every day; no, it’s not in the national interest to always cover it.
That said, it is instructive to see Trump’s sharp descent into irrelevance on the national and international stage, and to watch his pettiness in its naked audacity.
“Virtually every story about me, or anything having to do with me, is negative, wrong and, in many cases, DANGEROUS for our Country!” Trump proclaimed (he always proclaims) on social media in an attempt to justify his action, as if political criticism is dangerous to democracy. “No matter how GREAT my Achievements, they trivialize and demean,” Trump whined as a grade-schooler might. It’s pathetic.
MAGA Republicans take note. The president you fell in love with has always been a self-serving, lying and corrupt politician whose intent all along was to enrich himself and his family and undermine the nation’s democracy. His hope was to create an oligarchy, ala Putin’s Russia. It was there during his first term (though he had stronger staff who prevented his worst impulses), and he’s been on a dictatorial terror since day 1 of his second term.
And yet, unbelievable as it seems, a minority of Republicans (getting fewer as the days go by) still believe he’s working for the nation’s best interest.
That’s possible because Trump, and the conservative press, created an effective propaganda machine that has systematically lied to their viewers. And Trump is good at it, like other authoritarian leaders, because he has no moral values. That’s seen in his bullying tactics with our allies, with his overly harsh and undemocratic deportation of immigrants, and with his impulses to deprive citizens of the right to vote and to rig the election in any way he can.
Fortunately, the political tide seems to be turning and the rightwing forces of fascism may be stopped in time to preserve America’s democracy — though not its world standing, its dominance in soft power that made us friends to the world and the envy of others, and perhaps not our economic leadership and dominance. Trump and his team have done incredible damage.
How they did it is what’s so amazing. They did it through old-fashioned, blatant and poorly disguised propaganda. They championed a nationalist story line that was as insincere as it was obvious, and yet half of America bought it hook, line and sinker.
In that respect, America can also be its own worst enemy.
Angelo Lynn
