The Media "Loves" Trump and His Reality Show Presidency
As disastrous as the Trump presidency is in every possible way, he is a ratings gold-mine for the corporate controlled news media, particularly cable news channels like CNN and MSNBC. The non-stop scandal is just perfect for attracting viewers. Even though Trump constantly derides the media as fake news, his bizarre and treasonous actions are perfect for the media. They thrive on his idiocy and madness-- JUST AS THEY DID IN THE CAMPAIGN. The corporate media love of spectacle was a big reason why Trump won.
As I've noted here before, the media is a real problem for the US in a complicated way. Trump is right that the media is the enemy of the people, but ONLY IN THE SENSE THAT THEY BROUGHT US TRUMP IN THE FIRST PLACE!
A free press is still ABSOLUTELY necessary for our country to have a chance of remaining free from outright authoritarianism/fascism/dictatorship/martial law, but the corporate media and their greed is still a real problem for us.
At the same time-- the Trump presidency is almost like a scripted reality TV show, isn't it? It's like there couldn't be a more perfect vehicle for the news media than Trump's madness, and even though Trump is clueless about so much real world, I'm sure he knows the media loves his madness. How much of his insanity is an act? Hard to know. Is there a conspiracy between Trump and the corporate media to keep the insanity going? I doubt there is any firm agreement, but maybe a tacit agreement.
There is also a seriously fake aspect to this presidency. His constant lies seek to create a fake reality. He does most things by executive order, which might sound important, but have limited real effect on laws and policies. He makes claims about accomplishments that are just lies or have nothing to do with what he's directly done. Significantly he made a big deal about withdrawing from the Paris climate accords. However, this means nothing since 1) the US is still obligated to stay in the deal another 4 years no matter what he says, 2) the deal is non-binding and the vast majority of his complaints about the deal were nonsense. You could call him a Potemkin president, since as bad as he is, his incompetence and inexperience have kept him from the doing worse.
But this President Trump reality show cannot go on too long. In the big picture, it is too real and too destructive, too chaotic and too mind-boggling, too maddening and insulting. There are real world consequences for people's lives. We need the season finale to this crazy show soon.
Note, how much Trump distorts reality-- new limits of the law are being tested every day. He is trying to see if he can pardon himself, which surprisingly is unclear in the constitution, as is the question of whether the president can be criminally indicted.
As I've noted here before, the media is a real problem for the US in a complicated way. Trump is right that the media is the enemy of the people, but ONLY IN THE SENSE THAT THEY BROUGHT US TRUMP IN THE FIRST PLACE!
A free press is still ABSOLUTELY necessary for our country to have a chance of remaining free from outright authoritarianism/fascism/dictatorship/martial law, but the corporate media and their greed is still a real problem for us.
At the same time-- the Trump presidency is almost like a scripted reality TV show, isn't it? It's like there couldn't be a more perfect vehicle for the news media than Trump's madness, and even though Trump is clueless about so much real world, I'm sure he knows the media loves his madness. How much of his insanity is an act? Hard to know. Is there a conspiracy between Trump and the corporate media to keep the insanity going? I doubt there is any firm agreement, but maybe a tacit agreement.
There is also a seriously fake aspect to this presidency. His constant lies seek to create a fake reality. He does most things by executive order, which might sound important, but have limited real effect on laws and policies. He makes claims about accomplishments that are just lies or have nothing to do with what he's directly done. Significantly he made a big deal about withdrawing from the Paris climate accords. However, this means nothing since 1) the US is still obligated to stay in the deal another 4 years no matter what he says, 2) the deal is non-binding and the vast majority of his complaints about the deal were nonsense. You could call him a Potemkin president, since as bad as he is, his incompetence and inexperience have kept him from the doing worse.
But this President Trump reality show cannot go on too long. In the big picture, it is too real and too destructive, too chaotic and too mind-boggling, too maddening and insulting. There are real world consequences for people's lives. We need the season finale to this crazy show soon.
Note, how much Trump distorts reality-- new limits of the law are being tested every day. He is trying to see if he can pardon himself, which surprisingly is unclear in the constitution, as is the question of whether the president can be criminally indicted.
posted by spooked at 10:11 AM
1 Comments:
I wonder if Trump's lawyers have advised him that he or co-president Kushner might need a pardon or amnesty for any criminal charges that Mueller might seek.
If so, that helps explain his efforts to gauge public opinion about his pardon power. Let the media explore the issue in order to pacify the public and inoculate his family against the possibility that he might need a pardon.
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