Trump is a skilled showman. But don't assume Americans are mesmerized by the show. [View all]

[DonViejo]

By Paul Waldman January 12 at 1:17 PM

Donald Trump’s press conference yesterday was pretty much what you would have expected if you had watched him as a candidate. It was angry, petty, vindictive, and full of falsehoods, from the moment he took the stage and asserted that “This is very familiar territory — news conferences — because we used to give them on an almost daily basis” (no, he didn’t).

There was ample reason for those skeptical of Trump and the journalists charged with reporting on his presidency to be frustrated and even infuriated by what they saw. But one common reaction — dismay that he gets away with this stuff — may be less warranted than you think.

There’s a dangerous assumption going around Washington and the rest of the country, which says that Trump is such a charismatic showman that the American people will swallow whatever tripe he pours down their gullets. But there’s little reason to think it’s true.

It may be natural to come to that conclusion when you watch an event like that one, particularly since Trump and his staff work hard to create the impression of support — at the press conference, a group of staff stood to the side cheering his every witty bon mot, not usually a feature of press conferences. And the reporters in attendance certainly didn’t get the answers they wanted. In addition to berating and shouting down CNN’s Jim Acosta when he tried to ask a question, Trump took only a few questions, including one from Breitbart.

So afterward, Gabriel Sherman of New York magazine wrote: “Judged on a policy basis, it was a disaster…But observed as spectacle, Trump came away with a resounding victory.” McKay Coppins of The Atlantic concluded, “At the dawn of the Trump presidency, America’s political press corps is feeling anxious, territorial, threatened—and the president-elect showed Wednesday that he’s ready to take advantage.”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/01/12/trump-is-a-skilled-showman-but-dont-assume-americans-are-mesmerized-by-the-show/?utm_term=.3b5ff011df07&wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1