Music Banter - What Did President Trump Do Now?

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My argument in regards to the "forest fire" idiom you mentioned is partly based on this little snippet from a Slate interview with Trump's biographer Michael Kranish.

Why Donald Trump is like this.

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..He personalizes America and sees it very much as he sees himself, as a country that is not sufficiently respected around the world, that carries certain resentments, which is partly what defines his affinity for the working class, at least in this very theoretical, abstract way. It’s really those personal affinities that shape his overall message far more than any consistent political ideology.

The part that I bolded there is the key. Trump is not a traditional politician who is driven by some consistent political ideology based around party lines. Simply by running, winning and doing what he's currently doing he's disrupting the status quo enough to inevitabliy bring about the kind of reform that people hoped for from, say, a candidate like Bernie Sanders, who was also supposed to be a "real" Democratic leader as opposed to what Obama represented. So, in a weird way, Trump is the first Independent to actually win the POTUS even if he didn't win under some third party banner. He won't make "America great again", but it will wake enough people up to where 2020 could bring about something amazing.

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The psychological thing about Trump that I’ve always found the most interesting is that it’s clear that at some level what he craves is media and elite approval. At another level, it seems like he’s made his political career in such a way to almost guarantee that the media will dislike him, in terms of his ideology, such as it is, and attitude to truth. It’s an interesting paradox or irony or whatever the word is.

Kranish: It is, but it’s important always to realize that he doesn’t have an ideology, that he takes great pride in his flexibility, that he would just as happily have run as a liberal Democrat as a conservative Republican. He certainly has gone through his phases of life in any of those flavors.

In regards to your comments on the media, I'm not disputing that the "alt right media" are seriously lacking in validity. At the same time however, you see EVERY conservative news source being demonized even if they actually have something interesting to point out. There's no room for diversity of thought in a media environment where the vast majority of big players are stacked up against the administration in a hostile manner, from subjects as massive as climate change to stupid garbage like "Trump gets two scoops of ice cream and guests only get one!111". Yeah Fox News aren't helping that situation, but in that case the liberal media should be the "adult" in this scenario and be the bigger man. But they aren't, and that's going to be the impetus to their eventual demise.

What we're seeing is more like a war between differing corporate agendas rather than a fight for the preservation of truth. There won't be a "glorious rebirth" of truth or media ethics, but you'll definitely see some key players in the mainstream media start to tank as ratings continue to fall because they are seen as obstructionist to Trump trying to make America a "safer" place or whatnot. But just remember: the media created Trump and put him where he is right now. And what's worse is, they can't put the genie back in the bottle. The more you look at it, the more inevitable our current situation seems to be.

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Originally Posted by riseagainstrocks (Post 1854622)

I fundamentally disagree with his media feud being a good thing. He's questioning the existence of journalistic integrity when facts/narratives don't align with his own. It's not only stupid, it's actively dangerous. CNN, for all its flaws, publishes retractions. Brietbart and its ideological kin, do not. Journalistic institutions are like every other institution, full of problems, but there for a reason. The resourcing, the internal and external accountability, the prestige gained, and lost, through thorough or shoddy reporting - these are all lacking in the new world of alt-right "journalism".

Definitely. If there's anything that's dictatorial about Trump, it's branding everything negative about him as fake.

And though the alt-right specifically rose recently, there's just as much yellow journalism on the left RE: Buzzfeed, Gawker (they play both sides), etc.

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So I'm less positive that we're seeing or approaching a glorious rebirth of truth and media ethics.

I don't see a return to form coming for a while, at least not for the MSM. The truth doesn't sell nearly as much as pandering directly to your market. It's a lot easier to make a title that ignores the nuance of a situation by proclaiming it to be an imminent threat to all that exists and will ever exist, and it's a lot easier to get scared people to read hyped up headlines. It's all so ****ed.

It's a shame that the honest and unbiased sources of the alternative media are drowned out by fearmongerers and idiots.

So was it Pizzagate that amped up the use of the term "fake news" recently or was there things that lead up to that?

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Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1854631)

So was it Pizzagate that amped up the use of the term "fake news" recently or was there things that lead up to that?

He's referring to Donald Trump Jr. and the "Kremlin lawyer" who baited him with "compromising information about Hillary Clinton and her ties to Russia".

Where things get funny is that it turns out this lawyer worked for Fusion GPS....who happen to be the firm that the DNC colluded with to build the fake Trump dossier.

That explosion .gif is appropriate though: watching an argument self-destruct before it even starts is lulzy.

Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr linked to investigation group behind salacious Steele Dossier | The Independent

Uh, cool but I asked was it Pizzagate that amped up the use of the term "fake news" recently or were there things that lead up to that?

On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:36 AM, Rob Goldstone wrote:
Good morning
Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting.
The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin.
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?
I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.
Best
Rob Goldstone

On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:53, Donald Trump Jr. wrote:
Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?
Best,
Don

Collusion 101.

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Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1854634)

Uh, cool but I asked was it Pizzagate that amped up the use of the term "fake news" recently or were there things that lead up to that?

It was the Fusion GPS / Christopher Steele dossier about the Russian hookers pissing on him that started the whole "you are fake news" position from the Trump administration.

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Originally Posted by Chula Vista (Post 1854635)

Would you consider Trump and friends to be a reliable source? I don't. I'll wait for Mueller's report before making a verdict. Everything up until that point is just noise and potential distractions.

Not really directed at you btw, just rather annoyed with this story taking up such a huge priority in the media.

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Originally Posted by Anteater (Post 1854633)

Where things get funny is that it turns out this lawyer worked for Fusion GPS....

"According to a representative of Trump's legal team".