Thursday, October 25, 2018

Clear Understanding


It's nearly November in an even-numbered year, so President Trump went to the old standby when on Monday he

said he would propose a tax cut for middle-class Americans next week “of about 10 percent” and that Congress would vote on it soon, but he offered few details and lawmakers did not appear to have any plans to act on his announcement.

Speaking to reporters before a trip to Texas, Trump said the White House was looking at putting out a proposal next week, which he said would be “a very major tax cut for middle-income people. And if we do that it’ll be sometime just prior to November.”

“We’ll do the vote after the election,” Trump said, again suggesting a cut after floating the idea on Saturday.

Aside from saying the tax cut would be about 10 percent, the president offered no details.

It may not pass and if it does, will benefit the wealthy and/or corporations more than the middle class, thereby rendering it advisable to offer no details.  However, Trump knew to signal to conservative and moderate, Republican and independent, voters that he wants to cut their taxes, if only those evil Democrats will let him.

Bipartisan "cred" is all the rage in politics now.  The Twitter page of a US Representative from suburban eastern Pennsylvania blares "Brian Fitzpatrick- Ranked #1 Independent Freshman Congressman" with an obvious intent to hide his partisan (Republican) affiliation. 

Never one to let a terrorist atttack(s) interfere with a good nationalist campaign rally, the head of Fitzpatrick's party appeared in Mosinee, Wisconsin Wednesday evening.  Feigning independence, the President

again directed the crowd’s attention to his bipartisan efforts: “By the way, do you see how nice I’m behaving tonight?” he asked. “Have you ever seen this? We’re all behaving very well!”

Not only bipartisanship, but self-awareness: Have you ever seen this? We're behaving very well!

By contrast, CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker responded to these acts of terrorism by issuing a statement reading

There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.

Oh yes, they have. Politico Wednesday reported

when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was announced as the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Dinner in Lexington, Ky., in August, the event sold out in under two hours...

Unwelcome in swaths of the nation’s capital, some of the most controversial White House officials have become the hottest “gets” ahead of the midterm elections — thanks in part, allies of President Donald Trump say, to a damning disconnect between liberal elites and the regular people who make up the president’s base...

“Republicans love the most visible people who are constantly doing battle with the people they hate the most, which is the media,” said Kentucky Republican strategist Scott Jennings, who served as the emcee of the dinner Sanders headlined. “It’s why Trump is the president, and why people like Sarah Sanders and Kellyanne Conway are such big celebrities.”

And so, though making the obligatory bipartisan remark, the President on Wednesday knew to add "The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and to stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks and stories. Have to do it."  He stayed on message Thursday morning, tweeting




After a terrorist attack on a cable news organization, the candidate who knew he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose anyvotes is the President who knows he can demonize the media, lose no votes he hadn't lost a long time ago, and drive his horde of haters to the polls.

That is a fellow with a whole lot of comprehension.










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