State of the Union

[Birdjaguar]

He only talks to the press typically if he's standing by the helicopter for some reason.

Yes, he positions himself to be able to walk away if he wants or doesn't like the questions. It is his way of staying in control and avoiding questions he doesn't want to answer.

 

[Estebonrober]

I dont know, I was watching South Park reruns. I was quoting Turley but forgot the quote marks. Dignity? You're talking about someone who was informed of Bush's torture program and did nothing and when the Dems took the Congress in 2006 she protected the war criminals. Thats why Bush and his cronies got away with torture, she covered for them. Course she couldn't actually start an impeachment inquiry because the Bush crowd would point out how they told her years earlier and she apparently didn't object.

Imagine that, she protected war criminals from impeachment and instead impeached Trump for trying to investigate corrupt Democrats and Ukrainian interference in our election. Hypocrisy is not dignified.

Yes its the democrat's fault we tortured prisoners in the war on terror and its the democrats fault those in charge of the program got away with it and its the democrats fault berzerker's mind has been melted.

 

[Socrates99]

Yes, he positions himself to be able to walk away if he wants or doesn't like the questions. It is his way of staying in control and avoiding questions he doesn't want to answer.

Its also so the reporters' questions are hard to hear. That way he can deflect without appearing to deflect or if his answers are stupidly uninformed (he's not known for his diligence) he can pretend he misheard.

 

[Tristan_C]

Its also so the reporters' questions are hard to hear. That way he can deflect without appearing to deflect or if his answers are stupidly uninformed (he's not known for his diligence) he can pretend he misheard.

Eh, I thought the media made hay for the left with a number of statements he's made in front of the helicopter. We've got people around here who are convinced it's illegal and impeachable to utter the words, "China should investigate the Bidens."

The more rational reasons for getting rid of the press corps is because this feral president makes his feelings known directly through the internet, rendering the old format obsolete. By the time he ditched it, it was just creating faux celebrities out of the middlemen, who thanks to twitter were no longer serving any useful purpose.

 

[Socrates99]

Eh, I thought the media made hay for the left with a number of statements he's made in front of the helicopter. We've got people around here who are convinced it's illegal and impeachable to utter the words, "China should investigate the Bidens."

The more rational reasons for getting rid of the press corps is because this feral president makes his feelings known directly through the internet, rendering the old format obsolete. By the time he ditched it, it was just creating faux celebrities out of the middlemen, who thanks to twitter were no longer serving any useful purpose.

There's never a shortage of hay with this dope. Pro tip, dont elect a moron if you dont want the press to pick on the POTUS.

There's absolutely a reason he answers questions a few feet from a running chopper. It helps to cover gaffes.

 

[Tristan_C]

The press picks on the right. If they picked on morons indiscriminately, the Iowa caucus would be an even deeper salt mine than it already is.

 

[Socrates99]

Oh the poor right! The self pity party is absurd. The right has their media and the left has theirs. Who is this nebulous single minded "press"? Isnt Fox News the number one cable network? This is oppression Olympics at its finest. I remember having to remind people that Jay Pharoah used to parody Obama on SNL and Daryl Hammond made a career out of mocking Clinton back in the day.

For a bunch of tough guys who call everyone else snowflakes the right sure does whine a lot. Know why you have this opinion about the "press"? Because your own wing of the press tells you it's so.

Trump gets picked on because Trump is mean and stupid. Bush got picked on because hes stupid. Try not electing a trust fund fail son if this is something that annoys the right.

 

[Estebonrober]

The press picks on the right. If they picked on morons indiscriminately, the Iowa caucus would be an even deeper salt mine than it already is.

There is no shortage of people calling the Iowa thing a complete shirtshow.

 

[civvver]

I think that's due to the fact that he is a smug *******.

To run for president takes a certain kind of hubris to begin with, and then you win and are arguably the most powerful person in the world. That's going to make most people smug. The difference is most maintain some sense of decorum while Trump doesn't hide anything.

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, and it's also impossible to tell which of his self-aggrandizing falsehoods he actually believes. Like, does he still actually think he accurately summarized a hurricane warning? No way to tell

 

[hobbsyoyo]

while Trump doesn't hide anything.

He tries to hide his crimes, going so far as to commit more crimes in doing so.

 

[Commodore]

Yes, he positions himself to be able to walk away if he wants or doesn't like the questions. It is his way of staying in control and avoiding questions he doesn't want to answer.

Is there really anything wrong with that? As far as I can tell, there is no legal obligation for any government official to speak to the press. The 1st Amendment right to a free press doesn't mean the press can force people to talk to them.

 

[Estebonrober]

Is there really anything wrong with that? As far as I can tell, there is no legal obligation for any government official to speak to the press. The 1st Amendment right to a free press doesn't mean the press can force people to talk to them.

Oh this is a new take, so the US government should not answer questions from the press unless they want to?

 

[Commodore]

Oh this is a new take, so the US government should not answer questions from the press unless they want to?

This isn't new. There's lots of information requested by both the press and the people the government routinely denies access to. I would also say the government is only obligated to put out an official press release on any given issue and isn't required to elaborate on that release.

Also, no one in the US is required to speak to the press, not even government officials. That's why "no comment" is a valid response to any question asked by the press. So again, this isn't a "new take", it's the legal reality of the US and always has been. There simply isn't anything in the Constitution that requires government transparency.

 

[Estebonrober]

This isn't new. There's lots of information requested by both the press and the people the government routinely denies access to. I would also say the government is only obligated to put out an official press release on any given issue and isn't required to elaborate on that release.

Also, no one in the US is required to speak to the press, not even government officials. That's why "no comment" is a valid response to any question asked by the press. So again, this isn't a "new take", it's the legal reality of the US and always has been. There simply isn't anything in the Constitution that requires government transparency.

Blanket not answering to the press would be a new take just like blanket denying all congressional requests and subpoenas was certainly a new and imo unlawful take. Now denying the press would not be unlawful per se, but it should be viewed as nothing short of unamerican and treacherous. This is coming from a person who believes A) that Fox News is nothing but GOP propaganda and B) that Obama cutting them out of the press room was not okay and I was glad he walked it back.

 

[Commodore]

Blanket not answering to the press would be a new take

But that's not what's happening. What's happening is a selective answering of questions, which is perfectly fine in my book. The press has the right to ask questions, but they do not have a right to have those questions answered.

 

[Lohrenswald]

State of the union should be like employee of the month

"This year's state of the union is Tennesse, shoutout to all my homies in Tennesse and congratulations on winning state of the union"

 

[Estebonrober]

But that's not what's happening. What's happening is a selective answering of questions, which is perfectly fine in my book. The press has the right to ask questions, but they do not have a right to have those questions answered.

Yes its not treacherous what he is doing. Its petty, childish, and ignorant.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Is there really anything wrong with that? As far as I can tell, there is no legal obligation for any government official to speak to the press. The 1st Amendment right to a free press doesn't mean the press can force people to talk to them.

The norm has been that the government has regular press conferences to answer questions about what they are doing so that the public can be informed. Press briefings have also been part of the status quo. This is one of the best ways to inform the public about what the government is doing and why. But since Trump began his presidency with lying about everything and has continued that policy, he has reduced government statements to his twitter account. He want as little transparency as possible and he wants to reduce the opportunities to be called out for lying or bad policies. It is not illegal to do what he is doing, it is just anti free press and accountability. It is another example of his failure as a president and his failure as a person. He doesn't want the American people to know what he is actually doing or answer for his failings.

Flush the turd November third.

 

[El_Machinae]

They've long-adapted to 'leadership' that will lie about even the simplest of things. "Refusing to answer questions" doesn't change much of that fundamental equation. They're just trusting that Trump can guide the country to their benefit. He's spoken clearly about negative-sum arrangements, which is what they're in favor of.