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UPDATE: "Donald J. Trump is frustrated. He’s the president of the United States, and yet there are limits to how he can use his power. He can’t just snap his fingers and end Obamacare; his travel ban got gummed up in litigation; he can’t flick a switch and 'open up' libel laws; the regime in North Korea doesn’t appear to respect him too much.
And then there’s the issue of the Beltway media, which refuses to enable a man extraordinarily unfit for his responsibilities. NBC News, for example, reported on Wednesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had referred to President Trump as a 'moron' after a July meeting at the Pentagon, not to mention that the top diplomat 'was on the verge of resigning.' The story carried four bylines and extensive sourcing. CNN reported that Trump knew before Wednesday about the 'moron' moment.
None of those considerations, of course, prevented Trump from blasting the story the way he commonly blasts negative press . . .
Being president is a tough line of work. As the New York Times wrote in February, Trump came to the White House with a long background in manipulating, goading and feeding New York tabloids. His virtuoso work with reporters — including a stunt in which he impersonated his own PR guy — doubtless fed an expectation that perhaps he’d be able to pull the same moves in the nation’s capital.
He cannot, and so he lapses into autocratic desperation, as in this tweet from Thursday:
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!
5:59 AM - Oct 5, 2017
For context, the Senate intelligence committee has heard testimony about the distortions and propaganda of Russian-funded outlets such as RT and Sputnik. . .
That the president of the United States would suggest that U.S. news organizations deserve scrutiny ahead of RT and Sputnik is, once again, not surprising. Which is not to say it isn’t scandalous, because it surely is. In President Ronald Reagan’s day, the suggestion of any equivalence between Soviet propaganda and this country’s best media outlets would have fed outrage for weeks. As things stand today, there’ll be some op-ed-ing about this violation of our country’s constitutional norms, and on to the next stupid tweet. . .
And if Trump really, really must have this investigation under his terms, he can just sue us all and depose his adversaries in a court proceeding. Though he’ll have to do so under long-standing libel laws."
Read the Washington Post, Autocracy, anyone? Trump calls for Senate investigation of media outlets.
"On Thursday, the latest in the salvo that’s come to define his presidency.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!
5:59 AM - Oct 5, 2017
. . .
It, like 'voter fraud,' is not an actual problem.
Sure, there have been cases in which news outlets (including The Washington Post) have had to correct news reports after they ran to clarify points or ensure factual accuracy. Sure, the media have reported tips that haven’t been borne out. Sure, there have been cases in which bad actors have simply made up news reports — the original 'fake news' that was a focus of attention after the election — but those reports weren’t from reputable mainstream outlets. There were also four cases of voter fraud last year (mostly from Trump supporters), but just as those scattered examples of fraud don’t prove a concerted effort to throw the 2016 election, a few corrected news stories don’t prove Trump’s claim that there is a massive effort to make up negative stories about him.
Why does Trump talk endlessly about fake news? For the same reason he talks about voter fraud: to soothe his ego and hoodwink his supporters. In a world where voter fraud threw the election and a nefarious news media make up stories to embarrass Trump, Trump is actually the popular, effective pick of the American people. That’s a much nicer thing to be than the broadly unpopular and at times fumbling leader of a country in which a majority of voters preferred someone else.
The real question is whether Trump actually believes either of these claims. . .
Or, perhaps, he doesn’t really believe it, any more than a wrestling fan believes the story lines in the WWE. They serve a purpose and are fun to parse, but ultimately they solely serve the bigger purpose of entertainment. Arguing that voter fraud and 'fake news' are rampant problems serves the bigger purpose of repositioning Trump as a successful, popular president. . .
The main question: Who’s he trying to convince, his supporters or himself? And which of those options is more problematic for the country?"
Read the Washington Post, ‘Fake news,’ like ‘voter fraud,’ is one of Trump’s favorite ways to soothe his ego.
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