I dont see Hillary, or Obama ever taking UNSCRIPTED Questions and being BRUTALLY HONEST ABOUT IT

I'm watching this news conference right now and it is like a mini culture clash between two groups of people, those being the president and the press. Neither side really understands the other and neither side really knows how to communicate with the other. At this point it is slightly comic but one can see how it could become tragic.

Disclaimer: I did not support Mr. Trump and wrote numerous threads about why I thought people should not vote for him, but I am not a sourpuss and recognize that he won the election and I want him to be a great president.

Unfortunately, as talented as he is, he is not a polished, articulate speaker. On the press side, you have a bunch of people who are too dumb to ask the right questions a lot of the time.

The conversation between the president and Major Garrett about Russia is a good example of how the press and Mr. Trump typically bump heads. Mr. Trump anticipates and begins to answer the question before the reporter finishes asking it, and the reporter asks a very smart man a series of timid, stupid, run of the mill "press fodder" type questions.

Here's the question Major Garrett should have asked Donald Trump. "Have you called Vladimir Putin on the telephone and asked him to get that spy ship further away from the coast of Deleware?"

It's a simple question that goes to the heart of Mr. Trump's attitude to Mr. Putin and Russia and could lead the reporter into the heart of what is really, not "fakely" going on with foreign relations in this administration.

In other words, the press should cut the crap and ask tough pointed questions.

The president is a tough, direct guy and that is his style. He is trying to have a "meeting of minds" with the press and pussy footing around trying to get them to like and finally understand him. He is awkward being forced into this kind of position. The press should start to think a little bit, or a lot, and ask him tough direct questions.

He is a tough guy. He can either stand the heat in the kitchen or he can't. I think he can stand it, but as the old martial arts saying goes, "If you want big answers you have to ask big questions." This is particularly pertinent since Mr. Trump is very evasive and very good at catching the ball and throwing a cloud of popcorn back.

He still thinks a press conference is an ad campaign, because that is what a press conference has been for him for much of his career in business. He loves questions about Melania's activities, but would prefer to leave the political and policy stuff very vague.

He's the "spinner in chief". His characterization of the roll out of the executive order on immigration as "smooth" is like something out of the insurance salesman's manual, "Truth and Nothing But the Truth as Seen From 180 Degrees".

Double

originally posted by: savemebarry
a reply to: fencesitter85

Like?

do cite things you slander people over.

be a good lad.

Catch up mate. The winning margin. It's not slander when it's a fact. Good lad.

2017: The year blatant lies became "brutal honesty".

One thing that came out of this press conference that disturbs me and that shows, I think, that President Trump is too deferential to his military advisors, is the way that he says he ignored his own first impulse to wait a month before rolling out the executive order on immigration and instead deferred to General Kelly, who thought the order should be issued immediately, because a month would give time for all kinds of bad people to sneak into the United States.

As a military tactic, the advice makes sense, but the executive order on immigration was not a military assault, and immigrants coming into the country are not enemy combatants.

Something much subtler was being initiated with this executive order (I hope), and Mr. Trump's first thought was the best thought on the subject.

Memo to the President: Military officers are technicians. They don't do policy. Elevating them to policy positions is going to cause you trouble, most probably. Exceptional people are possible to find in the military, Petraeus might be one, but they are mostly very limited in what they are capable of doing.

a reply to: loam

Excuse me?

If the left were to report without the outrage?

You must be high. I mean, the right wing media, which includes some of the most powerful media companies as it happens, reports EVERYTHING with outrage, and has done for longer than most people on these boards have even been breathing, but you do not have a problem with that, or rather, you do not state that you have a problem with it. The most popular right wing talking heads, like that Judge Pirro woman (who needs to figure out if she wants to be in a court room, or be on television, then drop the title of judge if she insists on becoming a television personality instead of an officer of the court), Sean Hannity, who has never met a fascistic opinion he did not like, and Bill O'Reilly, who honestly has not expressed one ounce of empathy for anyone, unless they were on message of course, these people are utterly toxic, biased, and callous about it too. Hannity and O'Reilly particularly, are fond of disinformation, spin, and outright creation of BS to suit their agenda, and these are the people that Mr Trump watches on the television, and not just him either.

The fact that anyone can watch an episode of these individuals talking to people about ANYTHING, and come away with the idea that their bias is either less, or God help us all, better than that of more liberal media figures, speaks to how utterly incapable of intellectual honesty, escaping the cognitive dissonance, not to mention original thought, some people really are. The fact that anyone can watch these people on the television, and accept a damn word, even the punctuation out of their mouths without a MASSIVE pinch of salt, goes a long way to explaining a vote for Trump too. People tell me the man is honest, but he lies more than seventy percent of the time, which is more than any other person involved in high politics in America.

He is honest about how he feels, but because he is a reactionary, phobic, flaccid old man with an attitude problem and delusions of his own importance, he feels things that have nothing to do with reality. He feels threatened when there is no threat, feels like a great man despite being a lesser example than a thousand men of his age I could name, and even decides how much money to tell people he has, based on how he feels about the topic, rather than on actual facts.

The man is not honest, he is a liar, and although it is true that no political entity whether an individual or a party can be trusted entirely, this man lies more than ANY of the Presidents you have had over the last six decades. By the end of the first year of his Presidency, he will have told more lies than Nixon if he keeps this insane pace up.

what a press conference, he needs to do this as much as possible.

originally posted by: journeyman12
what a press conference, he needs to do this as much as possible.

Get caught lying, admit he doesn't fact check, avoid taking questions he wont like? Well, of your standards are that low I guess.

originally posted by: WUNK22
Obama will go down as the TelePrompTer president! If you ever heard him off it, embarrassing!

When his teleprompter fails:

He doesnt even have a idea what his talks were about. He was even caught lip syncing a speech in michigan.

originally posted by: journeyman12
what a press conference, he needs to do this as much as possible.

I totally agree! I'm not a huge Trump fan but I am slowly warming up. The thing that has turned the tides for me is the anti-Trump people who, instead of focusing on bigger picture issues, constantly pick apart the minutiae of 'he lied about electoral college votes' or 'He lied about more people attending his inauguration '. Give me a Break!

We all know Trump is an egotistical, narcissistic, mysoginistic showman. But, he doesn't bow down to politicians who, believe it or not, don't give a rats behind about any of us. He enjoys sparring with the media and, I think, he will likely be more communicative to the American people because he wants to be king of the media. He prides himself on getting things done...a narcissistic need to succeed. Great. Benefits us.

It's time we quit worrying about what other countries think. I don't see lines of average Americans ready to enter their borders seeking freedom and prosperity. When I was a kid, we were taught that our country was the greatest in the world. We're not Europe, a group of independent nations, we are United! Sickens me. What else sickens me is the illegal immigration issue. If I stole someone's identity or SS#, my butt would be in jail, not elevated to victim on CNN.

Sorry for the semi-rant, but it grinds my gears! I can't believe people would actually think that a lying, political hack would be any better than what we have.

a reply to: TrueBrit

You've completely missed my point, which I assume is why the country is where we are today.

First, I'll address your assertion that the right-wing media is "some of the most powerful media". Even if that were true, which it is not, it is indisputable that 90 percent of the Trump coverage over the last year and a half has been completely negative...at first in a mocking manner, then later in the shrill unprofessional and unhinged outrage that serves as the basis of the point I'm making. Moreover, you seem to be cherry picking your fox news hosts, because FOX also airs Shepherd Smith and the likes of other never-trumpers, who even today still run wall-to-wall negative coverage.

Next, Piro, Hannity and O'Reilly (incidentally, I despise all three and my posting history on the last two during the Bush years will more than prove it) did not get Trump elected. CNN, HuffPo and the rest of the MSM did that nearly all by themselves.

During the primaries, the MSM reported on Trump as a complete joke...in fact, almost exclusively Trump from nearly the very start of the day he announced. They did this to the almost complete exclusion of the other 17 republican candidates. If one of them did get MSM attention, it was almost always in connection with Trump. As long as the focus was on Trump, substance from the other GOP candidates could be starved of oxygen. On the left, the MSM initially ignored Bernie too.

So confident was the MSM that America would see Trump as a complete clown they abandoned all journalistic professionalism and moved into variety rag territory, thinking America wouldn't hold them accountable for it. Meanwhile, many Americans were watching, and what they saw was, however imperfect, a candidate that wasn't scripted and dedicated to the resolution of many issues they really cared about. What is clear to me is that for many Americans, unscripted lies are far more forgivable than the scripted ones served universally by ever other politician on the left or right.

When the MSM saw Trump take out one GOP candidate after another, their coverage turned from attacking Trump to attacking his supporters. HRC, of course, helped them do that with her basket of deplorables comment. I don't care what anyone says, but when you start attacking large portions of an electorate in an effort to get at a political figure, you aren't winning hearts and minds to your view. You're solidifying their resolve and pushing fence-sitters in their direction.

So the course was set.

The MSM became more shrill, dishonest.....and ultimately ineffective.

Trump wins, because the MSM has abandoned true journalism. They focus on the man as town crier alarmists, seeking to exclusively discredit him, rather than reporting on the substantive issues that would cut him at the knees. They give him oxygen every time the talk about HIM.

But don't take my word for it. I think the results speak for themselves.

a reply to: Stevemagegod

Careful. You may break your caps lock key.

as a Republican I'm thrilled at having a major Republican tell the media to their face that they're corrupt and we know it.

refreshing honesty.

the issue isn't Trump so much as this totally dishonest, corrupt, advocacy-journalism media. nothing but puppets for the Democrat party. Thank God so many American voters saw through the deceit and voted for The Donald.

as for the democrats themselves, they're nothing but mindless obstructionists, running to the (friendly) cameras and portraying every Trump nominee as baby-killing racist monsters from Planet Deplorable. how is the right supposed to 'reach across the aisle' with such people?

go Trump go!!!

originally posted by: Whatinthehell
a reply to: Stevemagegod

Why are you talking in all caps? You're angry because everyone laughed at his latest press conference.

That's why Trump supporters are so childish. They care more about "burns" rather than facts.

Trump supporters may be childish but Hillary supporters are violent.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Stevemagegod

Careful. You may break your caps lock key.

its a good thing i didnt then

originally posted by: LordAhriman
2017: The year blatant lies became "brutal honesty".

You're right on that:

Obama: "Terrorist Organizationss Have Not ‘Successfully Planned And Executed’ Attack On US During My Tenure

originally posted by: Stevemagegod

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Stevemagegod

Careful. You may break your caps lock key.

its a good thing i didnt then

That's a shame.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: Stevemagegod

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Stevemagegod

Careful. You may break your caps lock key.

its a good thing i didnt then

That's a shame.

the argument with this reply speaks for itself.

you have none.

a reply to: savemebarry
Naturally. There is no argument to be made against someone ranting with his caps lock key mashed down in a thread. The fact that this thread went 4 pages alone is pretty funny in itself.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: savemebarry
Naturally. There is no argument to be made against someone ranting with his caps lock key mashed down in a thread. The fact that this thread went 4 pages alone is pretty funny in itself.

Snowflakes are pretty easy to trigger these days with a catchy click bait title.