BloggeRhythms

Just one subject today, because of its importance in setting the tone for a new era in the presidential relationship with the media. In typical Trump fashion, he went directly to the mat with his adversaries in the MSM by holding a press conference yesterday. 

Researching the subject, Rush, as usual, did a complete, comprehensive job and therefore is prevalent throughout today’s discourse. As for Trump, he talked to the reporters present in their own terms about which Rush related that he’d never before “seen anything like it.”   

The conference  began with the POTUS setting the stage by directly confronting media adversaries, saying: “I’m making this presentation directly to the American people with the media present, which is an honor to have you this morning because many of our nation’s reporters and folks will not tell you the truth and will not treat the wonderful people of our country with the respect that they deserve.

“Unfortunately, much of the media in Washington, DC, along with New York, Los Angeles, in particular, speaks not for the people, but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system. The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people, tremendous disservice. We have to talk about it to find out what’s going on because the press honestly is out of control.” 

As Trump continued, Rush provided commentary, noting that “people that were watching this were no doubt cheering because it’s absolutely true.” Rush then mentioned getting a news alert from the Wall Street Journal saying that “intelligence officials have considered Donald Trump to be so out of touch and so dangerous, they’re gonna stop sharing intelligence with him! And I looked, I said, “Well, this is a coup! This is a silent coup if this is true.” And I believed this. It’s the Wall Street Journal, for crying out loud.” 

Rush went on: “I’m a student of the Drive-Bys, and I thought, “Man, this is… This is…” I started… You know, a couple of people that I respect, I fired off notes. “Did you see this? What do you think about this?” I had some discussions. And I get in here this morning and I find out that the whole thing was bogus, that there are intelligence people throughout the history of our country who do not share intel with the president because it’s bad, because it’s not worth anything! The Wall Street Journal took something that happens all the time and shaped it and made it look like it’s brand-new, unprecedented, because Trump is so dangerous and unhinged and bad that they can’t afford to share the intel with him.” 

“And the underlying theme was, “We can’t let Trump see the intel because this guy is working with Russia, and he and Russia worked together to undermine our election.” They continue to have that narrative as what’s driving all of their approach to Trump. Everything they’re doing is rooted in that. Trump’s illegitimacy is rooted in a fake narrative that does not exist and did not happen, that the Russians affected the outcome of the election with the assistance of Donald Trump. And that’s the rubric under which that news alert happened last night so Trump addressed it today and mentions how it’s just totally wrong and fake news and a disservice to the American people who read it.”

After presenting his introductory premise of going directly to the people, the POTUS went on to highlight issues, projects and programs already underway in the short time he’s been in office. The list included “withdrawing from the job killing disaster known as Trans-Pacific Partnership” and making bilateral “one-on-one-deals.”  

Next on the list of accomplishments was directing the elimination of regulations undermining manufacturing, and a call for expedited approval of the permits needed for infrastructure which means plants, equipment, roads, bridges and factories. Imposing a hiring freeze on nonessential federal workers and a temporary moratorium on new federal regulations. A “game-changing new rule” that says, “For each one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated.” The creation of a task force for reducing violent crime, including the horrendous situation in inner cities, such as Chicago in particular. Along with the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to coordinate on a plan to destroy criminal cartels coming into the country with drugs. 

Further progress included the most substantial border security measures in a generation and beginning the promised wall on the southern border. A crackdown on sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with federal law and that harbor criminal aliens, and an end to the policy of catch-and-release on the border. A nationwide effort to remove criminal aliens, gang members, drug dealers, and others posing a threat to public safety. A new office in Homeland Security dedicated to American victims of illegal immigrant violence. Taking decisive action to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country. “Though parts of our necessary and constitutional actions were blocked by a judge’s — in my opinion — incorrect and unsafe ruling, our administration is working night and day to keep you safe, including reporters safe. Extreme vetting will be put in place, and it already is in place in many places."

“At the same time, we will be issuing a new and very comprehensive order to protect our people, and that will be done sometime next week toward the beginning or middle, at the latest part.” 

Steps have also been taken to begin construction of the Keystone pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines while putting measures in place to require American steel for American pipelines. “In other words, when they build a pipeline in this country, and we use the powers of government to make that pipeline happen, we want them to use American steel. And they’re willing to do that. But nobody ever asked before I came along. Even this order was drawn and they didn’t say that, and I’m reading the order. I’m saying, ‘Why aren’t we using American steel?” And they said, “That’s a good idea.” We put it in.” 

The POTUS then addressed Democrat obstructionism, using the example of his inability to get cabinet approvals, saying: “despite the fact that I can’t get my cabinet approved, and they’re outstanding people. Like Senator Dan Coats, who is there, one of the most respected men of the Senate. He can’t get approved. How do you not approve him? He’s been a colleague highly respected, brilliant guy, great guy. Everybody knows him. We’re waiting for approval. So we have a wonderful group of people that’s working very hard, that’s being very much misrepresented about, and we can’t let that happen.” 

He then went on to remind his MSM audience that he was simply doing what he’s pledged to do. “That’s all I’m doing. I put it out before the American people, got 306 Electoral College votes. I wasn’t supposed to get 222. They said, “There’s no way to get 222; 230 is impossible,” 270, which you need? That was laughable. We got 306. Because people came out and voted like they’d never seen before, so that’s the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan. In other words, the media’s trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made, and they’re not happy about it, for whatever reason.” 

When the time came for interchange with reporters, all of the aforementioned remarkable progress was ignored and overlooked, with a question immediately addressing the POTUS’s current quagmire regarding Russia.

The POTUS responded: “They all happened recently and I understand what they’re doing because they’re doing the same thing. Now, again, maybe I’m not gonna be able to do a deal with Russia, but at least I will have tried, but if I don’t, does anybody really think that Hillary Clinton would be tougher on Russia than Donald Trump? Does anybody in this room really believe that? Okay? But I tell you one thing, she tried to make a deal. She had the reset. She gave all that valuable uranium away. She did other things. You know, they say I’m close to Russia. Hillary Clinton gave away 20% of the uranium of the United States. She’s close to Russia. You know what I gave to Russia? You know what I gave?”

To that Rush concluded: “Just what the doctor ordered. This is Donald Trump going over the head of the media right to the American people, advancing his domestic agenda and being totally transparent with these people. They don’t know how to get on the same stage that he’s on. The American people are gonna eat this up when they see it.”

Then came a series of questions where Trump deftly turned the situation around to his advantage on his promise to “do a lot of work on the inner cities.” 

After the president said, “So we’re gonna have great people lined up to help with the inner cities,” a reporter asked: “When you say the inner cities, are you gonna include the CBC, Mr. President, in your conversations with your urban agenda, your —” 

THE PRESIDENT: Include who? 

REPORTER: Are you gonna included the Congressional Black Caucus and — 

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I would. I tell you what, do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours? 

REPORTER: No, I’m just a reporter. 

THE PRESIDENT: Let’s set up a meeting. I would love to meet with the black caucus. I think it’s great, the Congressional Black Caucus. I think it’s great. I actually thought I had a meeting with Congressman Cummings, and he was all excited, and then he said, “Oh, I can’t move, it might be bad for me politically, I can’t have that meeting.” I was all set to have that meeting. You know, we called him and called him, and he was all set, I spoke to him on the phone. Very nice guy.” 

REPORTER: “I hear he wanted that meeting with you as well.” 

THE PRESIDENT: “He wanted it, but we called, called, called, called, they can’t make a meeting with him. Every day I walk in I said, “I would like to meet with him,” because I do want to solve the problem. But he probably was told by Schumer or somebody like that, some other lightweight, he was probably told don’t meet with Trump, it’s bad politics, and that’s part of the problem in this country.” 

RUSH: “Lightweight Schumer.” 

The POTUS then went on to address the press specifically in a way that Rush felt was done with good cheer, soft-spoken and measured, coming across “as nonpartisan as you can in a political sense. But it was classic, and he just called them out. He called CNN out throughout this press conference as hate-filled and strangers to the truth, unable to report the truth, focused on not just disagreeing with him but hating him, and how this is a disservice to the American people.”

In response, a reporter from CNN, Jim Acosta stood up and, according to Rush: “The whole thing was classic ’cause Trump’s on one stage and they’re in another. And they’re in that room… Folks, you have to understand: They’re in that room to destroy him today. He announced a press conference. They’re in that room to destroy him, whether they want to admit it or not. And there were three or four questions today that I heard that left no doubt that’s what the purpose was. 

“Despite everything he had said today, they asked these insolent questions, “Did you ever talk to Russia during the campaign?” Trump said (paraphrased), “How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t know anybody in Russia! I didn’t talk to anybody in Russia! We didn’t talk about…” He was just going on and on, but they kept asking the questions, because that’s all they’ve got. And they’ve got nothing there. The stories I have in the Stack today clearly state that there is no evidence.” 

The continual harping by the MSM regarding intel people trying to undermine Trump while having to admit that there is no evidence that the Russians had anything to do with the outcome of the election or that "Trump was working with them on it to undermine Hillary Clinton continues to be the narrative fueling the press in their pursuit of Trump.” Yet Trump’s response, which points out MSM hostility toward him caused CNN’s Jim Acosta to ask, paraphrased by Rush: “Don’t you think…? Don’t you think that these routine attacks of yours on the press and on the media undermining the First Amendment by calling what we’re doing ‘fake news’? Aren’t you doing a terrible disservice to the Constitution and to the American people by criticizing the media?” 

To that, Rush offered the thought that “There it was. Sure as I’m sitting here watching, there it was. They can sit here all day and not just criticize. They can try to destroy people. They can — using whatever power they think they have been granted by the First Amendment — go out and literally destroy people. Let Trump criticize the way they do their jobs, and all of a sudden it’s a constitutional crisis. Well, how about Obama trashing me all the time?” 

“How about Obama trashing Fox News all the time? Was that not a threat to the First Amendment? No, they applauded that. They still do applaud that. They join in the attacks on Fox News — and, more often than not, they join in attacks on me, too. But they want you to believe that they are this watchdog and that they’re holding truth to power, that they’re holding powerful people accountable. They’re not doing anything of the sort. The press has gotten to the point where they need a watchdog, and it turns out that Trump is the watchdog!
“Trump is the guy holding them accountable.” 

And that’s what Rush sees as something unknown in politics before whereas: “Trump is the guy calling them out. I’ve never seen anything like this today. I have never seen it. We have wanted Republican presidents all of my life to deal with these people this way, and the only thing we ever got was Spiro Agnew. We’ve not seen anything like this, and Trump did it with an air of confidence and self-assuredness. He was not nervous at all. He was having fun with them. He was toying with them. It’s like if you got a cat. You know how you get these little laser pointers and you have a little kitten or a cat and the cat goes nuts chasing the light? It will run into a wall.” 

All of which comes down to the practical reality that the MSM can do very little to harm him, so long as Trump continues pleasing his voting base and simply focusing on the domestic agenda they desire. Directly talking to them about repealing Obamacare, tax reform, building the wall and immigration reform. In Rush’s opinion, “All of it. Just go full speed at it, and in the process keep people who voted for him on his side and they won’t care about whatever these efforts are that the press is engaging in with the intel community to undermining him.” 

In summation, Rush again offered insightful perspective as to what's taken place to date, and what to expect if Trump stays with the game-plan he’s begun with since taking office: “And make no mistake. And he called this out. He accused Obama of running the shadow government. He accused Hillary Clinton and George Soros of being the people paying for people to show up and protest things. He held nothing back! He ridiculed Hillary Clinton for being in part of a deal that gave up 20% of our uranium supply and for having that cheap little red reset button when she became secretary of state. And each time he mentions Obama. He mentions… He didn’t say “shadow government” but he said, “Our opponents are doing what they can.” 

“He called all of this fake news. He was on spot with all this. You know, it’s hard to say. You get caught up in the moment. But this was one of the most effective press conferences I’ve ever seen. The press is gonna hate him even more after this, don’t misunderstand. When I say “effective,” I’m talking about rallying people who voted for him to stay with him. He made a point (paraphrased), “What chaos? You people are reporting chaos here. We’re not in chaos! We’re a well-oiled machine. We got one of the smoothest running machines in the history of machines.”

And while that assessment of performance to date may be an exaggeration, the verbiage is basically true. Which means that the MSM is going to have quite a hard time creating hostility against a POTUS liked far more by the majority of the electorate than they are.

That's it for today folks.

Adios