What came to be known as the “expectations game” during the George W. Bush years was wielded with notorious cynicism. The assumption behind this game in those days was that Bush was a bumbling doofus who could hardly string together a coherent sentence, so if he got to the level of a high school debate, media chalked it up as a “win.”
The game, successfully rebooted by Donald Trump over the past 18 months, was in full play during Trump’s speech to Congress last night: So long as Trump wasn’t his petulant, incoherent, race-baiting self, it would be considered a victory for the 45th president.
CNN liberal Van Jones (2/28/17) couldn’t help gushing over Trump’s ability to utter words on live TV:
That was one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics, period. And he did something extraordinary. And for people who have been hoping that he would become unifying, hoping that he might find some way to become presidential, they should be happy with that moment. For people who have been hoping that maybe he would remain a divisive cartoon, which he often finds a way to do, they should begin to become a little bit worried tonight, because that thing you just saw him do, if he finds a way to do that over and over again, he’s going to be there for eight years.
Now, there was a lot that he said in that speech that was counterfactual, that was not right, that I oppose and will oppose. But he did something tonight that you cannot take away from him. He became president of the United States.
President Trump was, of course, already the president—a fact that has left millions of Muslims, Latino immigrants, women and LGBTQs at risk or under siege.
CNN’s homepage an hour after the speech was uniformly positive:
Screenshot: Tom McCay
Extreme centrist Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza lavished praise on Trump on both social and traditional media. He insisted on Twitter, “This was the best speech Trump has given since he became a candidate in June 2015.” He followed with two glowing articles, “What That Moment With the Wife of a Slain Navy SEAL Proves About Donald Trump” (2/28/17) and “Winners and Losers From President Trump’s Big Speech to Congress” (2/28/17) which he posted to Twitter with what seemed like a ready-made gif of Trump “dropping the mic”—a pop culture cliche for giving a successful speech.
“This speech is clearest example Trump is beginning to own and understand the powers of the office,” said Time White House correspondent Zeke Miller. His colleague, Time Washington bureau chief Michael Scherer, breathlessly added, “This speech is the best sign yet that Donald Trump can learn how to use the power of his office.”
“That was a Reaganesque moment for Trump,” congressional bureau chief for Politico John Bresnahan said in reference to Trump praising the widow of the Navy SEAL whom Trump’s botched raid helped send to an early grave—along with nine children under the age of 13, including a US citizen. “‘Etched into eternity.’ What a moment,” Bresnahan’s colleague Tim Alberta salivated, quoting Trump’s self-serving praise of the fallen sailor.
“This is the best morning of Donald Trump’s presidency,” Washington Post White House bureau chief Philip Rucker added. “He is basking in positive pundit reviews. All that tumult feels like yesteryear.”
Trump “softens his tone” (US News, 3/1/17)
Tone was elevated above all. The BBC (3/1/17), US News (3/1/17), NPR (2/28/17) and MSN (3/1/17) all used the cliche “Kinder, Gentler Trump” to describe the speech. NBC’s Chuck Todd tweeted out, “He’s hitting the same issues and themes he talks about at rallies, but this is the first time he’s used a different tone to sell his agenda.”
The New York Times (2/28/17) even gave Trump a pat on the head for “following the written text on the teleprompters more closely than any major speech of his presidency.”
The praise from the media for his speech was so overwhelming, Trump is reportedly delaying the roll out of his new “travel ban” (his new attempt to legalize a Muslim ban) so he can soak in all the goodwill.
The consistent theme in all praise of Trump, it’s worth highlighting, is that it was entirely superficial. Vague notions of “optimism,” “kinder” tones and, above all, the DC fetish for being “presidential” won the day. On substance—as many of the less credulous critics have pointed out—the Trump presidency remains unchanged.
Adam Johnson is a contributing analyst for FAIR.org. You can find him on Twitter at @AdamJohnsonNYC.
Vetting the vile
I can only imagine two reasons for this: Dems and the news media quite humanly wish to believe Trump’s not so bad, and so use the speech as proof thereof; and/or they are trying to be “nicer” so he will stop flaying them as “the enemy of America” and restore press access to White House briefings and so on.
What the media need to do now is to 1. push hard on the administration about exactly how Trump intends to fulfill his promises and 2. consider, or make Trump consider, the side or wider effects of implementing his plans. Also, just because he said some semi reasonable things doesn’t erase things like his “VOICE” plan to publicize all the alleged crimes of all those evil immigrants, stirring up more hate and fear while probably ignoring victims of crimes by citizens, such as police officers who kill unarmed non-criminals.
Spoken like a Dim. Are you Libral?
Exactly, Adam. The only thing it proved to me was that he can read a teleprompter.
Oops, that was meant as a response to the article, not to you.
But since I’m here, that “potshot” to Miranda was uncalled for. Feeling particularly feisty, were ya?
In the past, before he became president, Donald Trump convinced many people (including many bankers) that he was trustworthy and would honor the contracts he signs- only to go on to: dispute bills, sue contractors, declare bankruptcy (six times), and otherwise renege on solemn promises when they became inconvenient to him (cf. Ivana and Marla).
On the basis of one ‘normal’ speech to Congress we’re supposed to believe he’s changed his stripes?
At any given time, he will say or do anything if he thinks it will help him win over whomever he’s talking to at the moment.
Trump the showman understands the old Hollywood adage, “Sincerity and honesty are the key – once you’ve learned to fake them, you can do anything!”
He is living, breathing, grotesque evidence that that proposition may be true.
Contracts are also known in Cosa Nostra as vendettas. The plural may be vendettae. I’ve definitely got issues with “changed his stripes.” In his essay on style in prose Orwell wrote that “the worst constructed metaphor is still better than a cliche.” We’re agreed “changed his stripes” is a cliche? Barring airports to Muslims is nothing less than tyranny. Why not rather the lesser religion? Christianity? Tearing apart migrant families is tyranny twice. According to Counterpunch it is the Trumpeters aim in their plan for flat out fascism to seize the bureaucracy. And as radicals it is our duty to see that doesn’t happen.
I sincerely believe that most Americans hold a very short-term memory recall, to match their short attention span, and I also believe that most Americans honestly have no interior dialogue. Everything is reactionary and wholly dependent on whatever stimuli at that precise moment.
Thanks for being an exception, Adam.
Van Jones is a clown of the highest order. Here’s a man who months ago was declared Trump to be leading a heinous, racist movement (which he is) but now is ready to declare this clown “America’s President” because Trump showboated over the death of man on a mission which killed several small kids in a nation we are currently helping to starve to death.
But when you’ve got a six-figure career to feed, certain compromises have to be made.
This country is a joke.
Also, the FAIR spam challenge is really pushing my 3rd-grade math skills to the limit these days.
If one were waiting on line to see Santa Claus, and Santa was strongly suspected of being a pedophilic cannibal, the best way to calm your nervous children would also be Denial. “Look kids, there’s no blood on Santa! And he’s smiling!” Yes, Virginia, countries can suffer psychoses, too.
I’m just wondering which of his attractive children will be the second Chief Executive in the Trump dynasty; if the Bushes were able to do it, why not the Trumps? USA! USA! USA!
Does this mean Ivanka might let me sit in her lap?
Why stop there? Everything is negotiable. Give Tiny Hands a tweet. Many international leaders of industry and commerce think him a master of getting “things” done; he’s in complete agreement.
I heard any kind of snuggle is a nice snuggle for Ivanka as long as it’s hidden away in a Nordstrom’s store.
At least Trump recognizes American workers have been working under a handicap all these years. The American manufacturing workers appreciate this.
Just imagine, Obama continued to push the TPP right up until the election.
On the same day that Trump signed an executive order to renege on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he met with assorted CEOs and promised them massive cuts to regulations and taxes, essentially what the TPP was always about, taking power away from governments and presenting it on a golden platter to multinational corporations.
https://noosphere.noblogs.org/news-17-01-24/
https://twitter.com/ddayen/status/837054862416216066
And since then he has done just that through executive orders.
https://www.rt.com/usa/378520-trump-regulatory-reform-order/
So the TPP is dead in America in name only.
Sure is disappointing to know that His Royal Eloquence wasn’t aware. Too much golf I guess. Just imagine star spangled acid bloomer.
The headline doesn’t match the content in exactly the same way corporate media articles frequently don’t. What media fawned over was Trump’s praising a soldier’s widow, which led to a standing ovation for her. Yes, outlets praised the speech, but mostly for the “Reaganesque moment” that seemed to signal a change in tone from campaign rally speeches. It’s not necessary to have any sympathy for Trump to expect his actions to be reported accurately. In this case, FAIR fails.
Obama’s gift to the political world: Donald Trump and Van Jones. And to the real fake world: drone swarms.
Help Wanted: POTUS
Are you looking for work? A job? Jobs? Not blow jobs. Real jobs. The kind you pay war taxes on. This notice refers to jobs in the plural because in the capitalist economy most decent people have two or three jobs. Have you dreamt of going on a shooting spree with F-15s and drones? Toyed with drone swarms at night? Have you thought about drinking blood just as a hobby? For lack of anything more exciting? Have you thought mass murder might be a particular specialty of yours? Would you like to fuck FLOTUS at night? And if she were black it would be like kissing a cloud? Do you sometimes wake up deep in the night and wish you were a vampire so you could bite someone’s neck and suck the blood right out? Because you’ve got a taste for corpscules? Whether white or red? Or black if they happen to scab over? Are you kind of partial to scab labor? Would you like to hit union workers over the head with a sheet of lumber? Would you like to tell flat out falsehoods on campaign trails because they sound soothing to the ears? Then we might very well have the opportunity you’re looking for. This might be your job. POTUS, President of the United States. The job description in short is mass murder. Every thing else is details and subsequents.
FAIR is doing a fantastic job. DAMN!
thank you, fine writers and editors for your excellent takes on the bogus
media and the unbelievable events of the day. this article is great.
ALL of your articles are intelligent, right-on, and so very important. ..THANK YOU!
thanks to your commenters, too, some of which are bright remarks and
contribute well, i think.
thank you, adam, janine, and everyone who makes FAIR
so great. … THANK YOU!
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