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Trump: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Let me begin by saying that I am very glad, on so many levels, that Trump has been holding his daily updates for the COVID-19 Task Force. Here are some of the reasons I think they are a good idea:
- The broadcast tells the public that Trump and the task force members want us to be informed. Transparency is critical.
- In spite of the confusion and inconsistencies of the models, the Task Force is determined to give us the best and most up-to-date information available.
- The Task Force members, even if we don’t always agree on how they arrive at policy, or about their refusal to give the available drugs their full endorsement, have been clear about their reasons.
- It is a healthy sign to see that Trump is not always in lock-step with the Task Force members.
So what’s the problem? My biggest issue is Trump himself.
I don’t mind his going after reporters; they are asking repetitive, foolish, and manipulative questions. I think that Trump’s pointing out this irresponsible behavior to the public is valuable. I also think the public benefits by seeing him daily as a reminder that he’s in charge of the country, and knowledgeable about the situation; when he’s not, he defers to his Task Force members. His praise of those on the front line is admirable and positive.
But he is proceeding in a number of ways that I think will damage his credibility and the appreciation of the public:
- He is spending far too much time speaking at these forums. I realize that the people who are watching don’t view these presentations every day, but he not only repeats information that is dated, he does it several times during his time at the dais.
- He needs to remember that he is speaking to the general public, not just his supporters. His bad habit of overusing certain words—incredible, perfect, and other superlative terms reflects a lack of imagination. It starts to grate on the nerves after a while. (This effect would be reduced by less time to speak, not more discipline.)
- The overall time for this forum should be reduced. People will begin to tire from the length of these forums, and may very well turn them off completely—and be “turned off” to their purpose. It also gives reporters more time to try to trap Trump into a response that can be distorted.
So how could these opportunities be improved?
- Limit the President’s time at the beginning to 10 minutes, with 10 minutes for questions. Include the most important highlights, rather than trying to cover every topic.
- Since time will be limited, reporters should be referred to their colleagues for information when they insist on asking duplicate questions.
- Limit the number of questions a reporter can ask.
- Begin to bring in Mike Pence just after Trump finishes his introduction. He is, after all, heading the Task Force.
- The doctors seem to be using their speaking time effectively. We may not like everything they’re telling us, but they seem to be building credibility with the public
- These are not campaign rallies where Trump is speaking only to his base. This is the American public. But his speaking can certainly influence public perception of Trump and their decisions for the upcoming election.
Trump should use his time, and the public’s time, well.
Published in General
It wouldn’t surprise me if in a few weeks we start seeing some states going with targeted reopenings, tied to mandatory mask usage, once the supply of masks gets high enough so that everyone can access them.
Great minds think alike, @iwalton!
Trump is going to Trump. Could he do these better yep. Will he probably not.
Because, Susan, they are scientific bureaucrats. Bureaucrats do not feel the imperative and pressure of immediacy. Trump is our businessman President. As much as he has shown his love for our people and his concern for our pain, he knows the breakdown of our economy will be even worse than the scourge of a virus we now suffer. So while the Doctors want to take months to cautiously approve a treatment, Trump wants to take days because his common sense tells him, as he has said, “What have we got to lose?” He has the courage to take that step as well as many doctors. But the Doctors who have spent most of their career in government are, shall we say, different.
Exactly. For the first month of this scourge, all we heard was NOT ENOUGH VENTILATORS!. The silly little secret all through that insanity was that without a treatment, being put on a ventilator was just a warning for your family to order the coffin. When Chloroquine became known, ever so slightly, and Laura Ingraham and others started introducing us to the French epidemiologist and then to one after another doctor came forward with their positive results, it took President Trump to push the ball over the hill and pressure the FDA to do what they do with all other approved drugs, but wouldn’t do with Chloroquine, that is to allow doctors the regular decisions for off-lable usage. @susanquinn asked why doctors would drag the process down (at least that’s how I understood her), I go back to the difference between the doctors who actually treat patients, and the bureaucrats with MD degrees.
In a later comment, franco clarified that he hadn’t meant to include the doctors. I think their wanting to follow protocol is different, @cdor, than wanting to damage Trump. Some bad things have happened in the past with drugs that were approved prematurely, although these drugs have been tested against other diseases. Still, do no harm.
I agree with you, Susan. I don’t know that it’s so much “Too Much Trump” as it’s “Too Much Teenager.” Every time I turn on one of the briefings (and admittedly, it’s only been 4 or 5 times), what’s happening at that briefing is some reporter is saying “…but sir, how does that square with what you said back in blah blah blah….” or “…but that’s not the same as what so and so said…”
Maybe I should watch them more, and there’ll be some real content for me to consume, but I don’t want to watch what I see every day, stuck at home with two teenagers.
I find the briefings to be a waste of my time.
Where I live, this is already happening. All it took was one headline in the Seattle Times saying “we are cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind us in this state, but…” And they ignore everything after the but. Here in my little town, tucked against the border, where the dairy cows outnumber the people, we instinctively know that we are not as much at risk as the folks living downtown New York. I went to the Taco Truck yesterday and there were people everywhere. I drove in the Bellingham on Monday afternoon and it was like any other day.
But of course our Governor on Monday refused to open recreational fishing, the jackass.
I laughed until I cried. So true, even down to her “concerned” facial expressions, eyerolls, and gestures:
She is hysterical!! I especially liked her question, “Mr. President, why are you so mean to journalists?” Yeah! Why!
Those are actually good questions, in that they are brief. Stupid, but mercifully brief.
They have two qualifications for the White House Press Corps:
Science reporters suck. No, really, they’ve done more damage to science in the last 30 years than anything any second-rate scientist has done. Science is self-correcting, but not so journalists in general. They have no competing influences. They must be contemporary English lit majors with all the bad fiction they write. “Science reporter” carries a certain prestige that appeals to people who deserve none.
And the questions asked by reporters irritate me no end, putting it mildly (it’s more like enrage). There’s nothing informative about them, they’re just gotchas. But, from a strategic perspective, it might be beneficial to let them continue discrediting themselves. The press is the most hated group in America for good reason — they’ve become enemies of the people and our liberty.
So I take it you aren’t real happy with the press?