The Trump Presidency

[Frogacuda]

Seriously, Trump has lowered the bar forever. Other politicians can see what he gets away with and will eventually realize they can do it, too.

If he gets away with it. If he leaves office in disgrace, people will not be so quick to evoke his memory.

[icarusfall]

This is maybe the most upsetting one so far.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...08293516632065

[Satsuki]

I'm a bit at the point where everything he says is just adults talking in the peanuts cartoon, it's just "womp womp womp womp" and I catch the Bloomberg translation of what he was actually trying to say later.

[Doc Holliday]

This is maybe the most upsetting one so far.

The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

That's like the only honest thing he's tweeted. But it's his game, too. That's what drives me mad. How can you call the media out on their appeals to emotion, cherry-picking data, ambiguity and composition fallacies, then turn around and do the same thing? But it's like steroids, you're going to do it if your competition does it.

This is the enemy of the American People. It's abuse and addiction. The media is the pimp and the viewers are the sex workers thinking the pimp is the only thing providing for them and protecting them from the street.

The only way to fix it is to better educate the American electorate. But it won't be easy, it's hard to tell a whore she'd be better off without the pimp.

[Frogacuda]

But that's not what he's doing. He's saying that media that distorts information or delivers outright falsehoods that favor him are good and honest, and those that report things that hurt his message or cause are fake and dishonest.

[Doc Holliday]

What Trump said is accurate. ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN use manipulative reporting, leave out data and make false assumptions, they appeal to emotion, to empathy, to fear and anger, to control their viewers, which lines their pockets, but undermines democracy. That is the very definition of Enemy of the People.

But, like I said. Trump does the exact same thing they do. He does it, because it works. It works like performance enhancing drugs. So, he leaves out FOX News, Brietbart, NPR, because they generally favor him more than the former. And that leads you to make the false dilemma that since the tweet said A, B, and C are Bad, and Good is the oppose of Bad, then the tweet said D, E, and F must be good. No, they were simply left out of the charge. If a prosecutor charges one person for theft, does that mean there are no more thieves?

[Frogacuda]

There's accountability with the media to some degree of truth, regardless of the opinions or agendas being expressed.

But sure, TV is entertainment no matter what. Trump knows this. It's why he can't go 3 minutes without bringing up "ratings."

[Diff-chan]

The big media outlets completely shit themselves this election cycle. They were just clueless. Look at NYT's chance of winning calculator on election night. Totally blew it. I don't think this is debatable.

By itself that's fine, it wouldn't be the first time they fucked up. But after the election they shit themselves again. NYT, WAPO, CNN, etc. popularized this "fake news" thing. They basically said that the election was lost because people didn't listen to them. And someone like me says, so what is Judith Miller? What is that Malaysian flight flying into a black hole and shit?

If you have Trump or whomever mocking them for being "fake news"... they brought this on themselves. There's a reason WaPo is trying to backtrack that term. They realize it flopped. It flopped because it was completely subjective from the start and the sites they were accusing of being fake news were just like "no u" and they had no answer.

Full disclosure, I had a NYT sub since 2012. I canceled it recently because I can't take that outlet seriously anymore. I got an email from them right after the election where they promised to double-down on quality journalism and what not. But then we got all that stuff. They're pathetic.

The NYT just had to "reprimand" a reporter because he dropped some shit about Melania being a hooker to impress Emily Rajatkowski. This is what they are.

[A Robot Bit Me]

manipulative reporting, leave out data and make false assumptions, they appeal to emotion, to empathy, to fear and anger, to control their viewers, which lines their pockets, but undermines democracy.

If this is "the very definition of enemy of the people," what does that make Trump?

[Doc Holliday]

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:

If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

- Noah S Sweat


Ideally, we would want politicians to not manipulate us. But they do it in every speech and we expect it, and we don't have time to research every statement every politician makes. Since the first community in prehistoric times, we have delegated duties to those whom specialize in it, so we ourselves may spend our time doing our specialty for the community. When politicians manipulate or deceive us, we relay on those in the media to inform us. But when the media themselves manipulate us, the system is broken. In the old days that system was just the community of one village, now it's a 1/3 billion population state.