Trump and the Easily Distracted Press

It’s the oldest trick in the book. Most people catch on to it in preschool. Which is why there’s nothing funnier than watching sophisticated, self-important characters fall for it over and over and over again: think Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

For nearly three years, Donald Trump has been playing this trick on the mainstream media and its partners in the Washington swamp. You’d think they’d learn, but no. They keep falling for it hook, line, and sinker. And it’s working. While they focus on nonsense, our famously boisterous president is quietly Making America Great Again.

“Hey! Look over there!” the president tweets.

Reporters race to get the best view. “The President has made a big deal of asking Americans to look over there,” they report with all seriousness, “where there is obviously nothing worth seeing.”

They find conflict within the Administration. “Cabinet Members Would Rather Look Elsewhere,” blare the headlines.

“Why would the president have us looking over there?” reporters inquire of experts. “It’s the sort of thing that makes us worry about his stability,” the experts pontificate, brows furrowed. “Is a man who thinks that we should look over there fit to be president?”

Meanwhile, President Trump and his team quietly dismantle the disastrous policies of the Obama years. They curb illegal immigration. They simplify the regulatory burden strangling the economy. They cut taxes. They enable an energy revolution. They create jobs. They put money in the pockets of working Americans. They confirm constitutionalist judges. They rebuild frayed ties with allies. They show strength when dealing with enemies.

“The president would be well advised to stop misdirecting Americans, and instead to focus on the job America elected him to do,” serious talking heads advise. “All of this misdirection has taken its toll on an Administration that has yet to achieve anything of note. Voters will surely hold this chaos against him in the midterms.”

Those looking at the president’s activity rather than psychoanalyzing his latest tweet, however, might have noted an interesting little tidbit from flagship conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation. A week before President Trump’s inaugural, Heritage released a 334-item policy agenda for the new Administration. Thirteen months later, he was nearly two-thirds of the way through. By way of comparison, President Reagan, patron saint of the modern GOP, was just approaching the halfway mark at this point in his term. And the voters can see it. The same day Heritage released its report, Rasmussen polling reported President Trump seven points ahead of where Barack Obama was at the same point in his presidency.

Undeterred, the American press holds its collective head high. “Democracy dies in darkness!” it declaims. “To safeguard democracy, we will provide constant updates on all rumors our colleagues foment about Robert Mueller and his investigative dream team. Having enjoyed a yearlong (and running) unlimited budget courtesy of the American taxpayer, Mueller’s revelations are about to bring down the entire Administration.”

To date, of course, there have been no revelations that in any way support the media’s claims. We have learned that Russia tried to mess with our minds, that some individuals engaged in questionable business practices long before joining the Trump campaign, and that when the FBI acts illegally, it can entrap almost anybody. Meanwhile, if the investigation, or the Washington swamp, or anything else is distracting or slowing down this president, then he is a prodigy unlike any other. But the geniuses in the media? They certainly seem distracted.

“The truth is more important now than ever!” bellows America’s self-proclaimed paper of record. Good thing, too. Back when the truth was less important, America’s press lackeys helped hoodwink the American people. They assured us that we could keep the doctors we liked while Obamacare drove coverage up and prices down. They explained how ignoring longstanding nonproliferation rules to favor Iran would make the world safer. Obama-era officials took such pride in the ease with which they manipulated the press that they gave selected reporters exclusive interviews to crow about it.

No more! Now that Truth has assumed its new importance, top reporters keep us informed about the myriad ways in which President Trump is eroding America’s position in the world. His entire program, they tell us, will end the glorious era of globalization.

The president, in turn, has stood strong for Western civilization, called on the world’s great Arab and Islamic leaders to drive extremists from their midst, grounded the Arab/Israeli conflict in reality rather than in fantasy, brought North Korea from the brink to the table, and undermined the Russian petro-economy. The global elite at Davos paused mid-sneer just long enough to snap selfies with the president.

The Elmer Fudd coverage of this stunningly successful president would be comic were it not so tragic. Still, Americans — other than those blinded by their own hatred — know what we see. A talented leader who has retained his common sense. A non-career politician who refuses to play Washington’s games and delivers on his promises.

All of his promises, that is, except the one about how America would grow tired of winning. We’re not yet there, Mr. President. But you certainly are doing your part and more.

Bruce Abramson is the President of Informationism, Inc., Vice President and Director of Policy at the Iron Dome Alliance, and a Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. Jeff Ballabon is CEO of B2 Strategic, a Senior Fellow at the American Conservative Union's Center for Statesmanship and Diplomacy, and an advisor to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. To read more of their reports — Click Here Now.