Trump Advocated White Nationalism With An "Indoor Voice," And Pundits Loved It - Media Matters

[Bill USA]

https://mediamatters.org/blog/2017/03/01/trump-advocated-white-nationalism-indoor-voice-and-pundits-loved-it/215509

After President Donald Trump gave a speech to joint members of Congress filled with exaggerations, lies, and policy plans that contained no specifics -- and in many cases were based on propagating fear about and demonizing immigrants -- the takeaway from pundits and talking heads was somehow that he sounded “presidential.”

That's how low the bar has been set. So low that because the president sounded like an adult for an hour and refrained from transparently attacking people of color, allies, or the press, media figures forgot the glaring abnormalities of Trump’s presidency thus far. To some in the media, the speech was a “reset” for the new president.

As soon as he finished speaking, the accolades from pundits began to roll in. Fox’s Chris Wallace said, “I feel like tonight, Donald Trump became the president of the United States.” ABC’s Alex Castellanos similarly said Trump “became president tonight. I think we saw the long-awaited pivot.” MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki claimed that Trump had “a more presidential tone, a more optimistic tone,” and Fox’s Chris Stirewalt said Trump “did sound like the president, look like the president, act like the president.” They weren’t the only ones.

It wasn’t just pundits on TV either. Newspaper headlines also lauded “a more temperate Trump,” his supposed “milder tones,” and his call for an “end to ‘trivial fights.’”

Essentially, the media set the bar so low for the speech that when Trump, the president of the United States, sounded like the president of the United States, it was lauded as a victory.

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[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Because we are pathetic people, mainly

We have two standards, cons can openly commit treason and this is OK, dems cant have a goofy laugh, let alone do anything remotely wrong ever.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. All those so called Media Persons

got Rick Rolled bigtime by the Master of Deceit. One of the main tenants of Journalism School is,do not get sucked in by the Interviewee.

[BeckyDem]

3. Most of those idiots helped him win for ratings.

Discerning msm? ha!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

4. Too many hoodwinked by the performance.

He's still the egomaniacal, greedy, bigoted, simple-minded, impulse-control-deficient, fraudster and bully he always was. He is still unfit and a national disgrace.

[Nitram]

5. I heard a lot of doubts and negative reviews on NPR and in the Wash Post.

They all commented on his semi-adult behavior because it was out of character, but they also pointed out the extremely nasty rhetoric about immigrants. And I'm seeing TV clips on DU of even some conservative pundits expressing misgivings (I don't watch TV).

[world wide wally]

6. Most of them were very predictable

They were just itching for Trump to have a speech where he didn't throw monkey shit at the window. I would expect absolutely nothing less from Steve Kornacki and the likes.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

7. A Face in the Crowd

the film I showed in my class yesterday, amazing how relevant a film from 1957 can be in today's world. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it along with Network.

[Bill USA]

8. YES! Entertainer becomes a politician... and shows himself to be a very effective demagogue. Andy

Griffith's best acting!