It’s speculation, but…

It occurred to me while I was watching the news today that I’m watching chapter two of the Trump political show.  I was fooled by it, at first, during the primaries, but this looks a lot like round two.

I remember how, during the early primaries, Trump dominated the airwaves and media by the stupid and outlandish statements he’d make.  And the major media fell all over itself poking fun and telling what a stupid person this was who thought he could be president!  But in a game where name recognition is a major factor, he reaped millions of dollars’ worth of publicity for nothing, even while building a solid following.  His domination of the media shut out all opposition, including from the better, more truly conservative Republican candidates as well as the Democratic candidates.

Now, I’ve been baffled by the way the White House seems to be picking a fight with the media over such frivolous topics as the number of people on the mall for the Inauguration and, perhaps more important but still surprising, whether he would have won the popular vote if not for voter fraud.  Of course, the latter is important, and should be investigated if any evidence is available at all, but it’s not the kind of battle that should be conducted in the media.

But, while the media is full of indignation over these issues, Trump has quietly gone about getting some substantial things done – starting to dismantle Obamacare, supporting the oil pipeline, setting the stage for new trading relationships, etc.  And while the more important issues have indeed been covered, the dominant media voices have spent a lot of time on non-issues.

Modern politics is a circus, no doubt, but I wonder — just who is the clown?

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