Misdirected Pivot

March 2, 2017

Last Tuesday the Donald, in a rare appearance as a sane person, delivered an address to congress that said nothing new, but also didn’t insult, belittle or beat up the press. Actually, the Trump-press relationship leading up to the speech seemed unusually good. So, the relieved mainstream media gave him a great review – so presidential.

They did have a question though. A few hours before the address, the White House briefed that very same press about Trump softening his immigration policy. They wondered why he hadn’t said anything about the policy shift during the address? After all, they were told Trump was now open to a compromise bill on immigration reform – a big deal.

The White House reply was old-school Trump. They explained, the pre-address briefing was intended to misdirect the media – you see, they needed a softer, warmer, vibe going into the speech. And they got it. They played the press and then threw it in their face. How very clever.

One would think the media would respond to this bait-and-switch antic with cries of outrage – or at least moderately dense coverage. After all, tricking the press, then exclaiming “Ha! Ha! Got ya!” when confronted is noteworthy. But, coverage has been scant.

You see, that was last Tuesday and this is Thursday – today we have newer, more interesting, Trump team hijinks. Seems, Jeff Sessions, America’s beloved Elmer Fudd doppelganger and favored racist, misdirected the Senate when he told them he had no contact with Russia during the Trump campaign. In fact, he met with the Russian ambassador twice – once in his senate office and once at the RNC.

Pivoting remarkably fast for a two-hundred years old man, Sessions now claims he did speak with the Russian ambassador, but they didn’t talk about the campaign. (Though he mitigated even that by mentioning they may have touched upon the news – probably talked sports or women’s fashion.)

Troubled with the sloppiness of the lies, even some Republican congressmen are now demanding Sessions recuse himself from any Russian investigations. Wow, quite the stand for justice. He lied to the Senate at his confirmation hearing, and as penalty he won’t be allowed to take part in investigations of himself. WTF?

The republic has grown dizzy from one-hundred-fourteen days of post-election pivoting and longs for the times when words like propaganda and perjury held meaning. Back when we were great.

In Peace and Justice,
osv

PS –
A gentle reminder, don’t give up hope. We are one day closer to the inevitable Trump Termination Event. The smart money is on either palace coup or subdural hematoma. Place you bets.