The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tales from Trump-land show him for what he is
REPORTING TRUMP’S FIRST YEAR: THE FOURTH ESTATE Sunday, BBC Two INSIDE THE AMERICAN EMBASSY Monday, Channel
Maggie Haberman, White House Correspondent for The New York Times, has been reporting on Donald Trump for 20 years. Imagine being immersed in the world of that petulant, bullying man-baby for so long. No wonder she seemed so jaded during episode one of the riveting documentary REPORTING TRUMP’S FIRST YEAR: THE FOURTH ESTATE.
“Everything is through the lens of himself,” she explained. “He’s obsessed with the Times. Even though he was born rich, he doesn’t see himself that way. He sees himself as this guy who made it big and plopped himself down in the world of Fifth Avenue, but he still wasn’t treated seriously… now he’s in the biggest piece of real estate in the country and he’s still not being treated
seriously. He’s always going to care enormously about what the Times writes.”
When that revered newspaper opened its doors to director Liz Garbus, they knew she’d be documenting a unique moment in American history. No one, however, was prepared for the incessant barrage of chaotic drama and theatre that would spew from the White House in the ensuing months.
As Executive Editor Dean Baquet admitted, Trump is a gift for journalists. “What a story. Great stories trump everything else,” he said, so caught up in his muddle of excitement he didn’t seem to notice his play on words.
Garbus captured the caffeinated buzz and escalating tension of a newsroom dealing with a relentless workload. The staff came across as diligent and unflappable, even in the face of torrential stress. Everything Trump says is either a gross exaggeration or an outright lie, so they faced an almost impossible task in trying to bring truth to power.
As Haberman said, Trump feels threatened by anyone who doesn’t support him unconditionally. In one particularly chilling scene at a proTrump rally, we witnessed him coining his infamous “fake news” catchphrase. A “failing New York Times” reporter sat stoically as everyone around him cheered at a deeply insecure and paranoid President declaring that the media was “the enemy of the people”.
It felt like one of those flashback scenes from The Handmaid’s Tale in which we discover how America became a fascist state.
Thankfully, this stellar series is also a heartening reminder that decency, sanity and democracy still exist in Trump’s America. It reminds us, too, that his administration is populated by risible men with very high, silly voices. Their staff meetings must sound like the aftermath of an explosion at a helium balloon factory.
Yeah, take that Trump.
The shell-shocked commemorations of his first year in office continued with INSIDE THE AMERICAN EMBASSY, a series taking an exclusive behind-thescenes peek at the everyday dealings of his Britain-based lickspittles.
It began with a profile of Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson IV during his first months as US ambassador.
An invidious septuagenarian billionaire with no previous ambassadorial experience, Johnson is expected to bring his business expertise to the world of international diplomacy. Like his boss, he’s a salesman.
He came across as a chilly corporate drone failing to promote our “special relationship” against a fervent tide of anti-Trump sentiment in the UK. I almost felt sorry for him. Much like the team at The New York Times, Johnson and co have their work cut out for them. It’s like dealing with a spoiled, recalcitrant child.
Viewed in tandem, these documentaries exposed a presidency that almost certainly won’t last its full term. Take some comfort from that thought.