The Patriot Post Digest 1-24-2017

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-24-2017
From The Federalist Patriot
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Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 24, 2017

IN TODAY’S EDITION

Trump and his spokespeople must stop engaging in petulant and sophomoric molehill battles with media and celebrities.
Give Trump time to work on immigration before insisting he broke a promise.
And more news, policy and opinion.

THE FOUNDATION

“We are, heart and soul, friends to the freedom of the press. It is however, the prostituted companion of liberty, and somehow or other, we know not how, its efficient auxiliary.” —Fisher Ames (1807)

FEATURED RIGHT ANALYSIS
Memo to Trump: Don’t Swap Spit With Jackasses!1

By Mark Alexander

For the eight years Donald Trump hosted his successful reality TV show, he had complete control over the script. But in actual reality, as president, the Leftmedia talkingheads are well versed in promulgating their own narrative and it can be a lot louder than Trump Tweets. When these two competing forces meet, there is inevitable conflict. Unfortunately, these conflicts between Trump and the mainstream media continue to erupt over petty tussles, diverting political capital from much more important issues.

The latest example of this tug of war was the contested claims about the size of the inaugural crowd. There is little doubt that the Leftmedia’s intent in this debate was to belittle Trump and bait him into a response, which they received. And the Trump administration’s “alternative facts2” and suggestions that photographs of the inaugural crowd were intended to “lessen the enthusiasm” and were “shameful and wrong” only succeeded in turning a molehill into a mountain.

Trump’s White House spokesman Sean Spicer burned up half of his first press briefing Saturday defending attendance numbers, including this questionable assertion: “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period — both in person and around the globe.”

Now, as it pertains to turnout for inaugurals, in 2012, Barack Obama won 91% of the vote in Washington, DC, and mass majorities in surrounding government bureaucrat bedroom communities in Maryland and Virginia. Notably, Hillary Clinton also won 91% in 2016. It was easy for millions of Obamaphiles to commute to the national mall for his coronation, and just as easy for hundreds of thousands of local libs to converge on DC to protest the Trump inaugural3.

Meanwhile, most of Trump’s voters are much more evenly spread across the nation. Of course, the mainstream media ignored this rather significant detail in their reporting.

But the point is, Trump and his spokespeople must stop engaging in petulant and sophomoric molehill battles with media and celebrities. Throwing out “alternative facts” does not “win” the argument, nor does it expose the genuine media bias, like fake news claims that a bust of Martin Luther King had been removed from the Oval Office4.

Spicer would have won the day responding to the question of attendance with 15 words instead of 500: “There were far more people here for Donald Trump’s inaugural events than for Hillary Clinton’s!” Or he could have taken the tack of Kellyanne Conway, who opined, “I don’t think ultimately presidents are judged by crowd sizes at their inauguration. I think they are judged by their accomplishments.”

The ancient wisdom of Proverbs 26:4 warns, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.” Trump’s eagerness to challenge Leftmedia bias and “fake news” resonates only when it does not propagate “alternative facts” that are demonstrably false. And, being that Trump is now president and no longer a candidate or a reality TV star, diverting from much more important issues by engaging in petty molehill battles is a costly unforced error.

TOP RIGHT HOOKS

Trump Yet to Act on Immigration5

Concern has begun to mount among various conservatives over the fact that Donald Trump has not yet kept one of his more significant campaign promises. At a speech in late August last year, Trump vowed to “immediately terminate President Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties, in which he defied federal law and the constitution to give amnesty to approximately five million illegal immigrants.” Trump was referring to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents), two of Barack Obama’s most lawless executive actions enacted in June 2012.

When Trump spokesman Sean Spicer was asked about why the new president had not rescinded DACA and DAPA, he answered, “‘First and foremost, the president’s been very, very clear that we need to direct agencies to focus on those who are in this country illegally and have a criminal record or pose a threat to the American people. That’s where the priorities are going to be and then we’re going to continue to work through the entire number of folks that are here illegally. But right now the clear focus is on that.” In other words, hang on and we’ll get to it.

Yesterday, Chris Wallace of Fox News asked White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus a similar question regarding Obama’s executive orders on amnesties. Priebus hinted at a long-term solution: “I think we’re going to work with House and Senate leadership as well to get a long-term solution on that issue.” Once again the answer was “wait.”

So, what’s happening here? Has that infamous Beltway water begun to so infect the Trump administration that they’re no longer concerned about the problem of illegal immigration? Not likely. For one thing, consider Trump’s speaking style, which is typically hyperbolic. The mainstream media lampoon him for this and therefore can’t take him seriously. However, the key to understanding Trump is listening to what he means while not getting hung up on the particulars of how he says it. Obviously, this is no simple task, nor is it an excuse to not hold him accountable for his campaign promises. Still, holding him to the “immediately” statement on timing a few days into his presidency and claiming he broke his promise fails to see the bigger picture.

Trump can’t do everything “immediately.” Various issues require priority of focus and logistical considerations as well as both public and private dealing, all of which are part of the way both businesses and politics function. Give him a little time before declaring that he has failed to keep a campaign promise.