If you were to limit your reading habits exclusively to Donald Trump’s Twitter feed—which, I’m afraid, many Trump supporters are doing, unfortunately—you’d be under the impression that Mr. Trump’s ratings were yuge, that most Americans believe the 45th president is doing a “fantastic job,” and that “The Donald” is a true populist, concerned only about the betterment of his disenfranchised constituency.
It’s an odd thing for The President of the United States to go on and on about—even if he believed, deep inside his bones, that it was indeed the case, that the “crooked media” was out to get him. But I don’t think Trump really within his heart of hearts believes the media is seriously out to get him.
I believe his constant, around-the-clock ranting about it to be a defense mechanism to protect his already woefully fragile ego from further humiliation.
Indeed. Of all the things Trump has been accused of—sexism, racism, colluding with Russia—he seems to take biggest offense at news channels and journalists simply doing their jobs, and reporting how low his ratings actually are.
At first glance, this might look like the truth—if you’ve been living in a self-constructed Trump Bubble. But according to just about every publication without a huge pro-Trump slant, The Donald’s ratings are nothing to write home about, much less tweet about.
From a Chicago Tribune article dated April 23, 2017:
The president’s balance sheet overall tilts toward the negative. Majorities of Americans say Trump has not accomplished much during his first months as president. Meanwhile, he shows little improvement on his temperament and honesty, and while he has gained ground on empathy, more than 6 in 10 still say he does not understand the problems of people like them.
Now, who is right here: Donald Trump, and his never-ending tweet-storm rantings about “The crooked media this” and “crooked media that,” or virtually every reputable journalist on Earth?
Notice the ending last sentence from the paragraph: More than 6 in 10 say he [Trump] does not understand the problems of people like them.
Again, is this true, or just more “lies” from one collective body known as the media?
Last month, it was revealed that President Trump proposed massive budget cuts for Meals on Wheels a program which, according to The Hill, fed 2 million senior citizens in 2015 alone. Meals on Wheels are extremely concerned about the proposed cuts, reports ABC7.com:
“For us that means 30 percent of our food budget would be cut. The federal government, in one form or another, pays for 30 percent of the food we supply.”
Ah, but “He does not understand the problems of people like him” doesn’t end there. Mr. Trump has criticized Obama for “all the vacations” he has taken, and “all the times” he claims the 44th president has gone golfing.
On October of 2014, Trump tweeted: “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter.”
Yet how many times has Obama gone golfing in April of his first term in the White House? Brace yourselves: Zero. President Trump, as of April 17, 2017? Fourteen times!
Perhaps the funniest—and most disgusting thing—about Trump’s blatant hypocrisy was his promise to “drain the swamp” once in The White House of all the big, rich nasty people who are secretly in charge. Reports the Washington Post:
Many of the Trump appointees were born wealthy, attended elite schools and went on to amass even larger fortunes as adults. As a group, they have much more experience funding political candidates than they do running government agencies.
And the hypocrisy doesn’t end there. 2016 GOP hopeful Ben Carson once called Fair Housing “communism.” Scott Pruitt, who Donald Trump picked to head the EPA, is on the record of saying he believes global warming to be a hoax.
Trump loves to keep this image afloat of him—that he is a populist, concerned about “the little” girl/guy. But after careful inspection, you will see that the image is nothing but a bunch of hot air.
Many members of the press don’t deserve criticism for accurately reporting on Trump’s approval ratings. Many are deserving of criticism, however, for wrongly categorizing Trump in their articles as a populist.
According to most dictionaries, a populist is,
- “ a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.”
No way that’s Donald Trump.
