Commentary
Hold The President To A Higher Standard
- by Fern Siegel , July 3, 2017
The world is an explosive place.
There are crises in Syria and North Korea. And TV is covering them — in part. But the main focus late last week was President Trump’s Twitter rants against “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. In various tweets, Trump called her "low I.Q. Crazy Mika" and said she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" on a Mar-a-Lago visit.
On Saturday, July 1, he tweeted she was "dumb as a rock Mika." Scarborough has been dubbed "Crazy" and "Psycho."
For a guy who claims not to watch the show, Trump seems obsessed with it.
In particular, the nasty tweets against women are vintage Donald — whether he aims at Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton, Megyn Kelly or Mika. What parent would allow their child to be so disparaging of women?
But should this coverage trump other TV news? (Print journalism continues to do stellar work on the serious political front.) If only the Senate’s machinations surrounding the health-care bill were dissected to this degree.
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Trump’s “Morning Joe” tweets, as well as yesterday's deranged video — he's beating up a man whose head is replaced by the CNN logo — calls for immediate action. Throw in his earlier attacks on a free press and independent judiciary and it begs the question: Where is the 21st-century’s version of Joe Welch?
After several years of Communist witch-hunts, blacklists and the ruination of hundreds of lives, lawyer Joe Welch issued a famous rebuttal to Sen. Joe McCarthy:
“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness." When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted: “You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"
Thus was McCarthy broken.
Civility and dignity are not partisan issues. Decency is not a partisan issue. We are all Americans — and the bar for presidential behavior is high.
Whether you voted for Trump or not, he has a critical job to do. His attention and energy should be laser-focused on key issues affecting every American — not squandered on talk shows.
To be Commander-in-Chief, you have to be tough, statesman-like and whine-free. Trump holds an office of great historic significance. The world looks to us for global leadership — and he delivers the Tweeter-in-Chief.
Or as S.E. Cupp, a conservative CNN columnist, wrote: “… thanks to a pair of vicious and imprudent tweets Thursday morning, I think we can safely wonder if Donald Trump is all right. … healthy, happy people do not behave like this.”
She is not alone.
Six in 10 Americans in a Quinnipiac University poll released June 29 said Trump should stop tweeting from his personal account.
Our standing globally, per Pew Research Center, is even more abysmal. Donald Trump and many of his key policies are broadly unpopular worldwide. The Pew report released June 27, spanning 37 nations, found just 22% of those surveyed had confidence in Trump to do the right thing. President Obama enjoyed a 64% rating.
The “Morning Joe” tweets finally managed to awaken the spineless GOP; a few senators denounced the insulting messages.
Yet former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is also a Baptist minister, defended the cyber-bullying. Neither he, nor his daughter, Trump press spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders, grasps the seriousness of the office.
The presidency should carry stature.
More to the point, what would Fox’s Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson have said if President Obama had tweeting every morning about their shows? Would they have applauded his right to defend himself?
Would Mike Huckabee and his daughter?
Yes, all presidents get frustrated with the media. But remember: The press represents the people. The Constitution envisioned the press as an independent watchdog and bulwark against tyranny. It is not a cheerleader; its job is to speak truth to power.
Or as Churchill noted: “Truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”
Maybe it’s time for TV anchors to bluntly ask Trump and his supporters: Have you no sense of decency?
Fern: Spot on!
From a Media perspective the investigative reporting by the quality national press (as well as some of the cable news channels) has been brilliant. So is this "abysmal" situation the cornerstone to the long term survival of our major daily newspapers contrary to the prognostications of many sooth sayers? I suspect the News Media Alliance cheers everytime the "incontrovertible truth" is laid bare by one of their members and then referenced on TV!
I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican but I, too, agree that no matter what political beliefs one has, Trump's incredibly self destructive attempt to bully the media needs to be covered despite his insane retorts and name calling. Since all he seems to care about is himself, Trump must be watched day in and day out, lest he implode and seriously damage the country as well as the office of President---which he has turned into some sort of very bad reality show, starring himself. I can't bear to watch the non-Fox cable news channels anymore--though I sample the headlines on a daily basis one way or another-----but I say, keep at it guys and gals, you are doing the country a service.
I am not a Republican or a Democrat, and I certainly agree with Fern. Yes, Trump’s reckless behaviors are humiliating America as a nation. Yes, we’ve already seen how these behaviors are diminishing the U.S. in the eyes of other nations. Yes, while I can’t stand to sit in front of the evening cable news shows on a nightly basis any more, I applaud the journalists who are willing to cover every aspect of this insanity, no matter the personal cost. Yes, I support the writers, anchors, and producers who are committed to not glossing over the ugly details. But NO, I am not surprised that Trump is making good on all the threats issued to the media during his campaign. Wasn’t anybody listening? Those who expected this overgrown playground bully to “act Presidential” were just not paying attention (or already had their minds made up). Look at the 2017 World Press Freedom Index and similar studies: Among the 180 countries included, the U.S. ranks 43rd in freedom of the press. FORTY-THIRD? Not only well behind nearly all of western Europe, but behind the Czech Republic, Uruguay, Ghana, and Trinidad? Behind Lithuania, Costa Rica, Slovakia, and Chile? Please, ladies and gentlemen of the media—stand firm. And keep it coming.
Good post, Fern. We and the media can nhot accept this behavior as normal, much less "presidential." As for the White House spokespeople and Trump apologists who say his style when attacked is to hit back 10 times harder, that does not nor should not apply to the person who is president.
Nostrovya !