This is a question the press must keep asking over and over again until they receive an answer
If Trump has nothing to hide, why is he so soft on Russia?
Walter Shapiro
This is a question the press must keep asking over and over again – until they receive an answer
Tue 20 Feb 2018 06.00 EST Last modified on Tue 20 Feb 2018 09.10 EST
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/20/donald-trump-trump-soft-russia-mueller
The political world has known the power of repetition since Cato the Elder reputedly ended every speech in the Roman Senate with the words: “Delenda est Carthago” or “Carthage must be destroyed.” Stanley Kubrick brought this rhetorical principle to life when he had rebellious Roman gladiators each rise to declare: “I am Spartacus.”
Robert Mueller’s surprise indictment of a baker’s dozen of Russians provides an opportunity for the White House press corps to harness the power of repetition. Every media availability should begin with the same question: “Mr President, if your claim that there was no collusion with Russia is correct, then why do you refuse to condemn Vladimir Putin or enforce sanctions against Russia?”
If Trump responds with a series of nonsense sentences about the Steele dossier or “Crooked Hillary,” then the next reporter should try again in “I am Spartacus” fashion. Whenever cabinet members and Trump mouthpieces appear on television, they should also be pressed to explain why the president is so soft on Putin if he truly has nothing to hide.
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But there is a strong set of counter-arguments based on the reality that the fractured attention span of reporters undermines the traditional agenda-setting role of the press.
Like a small child being introduced to board games, Trump’s instinct is to knock over the table whenever he is challenged. These daily uproars and Twitter tantrums all but erase memories of the prior week’s outrages. The result: the news media has lost its ability to declare that one topic (Russian interference) is of far more lasting importance than Trump’s assaults on random targets like Oprah Winfrey.
