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Trump is Transparent Whether You like It or Not – Says Time Inc. Correspondent
< < Back toWhether you like the content of his tweets or not, President Donald Trump will go down in history as one of our most transparent Presidents, according to Philip Elliott, a veteran Washington correspondent for Time, Inc.
Elliott claims that people know what the President is thinking or focusing on in real time if one follows the nature of his tweets on Twitter. This is especially true of this past weekend when the President delivered over 50 tweets on a variety of topics from Saturday Night Live’s parody of him, to John McCain, to Fox News, Fox News anchors, and corporate CEOs.
The scattering of topics, according to Elliott, also indicates to some White House observers that the President had nothing on his schedule and was attempting to grab the headlines away from the prior week’s rebukes by the Democratic House of Representatives and the Republican Senate.
Some pundits also believe that a common theme of Trump’s most recent “Twitter Blizzard” is that the President and his followers are being victimized by others in power in Washington and that Trump is a victim just like many people in his political base feel victimized. He contends he is a victim of Congress, the Democrats, the FBI, the Justice Department, the Special Counsel’s Office, former employees and the news media.
The analysis says that the more Trump’s base thinks he is being victimized like them, the more loyal they become to him.
In short, even though he is the President of the United States, Trump is framing himself as the “put upon outsider.”
While Trump paints his own portrait for 2020, the Democrats are fielding a record number of Presidential candidates. The field represents old and young, new ideas and well-worn Democratic principles. There are candidates steeped in issues, policy wonks, and there are candidates that have a following based upon personality and charisma.
Although this array is interesting from a reporter’s perspective, Elliott thinks that the Democratic Party could arrive at its convention in Milwaukee in 2020 without a predetermined candidate, thereby giving an advantage to Trump.
Finally, Elliott expressed concern over President Trump’s reference last week to potential violence from the military, police, and bikers. He also talks about the rise of white nationalism and anti-Semitism. He explains how reporters covering the White House are routinely subject to death threats based upon their profession, their heritage and/or their religion.