https://www.salon.com/2016/12/29/donald-trump-media-enablers-digby/
[If Mr. Trump is going to change how he interacts with the main-stream
media compared to his predecessors (ignore or attack), perhaps the MSM
needs to figure out what their new role will be or be rendered irrelevant.
links in on-line article]
Thursday, Dec 29, 2016 08:00 AM EST
So much for the watchdogs: Don’t worry about the media normalizing
Donald Trump, worry about them enabling him
Donald Trump is on pace to self-destruct — that is, unless the media
keeps enabling him
Heather Digby Parton
Now that the smoke from the election is finally clearing, the challenge
facing the Trump opposition is becoming obvious. It is immense. If
anyone thought that the Trump campaign was some kind of a show or simply
a means to an end and that Trump would “pivot” to a more presidential
bearing and attitude, enough time has now passed to put any such hopes
to rest. He is as unstable as ever.Unlike other president-elects, Donald
Trump has held no press conferences and is mainly communicating through
Twitter. But his choices for his staff and his Cabinet tell some of the
story. He remains dependent on his children and close campaign advisers,
which were culled from the dregs of the GOP consultant class and
right-wing fringe. And his cabinet choices mainly hail from the
constituencies of Wall Street, Big Business and the extremist edge of
the conservative movement.
But lest anyone think there’s ideological rhyme or reason for his
choices, The Washington Post reported that his main concern is simply
that they look the part. He admitted that he chose retired Marine Gen.
James Mattis because he’s “the closest thing to General George Patton
that we have,” but that is assumed to be mainly because he looks a
little bit like George C. Scott, who played Patton in the movie.
Transition officials said that Trump passed over Senator Bob Corker for
Secretary of State because he is too short and he never seriously
considered John Bolton for the leading role because of his mustache,
which Trump apparently hates. Mitt Romney and ExxonMobil CEO Rex
Tillerson were apparently the top choices because of their silver hair
and broad shoulders, which fit the image Trump has for a secretary of state.
Trump’s Twitter feed shows a disturbing portrait of a shallow egotist
who spends way too much time watching TV and virtually no time learning
how to do the most important job in the world. He’s taking credit for
things he isn’t doing and ignoring all the norms and rules that usually
apply to presidents. In other words, he isn’t changing. And just as the
bizarre reality show of a campaign stymied 17 GOP rivals and the
campaign of Hillary Clinton, his nascent presidency shows every sign of
stymieing the Democrats and the political press.
Political scientist George C. Edwards III at Texas A&M argues in this
piece in the Washington Post that all is not lost and that reality will
eventually bite when Trump is unable to persuade the people to support
him. He says there are four questions that might predict if he can
accomplish that:
Did Trump receive a mandate from the people?
Do Americans support the general direction of Trump’s policies?
How polarized is public opinion?
How malleable is public opinion?
The answer to those questions is obvious. He did not receive a mandate,
most Americans do not support the general direction of his policies,
public opinion is extremely polarized and the only people whose opinions
are malleable in his favor are those who already support him.
Edwards writes:
Although Trump seems to enjoy an extraordinary rapport with his
most enthusiastic supporters, the question is whether he can change the
views of those who do not support him. The evidence is clear that his
efforts are unlikely to succeed. Indeed, presidents find it difficult
even to change the views of their fellow partisans who happen to
disagree with them on an issue.
He says if presidents fail to accurately assess their level of support
and work within that they are prone to overreach and political disaster.
This analysis is comforting, if only because it makes one think we will
come back to some sort of equilibrium once Trump fails. But there’s a
feeling of whistling past the graveyard about it. Haven’t we been
assured over and over again for the past 18 months that Trump was going
to “overreach” and suffer “political disaster?” And doesn’t he just keep
coming like The Terminator, impervious to all the normal political pitfalls?
The problem we face is that Trump is sui generis and he is operating
within a unique circumstance. The party he now leads was already at a
peak moment of extremism and are unable and unwilling to act as a
moderating force. And the modern media environment has made it possible
for a fabulist like Trump to create an alternate narrative that is
likely to be believed by millions of his followers, who are already far
more gullible than most people.
Politico reported that Republican officials who show any independence
are already feeling the heat from Trump’s enforcers. When Representative
Bill Flores of Texas rather mildly declared that some of Trump’s
policies might not be in keeping with conservative principles he was
attacked by Breitbart and Sean Hannity, which sent a horde of Trump
supporters calling for his head. And he’s not alone:
“Nobody wants to go first,” said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who
received nasty phone calls, letters and tweets after he penned an August
op-ed in The New York Times, calling on Trump to release his tax
returns. “People are naturally reticent to be the first out of the block
for fear of Sean Hannity, for fear of Breitbart, for fear of local folks.”
And that’s nothing compared to what they are facing if the president
himself tweets a call to arms to his millions of supporters.
This is not business as usual. And attempting to deal with this
phenomenon as if it is has not worked up until now and is unlikely to
work in the future. No typical politician can do what Trump is doing.
His followers see him as the ultimate Green Lantern president, a
super-hero who doesn’t have to follow the rules. It’s not about reform
for them, it’s about magic. Looking back at previous presidencies, or
trying to create a “better message” is inadequate when Trump can lie
with impunity and offer up a stirring story of success and victory in an
alternate media universe. The question is what will work and I don’t
think anyone knows the answer.