“Morning Joe” Scarborough had the perfect response when Trump hypocrisy reared its ugly head on Twitter.
The Washington Post published an opinion piece this week noting that Trump has learned that cheating is an invaluable tool when it comes to dominating the daily news cycle.
“Winning the news cycle,” involves a fierce competition to push reports that help your own side to the top while sidelining those that serve the interests of your opponents.
In the Trump era, this clash has fundamentally changed because the president and his lieutenants have realized that lying works; shameless dissembling is now standard operating procedure for the White House. Partisan outlets go with President Trump’s versions of events, even when they are demonstrably false. Mainstream outlets feel duty bound to report them, even as they debunk the lies.
Moreover, our chief executive instinctively knows what Alexander Hamilton taught long ago: that the despot’s “object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’ ” If the news gets troublesome, Trump and his minions create all manner of controversies and distractions that consume a lot of media space and time.
Trump attempted to seize that narrative yesterday, after his wife Melania reappeared after not having been seen by the media for nearly a month.
“The Fake News Media has been so unfair, and vicious, to my wife and our great First Lady, Melania. During her recovery from surgery they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse. All Fake, she is doing really well!” he tweeted, adding: “Four reporters spotted Melania in the White House last week walking merrily along to a meeting. They never reported the sighting because it would hurt the sick narrative that she was living in a different part of the world, was really ill, or whatever. Fake News is really bad!”
The Fake News Media has been so unfair, and vicious, to my wife and our great First Lady, Melania. During her recovery from surgery they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse. All Fake, she is doing really well!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
…Four reporters spotted Melania in the White House last week walking merrily along to a meeting. They never reported the sighting because it would hurt the sick narrative that she was living in a different part of the world, was really ill, or whatever. Fake News is really bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
Joe Scarborough, star of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” quickly responded: “I agree that it would be “vicious” and “unfair” to lie about a loved one having a facelift for the purpose of causing pain and embarrassment. Mr. President, can you imagine anyone would be so cruel to do such a thing?”
I agree that it would be “vicious” and “unfair” to lie about a loved one having a facelift for the purpose of causing pain and embarrassment. Mr. President, can you imagine anyone would be so cruel to do such a thing? https://t.co/zfqjt1LKw2
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) June 6, 2018
Scarborough was referencing a couple of disgusting tweets Trump posted last June lashing out at him and co-host Mika Brzezinski.
“I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore),” he tweeted. “Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came…..to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!”
I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
…to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
The Washington Post declared at the time that:
The strange and twisted saga of the relationship between President Trump and the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, has entered a new chapter.
Continuing, The Washington Post added that:
Brzezinski clapped back, since she’s apparently not from the Michelle Obama School of Insult Handling (motto: “when they go low, we go high”). She tweeted a picture of a Cheerios box, with the boast that the cereal is “made for little hands.” That’s a reference, of course, to the commander-in-chief’s preoccupation with the size of his… anatomy.
— Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017
Liberals Unite reported that, at the time, Republican blow-back was swift.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stated “Obviously I don’t see that as an appropriate comment, I think – Look, what we’re trying to do around here is improve the tone and civility of the debate and this obviously doesn’t do that.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters “I think it’s inappropriate. I think it’s wrong and I think the tweet speaks for itself.” Continuing, Graham added that “Tweets like this are inconsistent with the greatness of the country and the office.”
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine responded that: “The president’s tweet was completely inappropriate and I think he needs to better appreciate the roles played by the three branches of government and by the media. And we’re not always going to agree, we’re not always going to get along – but there’s no need for such uncivil language.”
Well, it appears for now that Scarborough has the last word, but who knows what’s next in Trump’s twisted mind and world.
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