On the EDge: Mr. President, ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders

Composite image | St. George News

OPINION – A strained relationship between the president and the news media is nothing new.

In fact, we would all knock on suspicion’s door if the two seem to be glad-handing each other all the time. That would mean somebody is lying and somebody isn’t doing their job.

That’s why the current dust-up between the president and the reporters who cover him is no surprise, especially given the history between the two and the parties involved. Neither trusts nor likes the other and they make no bones about it.

Still, there was a certain level of shock and dismay last week when White House chief of staff Bill Shine and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders barred CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins from a Rose Garden press event because earlier in the day she asked the president if he felt betrayed by his former attorney Michael Cohen and then probed his invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the White House, questions any reporter worth his or her salt would ask given the opportunity.

It got her 86ed from the afternoon press gathering.

What happened was predictable, as a solidarity protest emerged among reporters – even the president’s favored newsies from Fox News.

Of course, this has been going on for some time.

“Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?” he tweeted on May 9.

During his campaign he took away the credentials of nearly a dozen reporters – including those working for The Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Politico – and banned them from the chartered press plane.

And during the campaign, he told Time magazine that he would allow credentials for news outlets he thought were being unfair to him, but that “It doesn’t mean I’d be nice to them.”

News reporters by their very nature are antagonists.

They do not serve the interests of the president or anybody else they are reporting on, they serve the public interests. That is where their first responsibility lies.

They don’t go soft on their line of questioning or investigation just because the president is a nice guy, is in a tight spot or because they subscribe to his brand of politics.

They don’t ignore an issue simply because it may cause discomfort.

And most importantly, they do not take direction from the president or his staff.

They are the public watchdogs and they have a responsibility that has become a legacy of the Fourth Estate, a term coined by Edmund Burke in 1787 when the press was first allowed to report on Great Britain’s House of Commons.

During his speech, Burke said, “there were three Estates (clergy, nobility and the commoners) … but in the Reporters Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”

It has evermore been a charge taken seriously by those who pick up the pen to observe and probe on behalf of the people, which is why the relationship between the president and the news media has never been one of comfort.

Not a president during my lifetime has escaped the scalding heat of the press. Some have just handled it better than others.

Barack Obama had run-ins and initiated investigations to squelch leakers within his administration.

George W. Bush had a contentious eight years of scuffling with reporters.

Bill Clinton went so far as to bar a reporter and sparred frequently with the media, particularly during his impeachment when he tried to weasel his way out of a personal and political jam by trying to define “what ‘is’ is.”

George H.W. Bush had his share of problems as well, usually clamming up and refusing to speak.

Ronald Reagan had an acerbic relationship with the press, but used wit and charm to douse the fires.

Jimmy Carter was probably the most press-friendly president of the modern era, holding frequent and regular press briefings and conferences and granting accessibility to just about anybody who knocked on his door.

Gerald Ford was a rather piteous figure.

Then there was Richard Nixon, who was the worst, until now, when it came to media relations. Those of a certain age can remember the enmity between Nixon and the reporters who covered him.

Lyndon Johnson was just plain mean and John Kennedy was a stoic.

“Even though we never like it, and even though we wish they didn’t write it, and even though we disapprove, there isn’t any doubt that we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press,” Kennedy once told NBC newsman Sander Vanocur. “It is never pleasant to be reading things frequently that are not agreeable news, but I would say it is an invaluable arm of the presidency as a check, really, on what is going on in the administration.”

None, however, has been so brazen as the current president who viciously attacks the press regularly with his charges of fake news and assertions that the media is made up of dishonest people.

It is not, I promise you.

The president is simply an authoritarian who has surrounded himself with yes-men his entire life. The current bunch of aides and counsel are people in positions of power and renown who are afraid to challenge their boss for fear of losing their clout.

But, that’s not how it works with media relations.

The president has failed miserably at the first lesson taught in Media 101: Friendship ends at the byline.

With rare exception, it is a lesson learned well by most members of the media, even the commentators and analysts who are paid to parse the words and define moments of history as they evolve.

And sometimes the results are not favorable.

We are saddled, however, with an authoritarian demagogue who has become expert at stirring the rabble with his populist rhetoric. It has, naturally, spilled over to a general disdain for all things media.

The president, according to most observers, is furious with the media because he believes it does not offer the respect he demands.

The thing about respect is that to gain it you must earn it, something this president has not done because of ego, anger and a narcissism that has spilled over into the day-to-day running of our government.

Other presidents have handled such situations with much more diplomacy and grace.

This one has not.

But instead of his incessant lashing out, he might want to consider the wisdom of an old Jewish Proverb: “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.

No bad days!

Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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74 Comments

  • John July 31, 2018 at 3:54 pm

    Your crayons are pretty dull this week eddy! You used a whole lot of words and didn’t make one coherent point! This is not your usual liberal garbage, this is garbage at a new level of stupid! No good pieces! hahahahahaha!

    • No Filter July 31, 2018 at 4:28 pm

      If you are so passionate about how we liberals treat Trump, why don’t you write a letter to the editor with your opinion about him. Tell us all how evil and unfair we are being to him. Tell us why you think we are stupid, why you think we are sheep. If you want us to understand your thoughts we have to know what your opinion is besides that we all eat crayons and chase a carrot around. This is your chance to show us stupid snowflakes that we don’t know anything, run with it and make your conservative friends proud.

      • John July 31, 2018 at 4:35 pm

        You mean like talk to a stump? Hahahahahahahahahaha!

      • ProToTyper August 2, 2018 at 1:50 am

        How’s this?

        Admitting to things isn’t a difficult task, and unlike a lot of Americans, they don’t realize what they don’t know. Unfortunately, for ol’ Ed here, I do know a thing or two about “omitting”, or not sharing all the details of the story. Ever wonder why in a court of law, they ask you to state “the truth, THE WHOLE TRUTH, and nothing but the truth”? That’s because, leaving parts of the story out, is what we call “misleading”.

        You see folks, what ol’ Ed here ISN’T telling you, is that the time for questions that the president had allotted the press, had expired. It was time to move on, and this reporter simply continued, loudly I may add, to shout questions at the president.

        Oh, but that’s not the fun part of the story that he isn’t telling you. No, you see, what ol’ Ed here isn’t telling you, was that they didn’t bar the reporter AND the media group that she worked for from being present at the Rose Garden, just the reporter. They didn’t want a repeat of her unprofessionalism there, nor any other time in the near future I would suspect. They stated that any other reporter/journalists from their company could attend. And they did.

        Knowing this, it doesn’t exactly sound like they’re keeping the media away, but rather attempting to keep the environment professional. As it should be.

        Ergo, your “journalistic” skills are found lacking, and wreak of propagated biased against an ideology unfitting of your emotionally unprepared and weakened political platform. Failure has become the new norm for liberals, and these are simply the death throws of a dying animal. Uncoordinated, unrational, and pathetic. Strength has returned to this country, and is upheld by honestly. Those that can’t keep up, lose in the end.

        There you go STG News. THAT, is what you need to work on.

        The whole truth.

        Not just half truths that CLEARLY make you out to be biased. Unless of course, that’s what you’re going for? In that case, cheers!

        If it helps, we all LOVE your traffic accident reports!!! Hey, keep up the good work!

    • mesaman July 31, 2018 at 8:16 pm

      Hey Mr Ed, why don’t you contact Washington County Waste for a job? Seeing the way you pile the garbage on every time you attempt to write a column you would be a natural at the dump. Incidentally, have ever found one person that switched parties or was convinced you wrote a cohesive, rational column?

  • No Filter July 31, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    I am trying to be as fair as I can when discussing Trump, but when you say the things Trump says, you have to realize that the media is going to question it. I believe he is shaking in his boots about the November election and the Cohen tapes. Don’t do anything shady and you have nothing to be scared of Mr. President.

    • John July 31, 2018 at 4:34 pm

      Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Keep drinking that kool-aid cloggy! hahahahahahaha!

  • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 4:32 pm

    I don’t agree with all of the conclusions in the piece but I think its generally a fair analysis of Trump’s behavior and how utterly unAmerican his rhetoric has become. A republic is inherently threatened when a demagogue like him so vehemently tries to discredit the free press. We have granted far too much leniency and power to the POTUS and the Executive in general and some of the worst problems of that laziness are being exposed by this administration.

    Sadly, we see little evidence that the Congress is truly willing to put aside their partisan loyalties and challenge the Presidency. At some point I still hope that we will see a loyalty to the Republic and its principles greater than partisan power politiks but decades of political trench building prevent me from believing its likely.

    And if they don’t step up then the press is one of our last lines of defense. The question remains if enough Americans are willing to listen despite their partisan allies either remaining silent or actively denying the truth.

    • statusquo July 31, 2018 at 5:14 pm

      “Free Press”? The liberal rhetoric claims to support a Free Press while simultaneously dictating what is OK to say and what is not. The press is no longer free to print a lot of things that until recently were acceptable. Some examples to make my point

      – marriage is only between a man and a woman
      – white lives matter too
      – the National Rifle Association should be funded by the federal government to protect our second amendment
      – illegal immigrants should be sent back to where they came
      – killing the unborn is murder
      – Christian businesses have the right to deny service if it offends their religious beliefs
      – entitlement spending need to be eliminated to balance the federal budget
      – Donald Trump is making America great again

      • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 7:31 pm

        Media can print any of those opinions (they are not facts) and many do. Those all reflect extreme right wing ideology that is currently ascendent with many citizens.

        Ironically our founders thought the free press was most important in presenting facts so its citizens could form educated opinions. None of what you stated as examples are facts (except the “white lives matters” misconceived slogan as that has never been in question by the vast majority of Americans). And several of your opinions are entirely untrue and inconsistent with a Constitution that protects individual liberty (ie discriminatory view of marriage).

        It seems to me you are confusing free press with a waning national respect for extreme conservative views. They aren’t the same issues.

        • statusquo July 31, 2018 at 8:00 pm

          I never said these statements were “facts”.

          The original intent of the constitution gives the press freedom to print both facts and opinions.

          The left strives to silence any opinions they disagree with – and that’s a fact!

          • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 8:32 pm

            Ugh, not a fact but a clear opinion as well. The “fact” in that statement is citizens try to silence other citizens or use boycotts to remove pundits from circulation. But its not “left” so much as people of all persuasions. I mean it was Gunn who recently lost a job because of unsavory jokes because of a rightwing blogger.

            Fair correction about your original point. Yet my criticism stands, the opinions you stated are still printed just significantly less popular. Fewer people in this country agree with such extremism.

      • AnnieMated August 1, 2018 at 10:47 am

        – marriage is only between a man and a woman. No, Marriage is between 2 consenting adults.
        – white lives matter too. No one said they didn’t.
        – the National Rifle Association should be funded by the federal government to protect our second amendment. No. No it shouldn’t.
        – illegal immigrants should be sent back to where they came. I agree there.
        – killing the unborn is murder. Agreed but I would rather see the child born to parents who want them.
        – Christian businesses have the right to deny service if it offends their religious beliefs. Yep. And those who they deny have the right to take their money elsewhere and recommend everyone else to do so as well.
        – entitlement spending need to be eliminated to balance the federal budget. What is ‘entitlement spending’ again??
        – Donald Trump is making America great again. America always was and continues to be ‘Great’, despite what Donald and conservatives try to do.

        • comments August 1, 2018 at 1:51 pm

          I figure when the definition of marriage is pretty much two men “buggering” each other or 2 lesbians doing whatever it is they do and then being able to share medical and social security it’s pretty much time to just dissolve the entire institution of marriage.

          White lives being of no value is IMPLIED by msm by them ONLY covering blacks being shot by white cops. Never ever do they cover the event when the roles are reversed. This is what’s called an agenda.

          I was right tho, even most of you leftists want the illegal aliens to be thrown the hell out. I figure most leftists are as tired of them as I am (si, senor?). I figure I’m as in favor of abortions as most leftists, but I suspect my reasons for it are a bit different than the average brain dead snowflake lefty. haha 😉

        • mesaman August 1, 2018 at 2:40 pm

          So much for your animated Annie opinions. Now you can type but can you think? Only the future will determine it.

          • AnnieMated August 1, 2018 at 3:51 pm

            “The only means of strengthening one’s intellect is to make up one’s mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.” ~John Keats

          • comments August 1, 2018 at 4:22 pm

            You and I can thoroughly agree on this one, M&M. Animated Annie here aint real bright. My guess is she’s just another braindead snowflake. 😉

          • bikeandfish August 1, 2018 at 4:33 pm

            Great quote Anniemated

    • dogmatic July 31, 2018 at 5:17 pm

      Media manipulation in the U.S. today is more efficient than it was in Nazi Germany, because here we have the pretense that we are getting all the information we want. That misconception prevents people from even looking for the truth.
      Like you

      • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 7:23 pm

        And what truth am I missing? If it was so clear and obvious you can clearly provide proof to support your claim, right?

        • eddantes56 July 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

          A vibrant Republic does not need a free press; it requires an objective press. The vast majority of our press are partisan hacks. Proof? Watch ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC et al and let me know when you hear ONE substantive compliment/positive spin on a policy initiated or promoted by Trump.

          Our press is suppose to “call balls and strikes”, not support open borders, socialism, all our traditional institutions. Our press does not examine an issue and then lay out the pros and cons, positives and negatives….They “knee jerk” take the opposite position of Trump…..because they are scared….cat’s out of the bag. ?

          • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 8:24 pm

            You didn’t accept the challenge and deal with the issue I challenged you on.

            PS…can you show me where the founders talked about an “objective press”? I support a free press and they most definitely did as well. When you read their writings its often justified to call out elected officials who act in ways inconsistent with democratic norms, like Trump. From the First Continental Congress:

            “The last right we shall mention regards the freedom of the press. The importance of this consists, besides the advancement of truth, science, morality, and arts in general, in its diffusion of liberal sentiments on the administration of Government, its ready communication of thoughts between subjects, and its consequential promotion of union among them, whereby oppressive officers are shamed or intimidated into more honorable and just modes of conducting affairs.”

            They didn’t just support the subjective influence of the press but believed in using that privilege to “shame and initimidate” officials into behaving in “honorable” ways.

            Ironically, many of these same founders abandoned such ideals when the press didn’t dump praise on them later. Its why we should always value the ideas and ideals of historical figures instead of engaging in hero worship. ( Another piece of clarity, our media right now is rather tame compared to other points in American history.)

          • eddantes56 August 1, 2018 at 8:21 pm

            Since BandF does not have a reply option,

            I have no idea what issue you challenged me on. regardless, you are clever in trying to throw out a red herring, like “Can you show me…the founders”. I never mentioned the FFs on this issue. I gave you my opinion. Cherry picking from post-modernists like you is really rich. You and your buddy EK couldn’t sincerely support any of the WASP Founders or even the constitutional republic they debated and birthed. Even your ‘cherry pick’ has no context and could mean 20 things.

            I have no problem with shaming or even intimidating public officials. The swamp sure needs it. The point that you appear oblivious to is that our press is neither free nor objective. The major press power brokers don’t just lean left, they promote the same ‘critical theory’ birthed out of the Frankfurt school in the 30s and 40s and brought to Columbia U. And with Horkheimer, Lucas, Fromm, Derrida, Foucet and The whole bunch of post-modernists who were correct that if they took over the major U.S. institutions and critized American culture from all sides, they would hold great sway. They did and they do.

            I can’t remember when the cuck Republicans or anti-American Democrats or any of the news media lauded our Founding or our Founders. Outside of the occasional faint praise, as a nation, we are embarassed by our history, who we were and who we are.

            I grant the post-modernists this; they have won the culture war. There is nodigging ourselves out of the dengeneracy and barbarity of our current society.

            As for you, I grant you this, you can dish up a lot of rubbish. The best quarter Obama was 2.1 growth and I think that was near the end of his disastrous anti-American reign.

            Hate crimes and assaults are on minorities are higher than ever since 2016? Good grief, take a look at the FBI crime statistics and it is clear who is proportionally committing more crimes. As the number of fake hate crimes is surely up….even the kid at the Air Force academy claimed a hate crime and he was the perpetrator.

            Even if it is true that the death of mothers at birth in the U.S. is higher than other developed countries….what does that stat mean? What factors played a role.

            I’l love to see you mention the 50+ million babies killed since the inception of Roe vs Wade. 95+ percent of which were killed for convenience….no help of mother or rape or incest involved. I guess that about takes care of any idea that women should lead. If after men invented birth control for them, the best they can do is destroy life because they are too lazy or too barbaric to use contraception, imagine what might happen if they control any more aspects of our life. No tears for all of those innocent human beings with separate DNA.. ?

          • comments August 1, 2018 at 10:06 pm

            tldr

            😉

          • bikeandfish August 1, 2018 at 10:22 pm

            Hehe, I can clearly reply again.

            First, the “challenge” was actually to “dogmatic”, my error, but you directly replied to that comment which directly continues the previous conversation.

            Second, is it a red herring or a cherry-picking problem as in this case they are mutually incompatible claims. And more importantly, mentioning the founder’s ideals and statements in relation to discussions of the free press and fourth estate doesn’t qualify as either.

            Third, you are factually incorrect on GDP growth under Obama. My previous numbers are supported by multiple sources, including the primary ones. Obama has Trump beat in multiple quarters:

            https://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdp_glance.htm
            https://blog.bea.gov/2014/10/30/gdp-growth-moderates-in-third-quarter/

            Its amazing to me that so many people are truly ignorant of this reality despite vehement railing against Obama. Its the problem of our post-truth reality that Trump is manipulating. And here is the thing, unlike most liberals (which I’m not), I recognize and applaud Trump for the economic growth under his watch just like I do Obama. In fact, I appreciate the actual tax break I am currently getting even if I disagree with its long term strategy (my break ends in a few years). But I can do that because I value facts over loyalty to a specific politician, ideology or party. It doesn’t appear you value that sort of intellectual honesty.

            I’m still guessing you are actually Bryan Hyde given the log-in you chose and arguments you’ve made on this site but that’s just a guess. It could definitely be wrong. That said, you both engage in psuedo-intellectual regurgitation that more often than not is inconsistent with facts.

            Mortality of mothers is definitely up and is relevant when someone claims how great things are right now, ie the other post you ate ripping that out of context from. Given abortion isn’t remotely on topic I won’t respond to that illogical and unrelated retort.

            Again, maybe backup your rhetoric with facts. You are claiming the hate crimes are fake, prove it. Your example isn’t a refutation of national statistics as its a single example and poorly constructed inductive logic.(And no backpedaling with claims I need to support my previous statement. You moved on from it and made your own which I am directly challenging). Time to show some intellectual integrity.

            And its funny you claim I can’t make any valid arguments about the Constitution or founders yet you fail to correct any of my previous statements with fact. Please show me how that quote was wrong, cherry-picked, etc. Show us how its done.

            And your rant about the press are cute but lack historical merit. The “free press” is a reference to a lack of government control and oversight, ie the importance of the fourth estate. Debating the corporate role in such press is important but not related to a conversation regarding Trump’s attacks on journalism. (And I think we might agree on some elements actually).

            PS…if you are calling out logical fallacies its best not to use them yourself or fabricate lies. I’m neither buddies with Ed, as he can attest as I often stand in direct opposition to his columns, nor do I recognize your failed attempt to rhetorically discredit me with poorly constructed guilt by (non-existent) association fallacy.

  • Bender July 31, 2018 at 4:43 pm

    Demagoguery 101: Attack the free press. Everything Trump touches dies.

    • John July 31, 2018 at 4:55 pm

      Like the democrat party? hahahahahahaha!!

    • Real Life July 31, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      Gee Bender, does everything Trump touches die? Somebody is repeatedly repeating themselves.

    • Utahguns July 31, 2018 at 8:28 pm

      This weeks review:
      President Trump…
      * Struck a trade deal with the E.U.
      * Called out Twitter on shadowbanning
      * Remains of U.S. Soldiers returned from North Korea
      * Historic 4.1% GDP

      Democrats…
      * Banned drinking straws

      • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 10:31 pm

        I will give him credit for bringing home remains of US soldiers from the Korean War.

        I’ll believe his trade deal when details actually become public and its truly implemented.

        Are conservatives now supportive of the Executive interfering with Free Enterprise and the Free Market?

        The 4.1% GDP is not remotely historic. Obama beat that three time during his tenure: 4.6% Q4 ’11; 4.6% Q1 ’14; 5.2% Q3 ’14. Granted, the recent quarterly numbers could rise or fall in the next few updates as they often do as higher quality information is analyzed.

        But making that statement like you did exposes how many of Trump’s fans listen to his egotistical claims without fact checking. He constantly lies about his accomplishments as this highlights, see also his claims about inauguration crowd sizes, popularity ratings, etc.

        • Utahguns August 2, 2018 at 7:55 am

          Can you highlight the accomplishments of the Democratic party in the last two years?

          • John August 2, 2018 at 9:39 am

            Point goes to Utahguns….

          • bikeandfish August 2, 2018 at 10:03 am

            I’m not a democrat nor did I make claims about their policies.

            And a sad bit of news, there was only one dog tag in the remains returned to the US. It will take a while before we know for sure but there is a chance “Lil Rocket Man” played us as fools just like his dad did in the past. This isn’t the first shipment of remains to be repatriated and they were often non-human. Trump should be more careful celebrating this early and more knowledgeable of these past deceits.

      • No Filter August 1, 2018 at 8:12 am

        *The trade deal is preliminary only, don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
        *Calling out twitter because of a news article that is still not proven is nothing to praise, all he did was repeat what he heard.
        *While Trump praised the 4.1 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter, we must remember the economy exceeded that level four times during the Obama presidency: in 2009, 2011 and twice in 2014, but quarterly figures are volatile, and strength in one quarter can be reversed in the next.
        *He can take credit for the remains of U.S. Soldiers being returned, so I’ll give him that, lets just hope we figure out who they are if possible without expensive DNA testing.
        Any other fake news stories that Trump is trying to take credit for?

  • dogmatic July 31, 2018 at 5:00 pm

    The biases the media has are much bigger than conservative or liberal. They’re about getting ratings, about making money, about doing stories that are easy to cover.
    It takes broad shoulders to fight back.
    Eddy Boy is a idiot.

  • HarleyGuy July 31, 2018 at 5:30 pm

    What Trump really needs is a clue.

    • John July 31, 2018 at 6:43 pm

      I think he’s got a clue, he’s got billions and all you got is a bike…LOL

      • No Filter August 1, 2018 at 8:14 am

        How much money would he have if he paid his bills instead of filing for bankruptcy 6 times?

        • John August 1, 2018 at 10:03 am

          Did you ever bother to look on the actual details of those business bankruptcies? Of course not! You once again spout the libtard fantasy false narrative. You only believe what they want you to believe and you wonder why I call you clueless! hahahahahahahahahahahaha! You are being guided by the great carrot of the MSM and are to weak minded and clueless to see you are being played..

          • No Filter August 1, 2018 at 1:08 pm

            Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to restructure or wipe away much of their debt to other companies, creditors, and shareholders while remaining in business but under the supervision of a bankruptcy court. Nothing says a good businessman like screwing your investors and making them clean up your mess. Stop defending this clown and come back to reality. Enlighten me on your “actual details”. Here I’ll do it for you “your a stupid snowflake, go back to your moms basement”, “why don’t you stop eating your crayons”, “hahahaha, your clueless”. Almost forgot my favorite “keep drinking the kool-aid cloggy hahaha” That pretty much sums up your vocabulary I think, now go take your pills and watch your Fox news, like a good little Drumpf.

          • John August 1, 2018 at 1:55 pm

            Cloggy, you still didn’t read about the bankruptcies filed by Trump International’s investment companies.. I know what bankruptcy is and you are a moron for thinking it is something it is not. Why don’t you look up what Trumps bankruptcies were all about? It will blow your clueless mind, You continually prove your cluelessness.. No research or fact checking at all, again by the clogged one.You don’t know what you are talking about. hahahahaha!

          • John August 1, 2018 at 2:44 pm

            cloggy the clueless crybaby! hahahahaha!

          • No Filter August 1, 2018 at 3:27 pm

            Do tell almighty one, I would love to hear how you plan to spin this story around.

          • John August 1, 2018 at 5:37 pm

            Still waiting for you to actually research your stupid clueless comment, you better back it up slow one! hahahahahahahaha! clueless cloggy the crybaby!

          • comments August 1, 2018 at 10:05 pm

            poor ol’ cloggy doesn’t have a clue. LOL

          • No Filter August 2, 2018 at 8:34 am

            Your right comments, I don’t have a clue how you can blindly support this president. The strange phenomenon that has been created with him will leave people clueless for years to come. I just hope that he doesn’t ruin our country so badly that we never recover. Enjoy your time until the mid-terms because the crazy train is about to get derailed whether it be by the voters or Robert Mueller. They use to call the people alive around WWII the greatest generation, which I believe at the time they were, but today they all have Alzheimer’s and are being fed lies by the likes of Fox News and talk radio. Sad how our minds can turn to mush with age. One day I hope many of you living in southern Utah realize the mistake you made by voting for Trump, but I won’t hold my breath. Besides you all think some guy spoke to his imaginary friend in the sky and that he gave him a book of made up stories that said take as many wives as you want and pay me 10% of your money so I don’t have to work for a living. You guys will believe anything a fast talking white man will tell you.

          • John August 2, 2018 at 9:50 am

            cloggy just recites whatever the MSM tells him he should think and know. If he finds he has a free thinking cell in his own brain he would scare himself and have a stroke! cloggy the clueless content crybaby..hahahahaha! Did you bother to look up the TRUTH about Trump’s bankruptcies? Of course not, they don’t carry the Truth on your liberal sources.. although there is a pretty good analysis on, of all places, “snopes”. Did you know that 8 out of 10 business startups fail? That’s from USA Today. Do you have even the slightest clue of how many businesses were started by Trump? Of course not, the libtards at MSNBC didn’t want you to have that information. Get a clue cloggy and think for yourself .. #walkaway!!!!

          • bikeandfish August 2, 2018 at 10:12 am

            NoFilter,

            What do the “The Greatest Generation” have to do with any of this? Its a term most often applied to veterans who fought in WWII and it seems odd to drag them through the mud as political fodder. It doesn’t make any sense anyways as the youngest of them would be in their 90s and there are less than 500,000 of them left alive. Its ridiculous to bring them up and completely irrelevant.

    • mesaman August 1, 2018 at 2:41 pm

      You need to reroute your trikes exhaust. Inhaling it is ruining your brain.

      • John August 1, 2018 at 3:45 pm

        No exhaust fumes.. Pokemon cards in the spokes..

  • Real Life July 31, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    Freedom of the press is protected by the first ammendment, and Trump should honor it. That said, the msm is undoubtedly biased towards the left, and is not trusted by many for that very reason. It’s a shame that BOTH sides will take a small amount of truth and surround it with their own embellishment. As far as Trump goes, those close to him need to get him the hell off of twitter. That alone would get some of heat off of him.

    • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 7:22 pm

      I agree with much of what you say other than “the msm is undoubtedly biased towards the left.”. And then I guess it depends on what you mean. Are there media sources that skew left? Definitely and taken broadly and generally they may account for a plurality but not a clear majority. But there are a ton of “msm” sources that have historically skewed right and remain so: FOX, Breitbart, National Review, Wallstreet Journal, etc. There a ton of media outlets the skew moderately to extremely right. As many as the that have left-leaning bias? Likely not, given concentration of media in cities which generally skew left as populations, but there are enough to invalidate the myth and trope about the left-leaning msm. Its an old scheme to make conservatives look like under-dogs and its blatantly false.

      But I do think too many of us live in echo chambers with media sources that spin facts to fit narrow ideologies. And “both sides” are guilty of reinforcing that reality. It needs to change for the health of our country.

  • Lastdays July 31, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    This is just too funny. Ed was the Editor for the local paper for many years. And I can guarantee that he “controlled “ the content and slant of the printed word that entire time.
    I’m sure he also enjoyed the glory days of Obama’s 8 years as the news media did what ever they wanted to.
    Well, love him or hate him, Trump has called their bluff and is making the press earn their money for once. And they are Freaking Out every day because of that.
    Trump is just playing with these guys. He’s been a smack talking New Yorker his entire life. This is fun for him. It’s also very entertaining too.

    • John July 31, 2018 at 6:45 pm

      It’s entertaining. My mother taught me not to make fun of the handicapped, but when it comes to liberals I just can’t help myself. I made plenty of popcorn.

    • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

      I’m sorry but calling them the “enemy of the people” is not challenging them in a productive manner. Its a tool of a power hungry demagogue and its not consistent with our Republic’s basic values.

      I have no doubt its cathartic for folks like you who appear to be content witha “burn it all down” mentality but history doesn’t bode well for such enablers.

      • John August 2, 2018 at 10:00 am

        What’s wrong with calling a turd a turd? It makes you cry?

  • Utahguns July 31, 2018 at 5:47 pm

    So Edwardo:
    You think Trump should ask for broader shoulders?
    You should ask for a broader mind….

  • commonsense July 31, 2018 at 9:28 pm

    The press is by nature is liberal. Reporters are not doers. They are observers, not achievers. Trump is the antithesis of a liberal reporter and they hate him for it.

    The Harvard study showed 90% of the media saw themselves as liberal. But this has become acrimonious and dishonest because the media has assumed a mission to save America from Trump by reporting only items that advance their narrative.

    The fact is America is much better today than it was 18 months ago as measured by any parameters, but you won’t see it in the media.

    • bikeandfish July 31, 2018 at 10:43 pm

      How are we objectively better? Can you show me some facts that aren’t reported in the media? I mean, most of us have seen the GDP growth figures just released; as pointed out above they aren’t historic by any means. Most of us are aware of the unemployment numbers and the vigilant are concerned about the recent oscillations are they mirror the start of historic recessions; most of us are aware of the stock market gains but also aware that there are some indications and red flags of a pending drop and correction.

      Reports about North Korea are conflicting and its not certain if they are actually dismantling sites or actually building.

      Our executive was actually considering handing over Americans to Russia for questioning for a couple days until they got pushback. I would consider that a big decline and threat to our country.

      We are in another Twitter fight but now with Iran. Remember, Bolton has long wanted to attack and dismantle their government. I don’t consider that a good thing nor consistent with conservative ideology.

      More American mothers are dying during birth at higher rates than ever before in modern history. The number is higher than any other “developed country” (I hate that term but its the one used).

      Hate crimes and assaults on minorities are significantly higher than 2016.

      Do you want me to add more “parameters”?

      • John August 1, 2018 at 10:18 am

        Keep going…LOL

        • comments August 1, 2018 at 10:02 pm

          hahahahah, he’s got a lot of hot air he needs to blow out. 😉

  • Striker4 August 1, 2018 at 4:05 am

    I got some new socks today

    • Real Life August 1, 2018 at 8:40 am

      At 4 am? Did they come with a meth pipe?

      • John August 1, 2018 at 11:13 am

        And a coloring book I’m sure!

      • comments August 1, 2018 at 10:03 pm

        Maybe he got them free for applying for a job. hahahah. poor ol’ Dump <3

  • dodgers August 1, 2018 at 6:54 am

    White House reporter Kaitlan Collins said she was pulled aside Wednesday afternoon after shouting questions to Trump during an Oval Office meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and told she would be barred from a news conference. Her questions and her shouting were deemed inappropriate for the venue, and I agree. This was not the time and place for such questions and behavior. She was asked to leave, but refused. Consequently she was banned from the White House news conference, though CNN still retained their access.
    Sounds like another bad-apple “reporter” trying to embarrass our president and country, and get some attention.
    Her behavior and her questions were not appropriate (or relevant) for the setting.

    • bikeandfish August 1, 2018 at 8:49 am

      The White House Correspondence Association, the professional organization liaisoned with the WH for decades, disagrees, and so do many of their conservative members:

      “The White House Correspondents’ Association issued a statement about the incident, calling it an act of inappropriate “retaliation.”

      “We strongly condemn the White House’s misguided and inappropriate decision today to bar one of our members from an open press event after she asked questions they did not like,” the statement said. “This type of retaliation is wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak. It cannot stand.”

      Interestingly, CNN had just aired the Cohen tapes the night before. The WH has retaliated before.

  • comments August 1, 2018 at 2:05 pm

    “They do not serve the interests of the president or anybody else they are reporting on, they serve the public interests. That is where their first responsibility lies.”

    I’ve gotten to where I don’t usually waste my time reading special eddie’s ramblings but today figured why not. Special Eddie, today’s press represent the interests of the corporations they work for and their advertisers. In other words they represent $$$. Press that tries to represent actual interest of the public simply will not last in a game that’s ruled by $$$. Special Eddie, are you really this much of a naive fool? There are still likely some honest outlets for news, but the major players in the game are simply corrupt filth…

    • comments August 1, 2018 at 2:07 pm

      But I usually trust them when they report the weather. They seem to lie about everything else, but I’m not sure i’ve ever seen them lie about the weather. Wait till someone pays them to do so I guess…

  • Red2Blue August 1, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    Trump loves media attention, gets jealous when others on his staff get more. If the media turned him off, Trump would wilt like a peony.

    • bikeandfish August 1, 2018 at 9:41 pm

      I wish it were that simple. But as this site, video, etc highlight he is radically changing democratic norms within his own loyal base who won’t simply tune out. We’ll find out how much influence they have in November but I think it would ultimately be more dangerous to ignore him (see 2016 election when so many people didn’t take him seriously). I think a thorough accounting of his behavior is how we ultimately expose the breadth and depth of his unAmerican influences on our country.

      • John August 1, 2018 at 10:04 pm

        Keep going…hahahahahahaha! Damn, you know it all! Tell us more! Tell us more!!

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