As a nation, we were told a few things after Trump’s somewhat unexpected win over Hillary last November.
- We were told the new president would arrive in DC, guns blazing, and America would be well on its way to greatness again.
- We were told the media would finally get serious about journalistic integrity and holding elected officials accountable.
It has been more than 100 days since the 45th president took office, and neither side impresses.
President Donald Trump
In between rounds of golf, the amount of which rivals that of his predecessor, President Trump has managed to do what? We can safely say that his legacy thus far is a flurry of executive orders, missed opportunities at a new health care bill, and the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Coming up, we have possibly another miss at tackling the mess left by Obamacare.
…the first iteration of the American Health Care Act, as the bill is called, failed to reach the floor for a vote and a subsequent attempt to revive it died before Congress went into a two-week recess. A core group of conservatives signed on to the bill after changes were made to accommodate them, but many moderates have residual concerns.
Republican leaders are working to get 216 Republicans to vote in favor of it. Only 22 Republicans can vote no in order for the bill to pass.
So far, 20 Republicans have said they are voting against it, and more than a dozen more are undecided.
Lest we forget, a new spending bill is expected to be signed by the president, which will be a win for the Democrats by funding sanctuary cities and Planned Parenthood, among other things.
Furthermore, we have a commander-in-chief who is still obsessed with bloviating on Twitter, much to the chagrin of those who prefer a president with some class. However, starry-eyed fans still remark, “he tells it like it is!” Oh, and the man who chose to run for the highest office in the land thought the job would be easier. He misses his old life, after all.
“I loved my previous life. I had so many things going,” Trump said. “This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier.”
Trump continued by saying he missed his life.
So far, mark down a win for Gorsuch. Everything else? Failure, fluff, flailing about. 100 days of winning? In Republican-controlled D.C.? Hardly.
The Media
Journalists, writers, pundits, and talking heads are suddenly awake after eight years asleep on the job. Now, it’s all about integrity. Suddenly.
The morning after his win, Margaret Sullivan wrote in The Washington Post:
One thing is certain in the presumptive era of President Trump. Journalists are going to have to be better — stronger, more courageous, stiffer-spined — than they’ve ever been.
We have to keep doing our jobs of truth-telling, challenging power and holding those in power accountable — as the best journalists did during the campaign itself.
“More than ever, we will need fearless and deep journalism,” Dan Gillmor, a journalist who teaches at Arizona State University, tweeted. “Do we have news media that even want to deliver it, apart from a few?”
Would the same have been said if Hillary Clinton had won on November 8, 2016? These same admonishments continuedafter the inauguration, too.
Evan Smith, CEO and co-founder of the Texas Tribune, says it’s important now more than ever to champion accountability journalism.
“It’s a fundamental part of democracy — the idea that there’s a free and independent press,” Smith said. “In its absence, democracy falters. I think we understand the stakes of that more than ever.”
More than ever!
The same media unwilling to put much stock in their own candidate’s serious troubles with the truth want accountability. The same people quick to claim misogyny was a root cause of Mrs. Clinton’s loss are demanding fearlessness. Some of the same individuals who (rightly) requested a shield around the Obamas’ children viciously picked at Barron Trump. Those bothered by Trump’s golfing were completely silent on Barack Obama’s outings to the green. (Can’t we point out both?)
Looking back on the first 100 days of the Donald J. Trump administration, and the media which responds to it, leads me – again – to the conclusion that they both have much work to do.
President Trump? The first 100 days weren’t filled with much progress. You’re the leader of the free world. It was always going to be tough. You have a Republican Congress and limited time before midterms. Maybe the lackluster results from this first measure of time will spur you to actual conservative action. I hope.
Media? I’m still not impressed by your bias and your own bloviating. The American people aren’t impressed, either. If your current level of conviction had been in place during the last eight years, we might be more inclined to trust you.
So far, you suck.
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