For anyone who loathes Donald Trump (yes, gang, I’m talking to you!), The New York Times Sunday Review section is mandatory, and gratifying, reading. (If you don’t have a print subscription, you can probably still get the Sunday Times at the grocery.)
The entire 10-page section was dedicated to establishing that Trump is “A Man Unworthy of the Office He Holds” — the title of the editorial.
Following the lead editorial, The Times broke Trump’s spectacular unfitness into five compartments: His Unapologetic Corruption, His Demagogy, His Fake Populism, His Incompetent Statesmanship and His Super-Spreader Agenda.
Here are some of the highlights from the editorial and the five sub-sections…
From the lead editorial:
- The enormity and variety of Mr. Trump’s misdeeds can feel overwhelming. Repetition has dulled the sense of outrage, and the accumulation of new outrages leaves little time to dwell on the particulars. This is the moment when Americans must recover that sense of outrage.
- Under his leadership, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stopped trying to protect consumers, and the Environmental Protection Agency has stopped trying to protect the environment.
- In June, his administration tear-gassed and cleared peaceful protesters from a street in front of the White House so Mr. Trump could pose with a book he does not read in front of a church he does not attend.
- He campaigned as a champion of workers, but he has governed on behalf of the wealthy.
From “His Unapologetic Corruption”…
Even Americans who don’t support Mr. Trump are filling his coffers. Each time the president, a family member or certain top administration officials visit a Trump property, taxpayers foot the bill for the security details that must tag along…Forget draining the swamp; the president slapped his name on it and began charging admission.
From “His Demagogy”…
A few months after his inauguration, he told a gathering of police officers that they should rough up the people they arrest. “Please don’t be too nice,” Mr. Trump said, to cheers.
From “His Fake Populism”…
Much ink has been spilled about whether Trump supporters voted for him out of economic anxiety or racial anxiety, with plenty of studies concluding the latter. But spend time at a dying factory and you might see how difficult it can be to disentangle the two.
From “His Incompetent Statesmanship”…
“From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first,” Mr. Trump warned in his Inaugural Address. Today, what that meant is clear in the decline of American leadership and the hallowed American brand, in the wariness of allies and the glee of strongmen.
From “His Super-Spreader Agenda”…
Pollution is up, fines for polluters are down, carbon emissions have risen and are poised to rise further. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, and millions of livelihoods destroyed, by a pandemic that could have been contained.
**
The final page of the section consisted of quotes from some of the people who have been close to the president and have come to their senses regarding his dangerous incompetence. Here are three of those quotes…
- This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism…Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. — Mary Trump, from her book about Trump called “Too Much and Never Enough.”
- He’s off the rails…And the honest people in the room know that he is crazy. — Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications director.
- As I’ve been saying since the beginning, Trump was a mobster, plain and simple. — Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Trump is bound to benefit by the endless attacks from The Times, which constantly preaches to its own choir. He can play the underdog and, in return, attack the liberal press–both of which will gain him votes.
It is characteristic of The Times that it allows its chief Washington correspondent, Peter Baker, to appear almost every day in support of MSNBC, which is virtually an organ of the Democratic National Committee.
Things didn’t use to be this way. “News” did not work in league with editorials.
Legitimate news sources, like the NY Times, do not work “in league” with the editorial department. I do understand that Fox News tells a different story, but that doesn’t make it true.
Also, when you have the president calling the nation’s top infectious disease expert “a disaster” and saying people are “tired” of hearing about Covid-19, traditional, he-said/she-said journalism has to go out the window — which it has, thank God.
I am not relying on Fox and I, too, loathe Trump. The Times, however, has been engaging of overkill for a long time, and it is fueling the opposition. No reasonable person needs The Times to tell him/her that Trump is awful. He’s on full display every day, and news commentators become superfluous and annoying.
When the president of the United States acts like a monster, it’s news. Just because he does it every day with no consequences, doesn’t change the news value. The NY Times editorials are important to read because so many people have become numb to the constant barrage of illegal and unethical acts by this president. I would hope this would remind people to take back some control of the chaos surrounding them, by voting. The editorials are important from a historical perspective as well. Future generations need to know that we were aware of how terrible a human being Trump is.
The Times editorial will have no effect on Trump world. The people I know in Trump world long ago dismissed any print media – not worthy of lining a bird cage they would say.
Trump world is obsessed in trying to to figure out how to make the obviously fake Hunter Biden story a big deal. As with many things have been the past few months, big deals in Trump world are big duds elsewhere.
What I think the endorsement is being aimed for is the small group of Republicans who like some of Trump’s policies, but loathe the man. A small defection of these people from the Republican vote can make a huge difference.
Wall Street Republicans who don’t want to be affiliated with the MAGA hat mobs.
I agree, but also think these editorials have a historical impact. Future generations need to know that the majority of people understood how dangerous Trump was.
Whether The Times’ news department is “in league” with the editorial department is probably something that only the top managers know for sure. It’s not enough, however, to avoid impropriety; one must also avoid *the appearance* of impropriety.
What did the NY Times do where they failed to avoid impropriety?
I’m with you, Allison. I don’t see any problem here whatsoever…Everything I quoted was in the Sunday Review section, which is, by its nature, commentary and analysis. The editorial board is not encumbered by any need to be even handed and doesn’t have to concern itself with the “appearance of impropriety.” To the contrary, this section was a model of editorial propriety.
People are going to believe what they want to believe about Trump or anything else whether they get their information from the NY Times, the KC Star, CNN, Fox News, etc., and at this point indications are that most voters have already made up their minds as to who they will be voting for on Election Day if they haven’t voted already. Yes, Trump is a big problem in and of himself and isn’t fit for office, but an equally big problems is all of the enablers who surround him waiting to do his bidding and they include anyone who is more than ready to give him a second term in office.
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I’m a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Oh, crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got
You say you just don’t see it
He says it’s perfect sense
You just can’t get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Songwriters: B.A. Robertson / Mike Rutherford (gb)
The Living Years lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC
People might be interested in this new article published in Vanity Fair yesterday:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/10/how-trumps-self-destructive-candidacy-could-blow-up-the-electoral-map
It discusses Kansas Congressional District 3. Polling is showing that Biden is winning the district 55-40. The Kansas GOP is now afraid that Barbara Bollier will pile up so many votes in CD 3 that will push her to a win. Remember the disclosed Susan Wagle talk recording had her saying the Republicans would lose CD 3 by double digits which why they need to gerrymander it to prevent that in the future.
Also the article infers that polling is showing the Trump lead in both Kansas and Missouri is down to low/middle single digits.