What a mess the political scene is today. We have a biased media that looks for any excuse to attack the President and administration. Their coverage as measured by non partisan groups is over ninety per cent negative toward the administration.
That high percentage is aided by a President who feeds their frenzy with his hyperbole. His tweets and attacks add fuel, and his relationship to the truth is often questionable. Add the ego he brings and you have all the ingredients needed to create the current mess.
On Tuesday night he stood before a Florida audience and punctured a speech he was out to endorse someone else to all about him. That all about “me” and “aren’t I great” stuff is starting to wear thin with some.
In that speech Tuesday he said he saw a poll that said he was “the most popular Republican ever”. He stepped away from the podium for effect. Think about that, in the party of Lincoln, he is the most popular ever? Does anyone believe that? Does anyone even think he is more popular than Reagan in this generation?
He goes after the media with a vengeance. We are no supporters of the MSM, but there is one thing that bothers us. He keeps saying they (the media) are reporting “fake news”. It is not fake news they are reporting, to be honest. It is negative news over and over with commentary that makes it seem even worse. We think he would be better calling it what it is, biased news.
Biased news is real, provable and constant. When the media calls him on what is fake they are going to have issues answering. On biased news they wouldn’t. Call it what it is.
Here’s an example. The NYT had this headline story yesterday:
A Migrant Boy Rejoins His Mother, but He’s Not the Same:
Parents reunited with young children are reporting mental health issues. One 5-year-old boy has started a new life with his mother in Philadelphia, but signs of trauma
remain.
Think about this story. They went after the administration for separation every day with sensational stories. They played America’s heartstrings to bury the administration. They said they would never meet the date to reunite the families (they did last week). Did you hear that?
So now what do they do? They run stories like this to blame the administration for mental health issues to families.
Do you think the article said the kids would have never been separated if their parents hadn’t tried to cross the border illegally? Of course not. Any issues were the fault of Trump and the administration. See? Biased news is the real charge from what is supposed to be non partial press presenting the information and facts to the people.
Now Trumpisms that can drive you crazy, because his ego forces him to say them, drive the media (and many others crazy). Examples:
He’s the toughest President “ever” on Russia. Not true. He may be tougher than Bush or Obama, but not ever.
This is the best economy we have ever had, he says. Not true. We have had far more robust years of greater than 4% GDP, as opposed to a single quarter.
We don’t see any end in sight either. Daily the White House press briefings have become tension filled moments where every question is an attempt at got ya, and every reply terse and stern. Both sides have to share some of the blame. Never would the press go after Obama in any such manner; but at the same time he didn’t bait them a few times a day.
Let’s get back to the issues. We think it would help the administration. After all what are the Democrats running on this November? Is abolish ICE, reverse the tax cut, medicare for all, guaranteed income for everyone, and no borders a winning message? We don’t think so.
On the other hand, do Republicans have a message? Isn’t the economy better? Isn’t Isis almost gone, and what’s left on the run? Isn’t NATO paying more? Is there a chance for a solution with N. Korea? Is unemployment down and the per cent of Americans working up?
Why would the administration not want to run on that record? Why does the President create so much other news that takes away from this?
Tariffs remain a gamble for the administration and country. To reverse something that has been building since World War II is tough. The President seemed determined to try and raise the ante yesterday.
He has an edge in that we are an importer far more than an exporter. Plus, our economy is so much larger the others need to be here. Add this:
China, Europe and Mexico’s economies have showed new signs of stumbling while the U.S. powered ahead, boosting Trump’s hand as we head into a difficult new round of trade negotiations with a few countries.
Did you see the latest polls? Generic ballots continue to say the Democrats will take the house in November. Plus in the first head to head for 2020, Joe Biden is 7 points up on Trump.
Finally, even though the Brett Kavanaugh nomination has been quiet, don’t be fooled. The opposition is gearing up. Yesterday, the second ranking Democrat in the Senate said Kavanaugh “mislead senators during his 2006 confirmation hearing”. He claims the judge denied involvement in crafting President Bush’s policy on detainees and enemy combatants caught during the war on terror. He has vowed to make the judge explain himself before he gets a seat on the court.
Much more to follow as the next 60 days unfold.