The news media can’t understand Trump. One of the reasons he uses so few words and repeats himself so often is to “sound-bite-proof” his statements. It’s difficult to twist his words when he only spoke two of them in a 30 second period. The news media doesn’t like not being able to cut and paste together a president’s words to make him out to say whatever they want him to have said.
Since sound-bite clipping didn’t work the last four years, this past week the media tried a new strategy: Pretend that they don’t know what sarcasm is.
CNBC tried to paint Trump’s sarcastic “I’m the chosen one” comment as self-aggrandizement. His sarcastic tone clearly communicates that the self-aggrandizement came from the presidents before him who thought themselves incapable of not funding China’s Sinicization of the world. Anyone could and should have stopped China. Trump knows that. His tone said that. And, no less than 2 million Hong Kongers have risked their lives to prove just that.
Then we have “regrets”. Does the president “regret” his trade dispute with China? Why shouldn’t he? Everyone regrets everything, at least for some amount of time, given enough time. The news media keeps asking silly questions that deserve silly answers. Think about the question itself.
Is there a concrete reason to believe that President Trump has regrets about how trade is going with China? Did he say something attempting to reverse the dispute? Did he send a letter apologizing for something he did? Did he suddenly offer China massive concessions out of nowhere? What basis is there for thinking that Trump has “regrets” with China, other than the hope of succeeding with passive-aggression to paint Trump to be someone he is not?
Trump’s “order” that American companies explore alternatives to China is not a power-grab, but a shot across the bow. As if fattening China in the first place didn’t indicate enough lack of brains, most companies with half a hand at the helm should have long steered clear of China for all the chop. For those stragglers who still can’t put two and two together, Trump’s warning is a lighthouse. Danger lies ahead; adjust your course. This is gonna’ be a big one.
But, all the media can do is complain about the lighthouse. We’ll see.
Election
What Sanders’ political revolution looks like in real life // POLITICO
Trump
Donald Trump can’t just ‘hereby order’ whatever he wants // CNN
White House says Trump regrets not raising tariffs on China higher // CNBC
Trump’s regrets on China trade war ‘misunderstood’ // BBC News
Trump to Reporter: ‘Chosen One’ Comment Was Sarcasm, That Question Was ‘Fake News’ // RCP
Trump Says He Was Joking When He Called Himself ‘The Chosen One’ // Huffington Post
Trump: ‘Chosen one’ remark was sarcasm // POLITICO
Not the Messiah: Trump insists ‘chosen one’ China trade war remark was a joke // Guardian
In blue Seattle, Trump supporters are starting to come out of hiding // Seattle Times
Law
Red-light cameras undermine rule of law // The Hill
Democrats
Russianewsgategate
The road not taken: Another FBI failure involving the Clintons surfaces // The Hill
Lindsey Graham: Horowitz will offer Senate ‘chilling testimony’ on FISA abuse // WA Examiner
Soc Media, Econ, Tech
States to Move Forward With Antitrust Probe of Big Tech Firms // WSJ
Science, Weather, Health
Kansas county hit with 11 earthquakes in 5 days // KC Star
Europe
Why a US trade war with Europe would be more damaging than China // CNBC
Wide implications as Germany teeters toward recession // AP
The Isles
Boris Johnson’s Long Journey From Trump Hater to Best Friend // Yahoo News
NATO Focus
G7 summit: Iranian foreign minister attends unexpected talks // BBC News
Trump ruins G7 summit dinner by insisting group readmit Russia // Quartz
White House officials blindsided by Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif’s G-7 appearance // NBC News
High-stakes gamble: Iranian envoy gets surprise G-7 invite // AP
Pentagon tests missile previously banned under US-Russia arms treaty // Fox News