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This Quartz piece from 2018, talks about how Trump's attempts to control the news, the narrative-if you will, are straight from Putin's playbook. It applied then & it applied last night. So important for us to pay att'n to what is REAL. #SaturdayThoughts qz.com/1336230/donald…
"1-A scandal erupts over something Trump or another White House official says or does. (In this case, audio of Trump and Cohen discussing how to buy the rights to a woman’s allegation that she had an affair with Trump.) 2-Media frenzy ensues. 3-The White House issues an
"outrageous-but-plausible-if-you-want-it-to-be denial about some detail of the story. (In this case, the White House released a transcript of the call, which claims Trump said “don’t” before “pay with cash.” The “don’t” is not audible on the tape.) 4-Journalistic rules about
"reporting both sides of the story mean the media spreads the White House version of events, whether the “don’t” is audible or not. 5-The story becomes muddied. Some attention is diverted to whether or not the White House has lied, rather than the scandal itself."
"*There was the walk-back over Trump siding with Russian president Vladimir Putin’s denial of Russian election hacking. The next day, Trump claimed he meant to say “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be” Russia, rather than “would,” as he said at the press conference. *When
"reporters later asked Trump if he believed Russia is targeting the 2018 midterm elections; he shook his head and said “no.” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later claimed he was saying “no” to answering questions—an odd way to refuse to comment on a question
"with a “yes” or “no” answer. *White House chief of staff John Kelly looked miserable as Trump ranted to NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg about Germany’s natural gas agreement with Russia. This follows a pattern of Kelly looking perturbed while Trump speaks. Sanders told
"the Washington Post that Kelly “was displeased because he was expecting a full breakfast and there were only pastries and cheese.” (The episode was beautifully satirized by Larry David in the New York Times)"
