Donald Trump famously does not drink alcohol, but a new Wall Street Journal editorial characterizes him as acting a lot “like a drunk.” Not only does the publication draw that comparison, but it does so in the context of Trump’s constant lies, which continue to widen in scope and grandeur. To Trump, all negative reports come down to either “fake news” or “leaks.” He never apologizes for his lies, and the two most recent prominent examples would be Trump’s false claims that voter fraud cost him the popular vote and that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower. It’s exhausting.
The WSJ editorial isn’t a long piece, but it effectively wields a few key passages, including one that bizarrely takes a sympathetic view of Sean Spicer — who has taken to issuing straight-up propaganda on a daily basis — and yields no soft feelings for Trump while slamming his perpetual reliance upon falsehoods. Here, the wiretapping discussion gets ugly:
Yet the President clings to his assertion like a drunk to an empty gin bottle, rolling out his press spokesman to make more dubious claims. Sean Spicer — who doesn’t deserve this treatment — was dispatched last week to repeat an assertion by a Fox News commentator that perhaps the Obama Administration had subcontracted the wiretap to British intelligence.
If Trump did do the alcohol thing, his actions could possibly be explained away by the duplicitous magic of Bombay Sapphire. However, Trump is only drunk on himself, so the op-ed continues to shred Trump for his (compared to last week) tanking approval ratings :
Two months into his Presidency, Gallup has Mr Trump’s approval rating at 39 per cent. No doubt Mr Trump considers that fake news, but if he doesn’t show more respect for the truth most Americans may conclude he’s a fake President.
Yes, the WSJ actually comes out and says “fake president.” That would ordinarily be harsh, but it’s an op-ed, and we’re also taking about a dude who runs around making unfounded accusations of a criminal nature against an ex-president. He tweets his ragey feelings all day, every day, so judgment of being “unpresidential” is not unfair. What will tomorrow bring in Trump land? No one knows, not even the man himself, but it’s sure to be messy.
(Via Wall Street Journal)