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The Screaming Moderate

Trump Diplomacy at work

6/30/2019

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President Trump’s behavior at the G-20 meeting in Japan may have hit a new low mark, even for him.

He sat with America’s biggest enemy – Russia’s Vladimir Putin – and, when asked by a reporter if Trump would raise Russia’s meddling in our election in 2016 pointed a playful finger at the Russian side and mockingly reprimanded them. telling them not to meddle in our elections again! A fine laugh was shared by the leaders, a schoolgirl kind of giggle over their little inside joke. Clearly Russia will meddle again and clearly Trump knows (now if he didn't in 2016) that interference can only help him.

It was obvious that Trump at some point would say, see, I told Putin not to mess with us so quit asking me. And, indeed, in a press conference later he said about the exchange, “you have to look at the words.” Yes, sir, but you also have to watch the video – you said it with a laugh. I have a feeling that Putin took it, as did millions of others, as  light-hearted banter and not a serious rebuke.

Next, as he said “thank you,” signaling the photo opp was over and the media should leave,  he leaned again into his BFF Putin and said “fake news,” pointing at the exiting media and  telling Putin “you don’t have that problem” or words to that effect. To which Putin, ever the joker himself, responded “yes we do.” A riotous remark because Russia does not have a free press and Putin literally has  had killed some of his critics in journalism in Russia.

Trump had breakfast with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who is alleged by a global investigation and our own intelligence agencies as the one who ordered the killing and slicing up of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In referring to this cold blooded killer Trump called him a “great man” and good friend of the United States.

Next, he tweeted out that he was going to visit the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea and playfully tweeted that if Kim Jong-Un, the North’s dictator and murderer-in-chief, wanted to meet him there for a handshake, that would be cool. Kim accepted the allegedly spontaneous offer.

Trump produced, then, what he thought would be a world-shattering photo opp of him stepping over the demarcation line, with Kim escorting him 20 steps into North Korea. The first time a sitting U.S. president has done that.

This, indeed, produced a historic photo opp for the leader – that leader being Kim who has been leveraging Trump for all he’s worth (not as much as he claims) to give him (Kim) legitimacy in the world. You’ll note that Kim says quite positive things about Trump – playing to the President’s ego and narcissism – but has done absolutely nothing about denuclearizing his country. He also speaks not so kindly about the secretary of state and others. Trump, of course, takes the fact that Kim has ordered no new nuclear tests as evidence of his diplomatic brilliance. Which he certainly can take some credit for until Kim does his next test and when that happens, you’ll see Kim no longer complimenting Trump.

Put those examples together and, even for Trump, it was the quickest one-two-three-four punch combination he’s ever mustered. But who was he punching?  The murderers he met with or We the People and our allies?

Trump’s next big scheduled event is kidnapping the country’s formerly non-partisan celebration of the birth of our nation and turning it from a Tribute to America to a Tribute to Trump.

Ever since he witnessed a parade of military members and equipment in France, Trump has wanted his own such celebration. He’s going to get it on July 4.

He’s moved the fireworks to a new location and will deliver a speech during the party previously reserved as a joyous celebration of the birth of the greatest country the world has (had) ever seen. It’ll delay flights from Reagan Airport for security reasons and to make way for a Trump-ordered flyover of Air Force One, and it will close traffic on a main bridge to the District of Columbia, inconveniencing tens of thousands trying to make their way to celebrate our country and likely disappointing  children who just want to see the fireworks and not hear a political speech.

Trump is making the Fourth a celebration of Trump. Not only unsurprising but making it appear that hundreds of thousands of people have made their way to Washington to celebrate Trump. He will no doubt take credit for the big turnout despite the fact that they were coming anyway and, in effect, he kidnapped them.

I know there are many Trump supporters out there. I know a few actually read this blog. I ask you: “You may support his presidency and approve of his policies. But do you really support his endorsing murderers (Putin, Bin Salmon, Kim) and his kidnapping what was a joyous, patriotic day of no politics and making it his own?” I mean, his campaign doesn’t even have to try to build a crowd – the fireworks crowd is baked in the cake, for heaven’s sake.

Fine with me if you agree with his policies.  He won the election and has the right, of course, to put in policies he thinks are good for the country. Did his policies have anything to do with the economic recovery that started years before he was even nominated? Probably. Deregulation was greeted happily by the business community. It upset years of regulation aimed at keeping our environment clean and rules protecting workers, but it also likely contributed positively to t he economy.

But again, do you really support Trump putting his arm around three international murderers literally within hours of each other, joking with them as you would a neighbor at your holiday barbecue?

I know you think it’s fun when he hammers the free press, and sometimes they deserve it, but do you really want what Trump wants – a media that only lauds him and hides his bad side? Do you really accept a President who praises tyrants and murderers while talking down to our decades-long allies?

If you do, skip the celebration of the Fourth of July and enjoy the Tribute to Trump.


           
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Sarah, we definitely knew ye

6/18/2019

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders is winding down her final days as President Trump’s press secretary. Many would say “good riddance.” Some might ask, “Who comes next?”

The fact, believe it or not, is we probably will never do better than Sanders in this Administration. She has established the standard for a successful Trump press secretary: willing to lie about anything to please an audience of one.

Whoever follows her now knows what will make them successful – be willing to say anything that will make Trump a happy fellow. No one else matters. Nothing else matters: not the truth, not the fact that your salary is paid by the taxpayers not by the President, not being respectful toward those reporters trying to do their jobs. And knowing that beforehand means you will lie for him because you know that's a job requirement.

Sanders admitted lying when she told the special counsel that during a televised briefing she had heard from “countless” FBI employees positively when Trump fired the FBI director. She admitted to the special counsel this was a “slip of the tongue” – probably the biggest literal slip in history. It’s not like a word was off in an answer. She flat-out made the whole thing up. But she's lied hundreds of other times.

Having served as deputy press secretary to two presidents and head of press operations for a Cabinet member, the White House press secretary job, BS (before Sanders), served many important purposes. He or she was speaking for the United States Government and the President of the Free World. It was an important job. Markets paid attention to every word. Foreign governments, too.

As a Cabinet press person, you looked to the daily briefings for guidance on issues you often talked about. As staff to a press secretary you were meticulous in finding out the truth before handing the press secretary talking points to answer questions, not wanting to give false information.

Often, the daily briefing set the agenda for the day for the Administration. Often, in your research for the truth, you came upon facts that countered what a Cabinet official was saying and you served as an early warning to the President that something was amiss. You never wanted to offend the Cabinet member, but you wanted to be sure you spoke truth.

For Trump, tweets have replaced the daily messaging purpose the briefing served. He literally is his own press secretary and communications director, as we know.

Have other press secretaries lied? Probably, but not to the extent Sanders does. To her, a lie is a first option. To other press secretaries it was a response, that if you felt you had to lie, you’d probably resign first or convince the President and the chief of staff of a different, more honest answer. Call that “spin” – a word I always hated because it came to be perceived as lying. It isn’t. “Spin” is putting the best light on a dark situation. You can “spin” without lying.

Were there reporters the press office didn’t like in the past? I wouldn’t put it that way. I’d say there are reporters who weren’t as respected for their fairness (OK, that may qualify as “spin”). But were there reporters the press staff went out of their way to insult? No, not until this press secretary.

She has set the office back decades. She has ended the daily briefing. Now, I always thought the briefing could be improved, but I never thought it should be abandoned.

For one, when I was in the press office, we didn’t allow live TV coverage of briefings unless it served our purpose – a statement we wanted on camera so the press secretary was delivering the message directly on TV – say a bombing, or a message to a foreign leader. Mike McCurry, one of the best press secretaries to serve, opened the briefings to live TV during President Clinton’s term. And it served McCurry’s purposes at that moment in time (defending his boss during the Lewinsky matter). Later, it did not,  but once you do it live, it's hard to stop because the TV news folks think you're taking away something they need (you are). McCurry today would say he made a mistake opening to cameras as a habit. My old boss, another of the best -- Marlin Fitzwater -- only opened briefings when it served our purpose.

Of course when McCurry opened the briefings, the only cable news network was CNN and there weren't the now prolific 24/7 talking heads filling up the airtime which also changed the nature of the press briefing.

When you are live on TV, you sweat each answer much more. The media, too, changes personalities. Off camera briefings typically were more serious and the occasional joke taken in context. There was good-natured give and take. On camera, you joke only if you think it serves a purpose – say to change the environment in the briefing room. Live, some correspondents grandstand for their bosses or the public. Do it the wrong way, and that footage is repeated forever on TV.

Bottom line: the public loses when there is no briefing. They lose because they aren’t getting the information they deserve for their tax dollars. The Administration also loses because often, to get a concrete answer ready for the briefing, you might speed up a decision process; or drop a potentially embarrassing topic from the policy review. You also can't go "on background" or "off the record", which serves a useful purpose sometimes by giving more detail than you can say on the record. On TV, you can't be on background. So, the reporters often lose a useful tool to better give their stories context.
 
Instead of using the briefing room, Sanders and others have taken to "briefing" in the White House driveway -- a dump alternative for press purposes.

So, Sarah Sanders may have killed off forever one of the most important traditions the government has had since the Eisenhower presidency – a way to hear the truth about what’s going on with their government. Obviously, that isn't a priority for this Administration.

So, Sarah, let me say on the record: thanks for nothing.

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What's not to believe?

6/12/2019

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In these days of a President who lies often and a mainstream media that is giving its best available version of the truth, it is very difficult to know what’s going on.

President Trump has more than 10,000 documented instances of lying, according to the Washington Post’s Fact Checker. The media, on TV and in print, slowly are learning how to fairly out the President’s lies. In headlines running under him as he speaks live. Saying "that isn't true" both in print and on TV.

What are we to believe?

Take the recent negotiations with Mexico over how to deal with illegal immigration (and legal too it seems) at our southern border. The Mexican government gives their version of what happened. President Trump gives his, including an alleged secret agreement with Mexico. The media reports it all, sometimes relying too heavily on unidentified sources because the media trust little of what Trump says. (I’d say this isn’t too different than they’ve covered other presidents but it is definitely more intense now.)

Who’s to blame? As in most situations, there is blame to go around.

The President lies. That is documented. So it is difficult to rely on his version of events even when he may be telling the straight-up truth. The media are even more questioning of the president because the president is known to lie, as do many of his appointees, including the White House press secretary.

I tend to believe the mainstream media when I’m in doubt. That’s partly because I’m a former journalist and partly based on years of being a government/political spokesman where I had more facts than I do now to judge a news story’s accuracy. Still, sometimes, of course, the media are wrong. It is not a science, it’s a craft.

Donald Trump has lied so often that too many, including me, believe nothing of what he says. That does not bode well for when the country is in a crisis – which we could be at any minute with North Korea or Russia or China. In those circumstances in the past, we’ve always looked to our President as the one to tell us what’s going on. With Trump’s track record, who’d believe him? I do not say that lightly.

That’s the problem. In this negotiation with Mexico, yesterday Trump pulled from his jacket pocket a piece of paper that he claimed was the “secret agreement” he has with Mexico that will be triggered on only his say so. Of course, he didn’t release the document so for all we know it was his grocery list (I jest). An enterprising Washington Post photographer got close enough to take a picture and it seems the document is an agreement of some kind signed not by Trump but by lower level government representatives.

For those of you sitting back and saying “all presidents lie,” I’d say no president – whichever party – has lied so much that he has no credibility in the bank with most Americans (yes, I know, Richard Nixon. But do you want to be even near him on a list of truth-tellers?) – or even I imagine most of his fellow Republicans in the Congress.

So, it isn’t a straight up (“binary” as they say now) choice between Trump and the media for who’s telling the truth. The media definitely get it wrong sometimes. Trump definitely lies, a lot.

Yesterday he talked about receiving a “beautiful…warm” letter from Kim Jong-Un. But he, of course, couldn’t show it. He said he had a fabulous, secret agreement with Mexico, of course, he couldn’t show it. The Mexican government denies any secret agreement. (By the way, did I mention that in high school I dated a gorgeous world-known model who wrote to me every day, but of course I can’t give her name nor can I show you those very private letters?)

These are not good times for our democracy. Trump attacks the media as the “enemy of the people” which some of his followers believe. He does this so that he, to that base, is the source of all truth and facts.

It’s too bad this is such an issue – truth v lies – because it distracts us from the serious things going on – North Korea, Russia, China (not to mention health care, drug prices, living wages, to name just a few). But the President does tell us everything is a way better since he was elected.

What’s not to believe in that?


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    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

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