— Published with Permission of ConservativeHQ.com —
Imagine you’re at a new place of employment and through office gossip, you learn the person you replaced has been brazenly criticizing the way you conduct yourself on the job.
Over the course of time you also see ample evidence your predecessor was a rule-breaking incompetent whose arrogance destroyed the morale of the workplace and split it down the middle between those who supported his politically correct management-schmoozing act and those who recognized he was a cancer to the administration — and if he had stayed any longer it would likely mean the destruction of the entire organization.
Unfortunately, this is the very real scenario facing President Donald Trump today. As a candidate, Trump ran on a platform of “Make America Great Again” and once elected set forth on a mission to restructure the way the federal government works — which naturally demanded he reverse nearly all of his predecessor’s policies.
Trump has been incredibly successful in doing so in just a short time. Needless to say, there’s been a remarkable distinction in personality and temperament between him and Obama. Apparently, Trump’s new way of handling things is drawing unsolicited comment from the man he supplanted.
Edward-Isaac Dovere of Politico reported, “Barack Obama’s advice on the presidency: Watch your behavior — because everyone else is watching it, and taking cues from it.
“‘One of the things that Michelle figured out, in some ways faster than I did — was part of your ability to lead the country doesn’t have to do with legislation, doesn’t have to do with regulations, it has to do with shaping attitudes, shaping culture, increasing awareness,’ Obama said in a conversation recorded last fall but released on Friday as the first episode of David Letterman’s new Netflix show, ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.’
“As he’s done since the end of the 2016 election, Obama ducked any direct comment on President Donald Trump, even when prompted by Letterman directly in the friendly hour-long interview.”
On balance, Obama’s advice is a bunch of nonsense. Americans don’t and never have taken behavioral cues from the president; just because Trump tweets at all hours of the day and night hasn’t motivated anyone to do the same and it’s safe to say most of us have no desire whatsoever to mimic his eccentric personal habits such as eating only one (huge) meal a day.
Based on his comments in Dovere’s article Obama felt more than free to indirectly comment on Trump and the stark change in direction the country is experiencing under the new leadership of a man who cares a lot more about on-the-ground results than he does about stepping on the media’s toes or making some special interest group happy.
In the same interview, Obama had the audacity to mention the Russians which admittedly takes guts since it’s becoming more and more obvious that his administration’s Justice Department was the driving force behind the “red scare” leaks that took place in the lead-up and aftermath of the 2016 election. No matter how much evidence is revealed to the contrary Democrats cling to the notion that Republicans actively sought to suppress the vote and the Russians meddled to help Trump.
As far as presidential “behavior” goes, one thing that’s noticeably improved since Obama left office a year ago is the comparative absence of racially charged civil unrest in American cities today. In Obama’s final couple years it seemed like every other day there was a near riot somewhere with #BlackLivesMatter mobs out in force creating havoc and wreaking mayhem in plain view of fascinated media personnel bent on recording every raised fist and shouted mantra.
Of course, Donald Trump campaigned on the premise of restoring civility to America’s cities which certainly includes seeking out and punishing those who break the law rather than peacefully expressing their First Amendment rights. If such increased enforcement is currently taking place it isn’t evident on the evening news.
Except for the ubiquitous leftist-orchestrated campus protests and the hubbub in Charlottesville (and other places) over the removal of Confederate statues in Trump’s first year the landscape of “no justice no peace” has calmed down considerably. Either that or it’s still going on out of earshot and nobody’s paying attention to it anymore. I can’t really say.
But it also could be the preponderance of the race hate is just being redirected at Trump himself. Trump’s alleged comments last week about trying to steer the immigration question away from “sh—hole countries” brought the race-baiting boo-birds out of hiding with numerous commenters from both parties anxious to declare his words “inappropriate” and “racist.” Trump denies using the “sh—hole” term but even if he did, those on his side of the immigration fight largely agree with him on the gist of what he said.
(Note: Sen. David Purdue, who was in the meeting, said Trump never even used the “sh—hole” term.)
In other words, Obama can spout off all he wants about a president minding his behavior but Trump is now in charge and he’s got a different style, different priorities and different friends. We shouldn’t forget Obama was always the first one to treat any racially charged unrest as the fault of police officers or systematic racism rather than placing blame on the hoodlums out to make hay – and money – off of “protesting” and drawing media attention.
The fact Obama continues to feel empowered to comment on his successor’s “behavior” indicates the former president still believes he set the standard for proper White House deportment. Likewise, his “fans” in the media worship Obama as though he never left — a type of celebrity adoration all too common in today’s rapidly deteriorating American culture.
Why do we allow people like Obama and his Hollywood actor friends to be our role models? Jonah Goldberg wondered the same thing, writing at National Review, “[F]or most of human history, actors were considered low-class. They were akin to carnies, grifters, hookers, and other riffraff…
“The interesting question is: Why have movie stars and other celebrities become an aristocracy of secular demigods? It seems to me an objective fact that virtually any other group of professionals plucked at random from the Statistical Abstract of the United States — nuclear engineers, plumbers, grocers, etc. — are more likely to model decent moral behavior in their everyday lives.
“Indeed, it is a bizarre inconsistency in the cartoonishly liberal ideology of Hollywood that the only super-rich people in America reflexively assumed to be morally superior are people who pretend to be other people for a living.”
Yes indeed. Goldberg attributes the decline in the American public’s cultural standards to the receding nature of organized religion, suggesting we look to “feelings” to be our guide rather than a higher power. Goldberg is certainly no fan of Donald Trump yet his point definitely applies to the realm of politics as well as entertainment; Obama and the left’s “feelings” are hurt by Trump’s sometimes coarse nature and therefore they believe he’s un-presidential and unfit for the job.
Obama and his ilk argue what Trump did twenty or more years ago still has bearing on the way he conducts himself as president today. The Bible says a leopard can’t change its spots but there’s plenty to infer Trump has done just that – at least where his personal actions are concerned. Trump may have been a womanizer in the old days but there’s nothing to indicate he’s anything less than devoted and loyal to wife Melania and his family now.
To put it a different way, Trump is no Bill Clinton.
Trump doesn’t need to keep declaring himself morally or behaviorally fit to act as president; he understands the voters already made that decision and it isn’t up to Hollywood or Obama to virtue signal their disapproval of the manner in which he “behaves” in office. You can take a showman out of Hollywood but you can’t necessarily take Hollywood out of the showman.
Trump’s public persona is his own; many don’t like it because it differs markedly from past presidents but Trump’s mannerisms and speech patterns aren’t impacting his effectiveness as chief executive whatsoever. As Obama himself famously said, the president always has a pen and a phone. Trump uses those implements just like any other president – and he’s doing it well.
It could be said Trump is just a different kind of actor playing the role. The liberal critics hate his performance but the part of the public that matters appreciates his candor and focus.
The media won’t help Trump but they’re about to get a dose of their own medicine. Brent D. Griffiths of Politico reported last week, “President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the ‘fake news awards’ he teased recently will be postponed, saying interest had exceeded his expectations.
“‘The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday,’ the president wrote on Twitter. ‘The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!”
It turns out Trump was right. Some in the leftist media are even campaigning for the title. Griffiths further reported, “Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ took out a full-page ad in The New York Times with a for-your-consideration appeal along the lines of the pricey campaigns movie studios use to pitch their films and actors for Academy Awards. TBS’ ‘Full Frontal with Samantha Bee’ tweeted an ad pushing the show for ‘shrillest reporting,’ and Stephen Colbert hawked his CBS late night show, tweeting that he was ‘so excited’ for the ‘Fakies’ and purchasing a billboard in Times Square.”
Let ’em laugh and ridicule all they want. The “fake news” media and the outlandish behavior of people like Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert makes a mockery of the entire industry. They’re all competing for the same small slice of hardcore leftist audience – here’s thinking Trump won’t toss them a bone at all by giving any of these losers a “Fake News” award.
Instead, Trump will concentrate on the elements of the media where being labeled “fake” would make a point — watch out CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Americans already look upon these news outlets with skepticism; they can’t hide any longer.
There’s no doubt about it, the left is using Trump’s colorful use of language and “behavior” to distract from the progress he’s achieved in making America great again. The former president’s demeanor may have been more to the liberals’ liking — but it’s not his show to run anymore.
