Trump at War with Media Scoundrels by Stephen Lendman
He’s right calling them “the most dishonest human beings on earth.” Well, almost.
The same goes for most US and other Western politicians. They lie and deceive. They betray their constituents.
They serve privileged interests exclusively at the expense of ordinary people. They support endless wars of aggression responsible for millions of casualties.
Trump campaigned as anti-establishment. So far, he looks like all the rest, differing largely in style, on display during his February 16 press conference.
“I’m keeping my promises to the American people,” he said. What’s initiated and proposed so far largely helps monied interests. He’s done more to fill the swamp than drain it, though in fairness he’s only been in office 30 days.
He blasted leaks, likely from Obama administration holdovers, calling them “absolutely real,” adding “(t)he news is fake because so much of the news is fake.”
“I can handle a bad story…as long as it’s true,” he said, “not…when it is fake. I mean, I watch CNN. It’s so much anger and hatred.”
Media “have a lower approval rating than Congress.” With reliable sources available online, millions get their news and information this way - the only way to stay informed.
Trump’s first press conference as president ran about 90 minutes. It was unlike any previous one held by a US leader in memory. His free-wheeling style pleases supporters, irritates opponents.
NYT editors mocked him, calling him “an inept White House…celebrity apprentice.” They lied, saying he “did not inherit ‘a mess’ “ - claiming the “nation recovered from recession,” ignoring protracted Main Street Depression conditions affecting most Americans.
Around 100 million working-age ones have no jobs. Millions more are way underemployed, many earning poverty wages, countless numbers one missed paycheck away from destitution, homelessness and despair - in the world’s richest country ignoring their needs, prioritizing warmaking and corporate favoritism.
Times editors claimed Trump’s “creating a mess of his own.” Most examples cited are fake news - like “cozying up to Moscow” and blaming him for congressional failure to approve his officials expeditiously.
Justifiable criticism of Trump’s policies is warranted. The Times is part of a media campaign to delegitimize and undermine him - perhaps ahead of an effort to remove him from office or force his resignation.
This is what US-style democracy looks like - a deplorable perversion of the real thing.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.