Pearls before swine: Trump pigs out on epithets
TOI correspondent from Washington: Growing tensions between the Trump White House and the largely liberal Washington press corps reached a flashpoint this week after the MAGA boss directed a crude insult towards a feminine journalist and threatened to revoke the license of a broadcast community whose reporter requested him robust questions.The first episode unfolded on November 14 on Air Force One when Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey, touring with the President, pressed him on the discharge of the Epstein recordsdata. A clearly irked Trump raised his index finger and snapped: “Quiet! Quiet, piggy!” – a slur that reverberated throughout the media world.In a subsequent episode on the White House on Tuesday, Trump unloaded on ABC reporter Mary Bruce, who bluntly questioned him in regards to the appropriateness of his household doing enterprise in Saudi Arabia whereas he’s President, after which directed a query to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman relating to the U.S. intelligence conclusion that he orchestrated the homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.A livid Trump instructed her to not “embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” as he erupted at her community ABC, calling it “fake news” and “one of the worst in the business.” When an unflustered Bruce adopted up by asking why he needs to be ready for Congress to launch the Epstein recordsdata when he may do it himself, Trump misplaced his cool, complaining about her “attitude, and calling her a “terrible reporter.” He then questioned if the license of the Bruce’s community ABC needs to be taken away as a result of “your news is so fake,” going as far as to counsel he would ask the FCC chair to look into it. The newest confrontations and insults match squarely inside Trump’s well-documented playbook of utilizing epithets and bullying to manage and dominate media interactions, notably the place it includes girls. Since his entry into nationwide politics, he has systematically deployed gendered slurs to undermine feminine crtiics who problem his narratives, going again to the “Nasty Woman” epithet he deployed in opposition to Hillary Clinton throughout a 2016 debate, calling Senator Elizabeth Warren “Pocohontos,” adopted by “cackling Kamala” in opposition to Kamala Harris. Journalists like Megyn Kelly, Mika Brzezinski, and April Ryan have all been subjected to extremely private, usually appearance-based, or vaguely sexualized slurs from the President, demonstrating a constant tactical alternative: when confronted by a girl asking an inconvenient query, pivot instantly to private humiliation and denigration to deflect from the topic.Although the White House Correspondents’ Association has affirmed the need of asking robust questions and condemned the usage of “demeaning and unprofessional language,” most White House reporters, no angels by any account, swallow the slights to remain on the beat and maintain access in a job that has become increasingly challenging. The White House on its part has tried to overcome the liberal mainstream media’s tough posture with a makeover of the press corps, drafting several MAGA influencers whose softball questions and sycophancy would be the envy of the North Korean leader. Since his entry into national politics, Trump has manufactured hundreds of disparaging monikers for his opponents, including men. His political rogues’ gallery includes “Lyin’ Ted Cruz,” “Liddle’ Marco Rubio,” “Pencil Neck Adam Schiff,” and, “Crooked Joe Biden.” More recently critics have tried to respond likewise, for instance, calling him “Cheeto” “Felonious Trump” and “Dozing Donald” after he was seen napping during a White House event. But none of the nicknames have stuck to Teflon Don.
