Trump Wants To Flood White House Press Briefings With Sycophants

The following article by Matt Gertz was posted on the Media Matters website January 17, 2017:

Donald J. Trump in Selma, NC. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times

Donald Trump has a message for the White House press corps: The press briefing room the journalists have used since the 1970s belongs to him, and if he wants to take it away, he can.

On Saturday, Esquire reported that the incoming Trump administration has discussed evicting the press from the briefing room and holding the daily briefings with the press secretary in a space outside of the White House. “They are the opposition party,” a senior official told the magazine. “I want ’em out of the building. We are taking back the press room.” Continue reading “Trump Wants To Flood White House Press Briefings With Sycophants”

Trump’s New Tactics With the Press Follow the Old-School Authoritarian Model

Journalists will be targeted in ways we didn’t imagine.

The following article by Kali Holloway was posted on the Alternet website January 16, 2017:

Donald Trump is fulfilling the role of an authoritarian demagogue so thoroughly that if this whole disaster were a movie, it would be criticized for being formulaic and cliched. His frequently expressed hostility toward the media comes right out of a well-worn copy of the Dictator’s Playbook, and he has repeatedly revealed himself to be an enemy of a free press. Continue reading “Trump’s New Tactics With the Press Follow the Old-School Authoritarian Model”

Polls Are Bad For Donald Trump Again. Here’s Why That Matters.

Yes, election polls had problems. But the president-elect shouldn’t dismiss what they show now.

The following article by Natalie Jackson was posted on the Huffington Post website January 17, 2017:

 

A spate of polls released over the last few days show that the American public doesn’t have a high opinion of Donald Trump’s transition or high hopes for his presidency. Of course, Trump didn’t pass up the opportunity to call something “phony” and “rigged.” Continue reading “Polls Are Bad For Donald Trump Again. Here’s Why That Matters.”

Where was Donald Trump when John Lewis was fighting for civil rights? Let’s compare.

The following column by Petula Dvorak was posted on the Washington Post website January 16, 2017:

President-Elect Donald Trump and Rep. John Lewis. (LEFT: Jabin Botsford/The Post RIGHT: Matt McClain/The Post)

We shouldn’t be surprised anymore.

There’s apparently no depth too low for Donald Trump to sink in his unpresidented attacks on anyone who challenges him. And Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) certainly did that, citing Russian interference in the election and questioning the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency.

Even so, the president-elect’s Twitter tirade against Lewis at the beginning of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend is still mind-boggling and a national embarrassment. Continue reading “Where was Donald Trump when John Lewis was fighting for civil rights? Let’s compare.”

Poll: Trump will take office as least popular president in at least 4 decades

The following article by Dan Balz and Scott Clement was posted on the Washington Post website January 17, 2017:

After a tumultuous campaign and transition, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office Friday as the least popular incoming president in at least four decades, but a majority of Americans nevertheless express optimism that he will be able to fulfill campaign pledges to boost the economy and deal with threats of terrorism, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Amid controversy and calls for additional investigations into possible Russian interference in the election, most Americans disapprove of Trump’s response to the hacking and other activities. But they are divided on the question of whether the president-elect has been too friendly toward Russia or taken the right approach in his public comments and posture. Continue reading “Poll: Trump will take office as least popular president in at least 4 decades”

6 of Donald Trump’s Most Appalling Moments This Week

Does anyone out there still honestly think we have to give this dangerous weasel the benefit of the doubt?

The following article by Janet Allon was posted on the AlterNet website January 15, 2017:

Say what you will about the possibly fictional “dossier” containing damaging information about our president-elect that Buzzfeed released this week, it sure seems to have annoyed him, and there’s something distressingly enjoyable about that. On the cusp of the inauguration of a certifiably deranged idiot, that’s going to have to pass for fun for now. Never has there been a leader more deserving of stories full of innuendo and giggle-inducing allegations. You reap what you sow, to quote Donald Trump’s second-favorite book, right after his own ghostwritten tome. Continue reading “6 of Donald Trump’s Most Appalling Moments This Week”