Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans stray from the script
Donald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.
Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the 80-year-old snapped. “You should not be here covering me.”
The lashing-out was a reminder that even Trump, who has expanded executive power and dominated the national consciousness, finds some things beyond his control. Indeed, 20 months into his second term, there is a widening gap between the president’s self-perceived invincibility and the reality of his waning influence.
Federal courts are reining him in. Congressional Republicans are straying from the script. Poll numbers are tumbling to historic depths, driven by persistent inflation, rising fuel costs and an increasingly unpopular war in Iran. For the first time since his improbable political resurrection, Trump’s aura of authority is fading.
But just like Trump found out in Iran, power comes from how much you can get others to go along with your plan. He has power when people capitulate in advance to his illegal and unconstitutional orders. Sure, the way he operates will become more illegal and unconstitutional when you ignore him, that won’t make him powerful so long as nobody listens to him. The journalist boycot in response to the press pass denial was the first thing resembling a spine from the media.
Emphatically agree except for the last sentence unfortunately, I think the reason that journalist boycott happened is because members of the White House press pool have agreement with each other to share resources
Like, the whole reason for a press pool is that it’s a logistical impossibility for every interested news organization to get a journalist into most events because there just isn’t enough space, so CNN Fox etc. say “Ok, your employees cover Monday, we do Tuesday, WaPo does Wednesday, etc., and we all share whatever video or audio we get.”
So, I think Fox heard about CNN and the others getting banned, and they were like “Oh so now we’re responsible Monday and Tuesday? Hell no, I’m not paying the staff hours for that, concentration camps and extrajudicial executions I can forgive but I will burn this government to the ground if they make me go over budget this quarter.”
It’s out of self-interest I agree. And now that it affects them, they are skipping the sanewashing on this one issue. If it didn’t affect them, they would be reporting on it like: