‘Poor, poor pitiful me’

The president’s search for praise is dangerous

Agree or disagree with his policies, but it’s hard to argue President Trump isn’t one of the most narcissistic presidents the nation has ever witnessed. He is constantly worried about his image. That’s not to say every other president — particularly those who have held office since technology created mass media — has lacked in that department. But the 45th president is fixated on how everything relates to how he’s perceived, how he’s discussed and whether it affects his “brand.” His brand is himself. Witness how so much of what he owns is Trump this and Trump that. That probably explains why he’s been “Googling” himself. What he found apparently didn’t make him scream “Yahoo!” The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the administration is “taking a look” at whether online search engines should be regulated by the government. Why? Apparently because the boss woke up Tuesday and searched for himself online. That influenced his morning tweets, of which we have all become accustomed. “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of…” And then a continuation tweet: “….results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!” Trump doesn’t get it. He’s the most intentionally, unnecessarily combative person the United States voters have ever put into the Oval Office. He thrives on bullying, through social media if not in person (see Press Conference, Putin, Helsinki). He had to be convinced by public pressure to do the decent thing and have the U.S. flag at the White House lowered to half-staff to honor the late U.S. Sen. John McCain. And he expects to find nothing but good stories about him when he searches his name on Google? Importantly, media outlets tested his accusation about what search results turn up and found it (surprise) to be overblown. A search for Trump turned up articles that could be called critical of him or his administration, but there were also items from Fox News, a network Trump typically praises for its pro-Trump leanings. And yet hours after the president’s complaints, his economic adviser Larry Kudlow says the administration is seriously weighing whether the government ought to put constraints on how Google, Yahoo and other search engines produce their search results. Trump’s motives are obvious to many people, but it’s clear he’s hoping such claims will fire up his voter base, which he relies on to trust only what he says about what’s happening. It’s worked for him so far, right? The president and some of his adherents fail to realize just how dangerous such flippant attitudes about government responses can be. Real conservatives generally advocate less government intrusion, but who has ever mistaken Trump for a real conservative? He has demonstrated time after time that he’s ready to threaten, and potentially follow through, government action when he perceives behaviors that don’t feed his ego or promote his policies. What happens when law enforcement obtains guilty pleas from Trump’s former campaign manager and his former personal attorney? Trump declares the longstanding prosecutorial practice of “flipping” defendants — i.e., offering defendants lesser penalties and a chance to avoid the uncertainties of trial in exchange for testimony about other potential crimes — should be made illegal. He either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about how that kind of change would cripple law enforcement investigations throughout the justice system. All he cares about is how it’s affecting him and how he can use his power in office to limit that impact. What happens when a former CIA director criticizes Trump policies on the air? Trump withdraws the man’s security clearance, which is usually maintained so current government leaders can seek informed counsel from those who have previously done their jobs. All that doesn’t matter as long as Trump can neuter one of his critics. What should a president who behaves as Trump does expect to read when he searches for himself through search engines? He clearly relies on cabinet members, advisers and staff to offer him nothing but praise. Fall short and he considers you weak and disloyal, and your days in his administration will be numbered. But listen up, Americans. There is no way to “make America great again” if the president does not respect fundamental freedoms and principles of our form of government. He cannot behave like a dictator, wanting to use the mechanism of government to stifle voices who disagree with him or coverage he doesn’t like, and also claim to love the country. Just because there is some unfair criticism doesn’t mean all criticism is baseless persecution. President Trump is not this poor persecuted soul he whines about on Twitter. He’s just exactly the person he wants to be and has been his entire life. If there’s someone to blame for his press coverage not being filled with unceasing praise, it’s Trump.