Maggie Haberman of the New York Times sat down with CNN's Brian Stelter to discuss a variety of topics, the first of which was how Trump has changed since he took office. I've never seen a reporter seem so nonchalant. So blasé as she discussed the dude who is gleefully dismantling everything the United States represents. She may as well have been discussing the difference in tire performance between Michelin and Firestone.
The only thing I would say that changed in the Trump White House is how Trump approached the job, which is that last year, in 2017, when he was aware of being in over his head I think -- and every president, to be fair, I think comes in feeling that way, but obviously he ran not as a technocrat who had a lot of government experience. He was more easily swayed by advisers, more easily put in one direction or another. And now, sometime around the turn of the new year you could feel, really, him feeling more emboldened, more understanding of what the job was, sort of some level of, "I got this now," and that is what has changed and that's not small.
That's not small? Well, it's also not TRUE. Does he have more of an understanding of what the job is? How can you posit that with a straight face? He still has exactly ZERO level of "I got this now," evidenced by your own words later in the interview. If anything, his level of panic is rising as Mueller's noose tightens, and his options grow fewer.
She even contradicts herself about this very thing later in the interview when talking about the interview he gave to the British tabloid, The Sun, she talked about his reaction to it.
He was surprised at how his remarks were received. He didn't realize he would be making the news he did, he didn't realize it would have the impact he did being in the host country talking about their politics. When he left the stage in Helsinki -- he has said this publicly, "What's the big deal?"
Maggie, that, right there, is evidence he has no understanding of what his job entails whatsoever. Frankly, it's alarming that you recount this in a tone that says you don't think it's a big deal, either. In fact, you say ALL of this as if you don't think it's a big deal. You talk about him as if he's just another president, but maybe a not-so-great one, and your attitude towards the rest of us who actually witness the world burning down is so condescending you'd think we were grown adults throwing a fit because our ice cream dripped down our sleeve.
Worst of all, you use that outrageous reaction of trump's as supporting evidence that he often tells the truth.
There's a lot of assuming...look, Trump lies frequently or tells falsehoods frequently but he often tells the truth. "What's the big deal? I didn't understand what I did."
He. Often. Tells. The. Truth. is a sentence Maggie Haberman wrote about Donald. J. Trump. Now, if what she meant is he occasionally operates without guile, that's slightly different. If what she is trying to convey is that sometimes he has no deeper motive for something completely imbecilic and destructive that he does other than the reason he gives —"I felt like it. I owed the guy a favor. It was no big deal," — that's another thing.
But if the only time he is "telling the truth" is when he is admitting he is a fucking moron, completely ignorant of any of the rules of proper and productive governance, I would think this would be the angle from which a responsible reporter would present the information. Part of what a reporter is supposed to do is sift through a story for the parts that merit attention. Things the public needs to know and remember. In this interview, even if her point may be that sometimes people don't need to dig deeply into his answers to find out what they really mean, what she ends up doing is minimizing the fact that he tells outrageous lies every day and emphasizing the phrase "he often tells the truth."
The worst of it is that she says it as if the rest of us should know better. As if we're so annoying for assuming what comes out of his asshole-mouth is a lie. Like we are jumping to conclusions by being skeptical of every word that comes out of his mouth. This bastard, by the 466th day of his presidency, had lied more than 3,000 times. Forgive us questioning if his verbal oozings have any worth, Ms. Haberman. Look at your own words, again.
Trump lies frequently or tells falsehoods frequently but he often tells the truth.
You gave equal weight to his lies and his truths. And that is no falsehood.
