TRUMP VS. THE MEDIA
President’s CNN wrestling tweet
Re: “Instead of wrestling CNN, Trump should have gone to Comic Con,” July 4 editorial.
Your editorial refers to President Donald Trump’s “ongoing and bewildering war on mainstream journalists.” “Bewildering”? Really? While I would prefer another term besides “fake news” to describe the mainstream media’s treatment of Trump, I don’t see how anyone who’s been paying attention can’t see the incredible bias with which the mainstream media has covered the Trump presidency. Most important in my opinion is the dearth of coverage about Trump’s many accomplishments. Granted, some may not see them as “accomplishments,” but at the very least they are policy actions.
Were it me, I would admittedly use Twitter differently — to trumpet my accomplishments and call out specific factual errors in media stories rather than name-calling, etc. However, I think it’s ludicrous to consider the CNN Wrestlemania tweet an incitement to violence against journalists. While it may not have been “appropriate” or “presidential,” it was hysterical in my opinion.
Rusty Staff, Denver
Our democracy is at risk because of Russian hacking of our electoral system and dissemination of false information about candidates. Our allies in Eastern Europe are feeling the pressure of growing presence of Russian troops and armament on their borders. Russian planes are harassing our military ships and planes in Europe. North Korea is moving ever closer to having a nuclear weapon delivery system capable of reaching our shores. China is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea, threatening access to one of the busiest sea lanes in the world.
How is the leader of the free world addressing these critical issues? He’s watching cable TV and engaging in a mudslinging battle with media figures who don’t agree with him. Let’s hope someone in the administration is governing the nation, though it’s likely not the vice president, as he’s engaged in a fruitless search for 3 million to 5 million phantom voters that exist only in the imagination of the president.
Sig Jaastad, Buena Vista
It amazes me how the print and TV media play right into Donald Trump’s narcissistic hands. It seems that both entities just wait for him to make or tweet some ridiculous statement so they can react. This way he can defend himself as being under attack by the fake news. Don’t you see that he thrives on the media exposure?
Trump is so narcissistic that any mass media exposure builds on his ego. There are a few ways to prevent his ranting and raving: 1) The print media can join forces and ignore him all together. Donald Trump isn’t the only thing that is happening in the world. 2) Have the news media boycott his press briefings and ignore his tweets. 3) Only report or print his positive responses. If you ignore all of his negative outbursts, he’ll get the message that if he wants to build on his ego, and reclaim the people’s respect, he needs to stay positive.
Lou Skoff, Aurora