In the middle of all the falderol which is largely created by the President, he has made two observations that bear further scrutiny. He said that his White House needs to change its communication strategy. And, this morning after attributing words to the Muslim Mayor of London after last night’s attack that the Mayor did not say, the President said we need to end political correctness to solve problems.
I see these two comments as very much related. As many, including his own fans, have noted the President’s worst enemy is the man who looks back in the mirror when he shaves. What he says and tweets gets him into trouble.
So, let’s look at these two recommendations. Yes, the White House should change its communication strategy, but it should consider a new idea. They should start telling the truth. Many things bother me about this President, but his high frequency of lying is probably the worst. Yet, his biographers forewarned us. The five writers all said the President has always had a problem with the truth. Thomas Wells, an attorney who worked with the President, said he lies daily about even inconsequential things.
As for political correctness, I agree that we need to be more frank. With that said, being politically incorrect does not give you license to be a jerk or lie. You can be politically incorrect without both, using doses of diplomacy and civility. So, when the President makes a point that is directionally correct, he offends by being a jerk or adding some untruths.
In this vein, let me offer some constructive advice to the President. Our problems are often complex that simple sounding solutions are not the right remedy. It would help us all for you to be truthful and use verifiable data rather data that has been discredited.
As an example, pulling back from world leadership will be harmful to America and the planet. You may want to study the “Nash Equilibrium” which warranted a Nobel prize in Economics for its creator, John Nash who was portrayed by Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind.” In essence, we all make more money if we try to maximize each other’s profits rather than trying to maximize just our own. This does not mean we should overlook groups that are harmed by change, but we need to be mindful of all reasons that may cause pain.
Finally, being politically incorrect requires the truth. Painting one group as the bogeyman does a disservice to greater problems. Domestic terrorism by one of the 1,000 hate groups in the US dwarfs that of Islamic extremists. Yet, when three Americans are knifed by a white supremacist as they defended two Muslim American women, the President had to be shamed into speaking up. And, when he did, he did not use his more popular tweeting venue which likely has more white supremacist followers. Yet, he will be quickly critical of anything that may be due to Islamic extremist.
I recognize fully the President won’t heed this advice. Lying has worked for him for a long time. He treats the truth as a commodity, tending to only use it when it serves his purpose. We need to hold him accountable when he does not tell the truth or when he treats people poorly, especially when they are our allies.
musingsofanoldfart 
I haven’t read yet what Trump said about the London tragedies, but I can only imagine. What a jerk.
Janis, he likes to compete on any issue. I think that because the Mayor is Muslim, he can lay blame on him. But, here is the deal. A Muslim Mayor of one of the largest Western cities is the absolute best ammunition against Islamic extremism, while our President with his words is a recruiting poster for these extremists. Keith
No, Mayor Khan did not say there was ‘no reason to be alarmed’. To distil what he said, his message was basically of defiance, and actually mirrors the thoughts and feelings of many ordinary citizens.
I do try and be diplomatic and objective in my critical appraisals but after this latest ‘one’ I have to say ‘You have a boob for a president’ and my heart goes about the vast majority of ordinary decent US citizens trying to deal with this daily tomfoolery.
Roger, I do my best not to name call, but you will get no argument from me on this. Again, I go back to my standing premise that the odds are in my favor not to believe a word he says. It makes it easier. Keith
In the matters of empathy and sensitivity I fear he has been found seriously wanting
Roger, I agree, empathy is a word that does not come to mind when I think of the man in the White House. Keith
This morning’s reading material provided summaries of what’s happening in Ecuador, so I was reading about corruption scandals, about new policies, about old policies, etc, and when I saw the title to your post, I forgot it was about the USA and wondered, ‘What’s happened?”
Ha… I think/hope that Moreno will be be a wise president who sets an international example. No one new in office can transform and change – for the better in a short time. It takes a while to absorb the task and slowly begin winning the trust of others,and little by little make adjustments and improvements.
We know of another president who is doing the polar opposite!
Lisa, quite simply, corruption exists in any form of government. Here in the states, our lobbyists and money driven elections, make it more legitimized, but it leads to corruption nonetheless. If you follow Gronda, she has laid out fairly convincingly that the incumbent President’s issues with Russia is all about his money. Keith
Money; sigh. Unfortunately that’s the big stumbling block… Hmmm, I wonder if that forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden might have come from the Money Tree?!!!
Lisa, it may have indeed. Keith
Trump is an embarrassment and worse, the rest if the free world will decide to bypass Washington and Trump as they have stated they will do regarding the climate change accord. Under his leadership ( I use that word loosely) we have lost credibly with our allies and as the leader if the free world, we hardly qualify under his agenda. He has ignored all advice regarding keeping his mouth closed and mind open. He is hopeless yet they are still circling the wagons for him.
Holly, to your point, John Kerry said these actions will “make America last.” This President hates two major things – being criticized and being ignored. Of the two, I think he would actually prefer to be criticized as he at least is not being ignored. He has backed away on several dealings in groups, the last being the Paris accord. He will continue to get criticized, but he will be ignored as the adults talk about our planet here and abroad. Keith
I think the wise thing to do is shut this president down as our allies are doing. The world will carry on, unfortunately he may indeed make America last.
Holly, they seem to do a much better job of calling him on the carpet. The press release from the London Mayor was perfect referencing the President’s ill informed comments. I don’t know if this kind of reaction will ever reach his zealous fan base, but if the ones on the periphery see it, the comments may be witnessed. Keith
Today I read a comment praising the words of Trump and his criticism of the London mayor, etc. In fact the entire thread was filled with hysteria, the fact that these are home grown terrorists, citizens of these countries that are carrying out the horrific acts goes unaddressed. There is a huge chasm of opinion and ideals that I see no resolution for.
Holly, it is indeed frustrating that his base does not the amount and severity of this man’s lying. To this President, the truth does not matter. Again, he has no realization that he personally galvanizes ISIS, not make us safer. On a different issue, John Oliver said DT is correct, leaving Paris will create more jobs – for China. Keith
Yay for JO. His sense of humor is a delight and he is right on most times.
He says we must stop being politically correct, but when was HE EVER politically correct? He has no filter for his mouth, nor for his actions. No, even if he saw your post, he would not listen to your advice. He would twist your words to suit his own purposes and say you are ‘very bad’ and a ‘loser’. I am so damn tired of this ‘man’. Excellent post, Keith!
Jill, you are indeed correct. As for him not heeding, I agree he would attack me as per a Wells, “He obsesses over criticism.” As Holly notes, leaders abroad are better at pushing back. He will not let this go, which may be the one way for his zealous supporters to see the push back. I still think their tribal behavior is beyond the pale. Keith
I certainly agree with that. And when they finally wake up and see what damage he has done, they will cry the loudest and … in trumpesque manner, they will blame the rest of us who tried to tell them all along. Where’s my rolling pin … ???
Jill, I hope you are right. With him convincing every in his tribe that the news is out to get him, he will go his best to blame others – Teflon Don. Keith
Note to Readers: Just to be certain people understood the US President, he doubled down on taking the London Mayor out of context. In a way, it is his manner of saying “Yes, I am that stupid.” Khan is the best weapon against Islamic extremism – a visible, successful Muslim in the Western world. Trump is their best friend and poster child for recruitment of terrorists. Khan should be held up as an example, yet the US President does not seem to grasp this concept.
He actually achieved the exact opposite of what he was attempting, by showing Mayor Khan, who we might not have even noticed, as being the mature, gracious and intelligent person he is, in complete contrast to da Trump.
Jill, I agree, but look at Holly’s comments about what she read and it makes you want to beat your head against the wall. Krith
Yes, I have read similar things and have already been beating my head on a wall!!! I think I have beaten something loose in there, as I hear a rattle every time I turn my head now. Sigh. Sorry, but just needed to inject a smidge of humour. 🙂 Some days … sigh …
Dear Keith,
He is listening to his darker alt-right angels headed by none other than Steve Bannon. He is not even hearing his daughter.
I AM DETECTING A PATTERN. In Europe (England) there have been 3 forms of terrorism utilized over 3 separate events, the knife, the vehicle and the explosion. This is also true in the USA.
In the USA, the terrorist group of choice is White Supremacist. IN Europe, the terrorist group of choice is ISIS. But here in the USA, there has also been the explosion, the knife stabbing and the vehicle. The terrorist choice for usage of twitter is the “telegram, a Russian company based in Germany.
So far, the culprits have been mostly homegrown idiots who have been radicalized and not refugees from the countries listed on DDT’s travel ban. There may be one exception with the recent London Bridge tragedy.
This write up is based on a 2013 Techcrunch.com article:
Created by the founders of Russia’s biggest social networking platform, Telegram is a new messaging app that offers speed, security and features such as secret chats with end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages.
Brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, who launched VK (originally called VKontakte) in 2006, began working on Telegram 18 months ago as a research project because they wanted to create something that was “really secure and fun at the same time.” The importance of Telegram was underscored when Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA and PRISM were first made public in June.
This is from 2014 FreeBeacon.com blog:Propaganda and media accounts associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) are now being hosted by a Russian social media platform after the terror group was thrown off U.S. sites such as Twitter, according to a new intelligence report.
At least 18 official ISIL accounts responsible for disseminating the group’s violent propaganda, including two videos of Americans being beheaded, are currently being hosted by the VK website, Russia’s largest social network, according to an intelligence brief released by the SITE Intelligence Group.
VK, which resembles Facebook, has upwards of 250 million subscribers and is known for hosting the social media site of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who, along with his brother Tamerlan, executed the April 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon.
ACCORDING TO A 2015 Atlantic report, these sites are now also favored by White Supremacist groups.
Both these Russian entities have claimed that groups like ISIS are being kicked off, but credible watchdog entities give both above described Russian systems, failing or very poor grades.
The question I am asking, are these groups being encouraged by Russian operatives or paid by Russian operatives? What better way to sow chaos, discord etc than with the instigating of these terrorist group members?
Ciao, Gronda
Gronda, I think you just wrote your next post. Thanks for sharing. Bannon’s influence scares me with such uninformed President, who does not know the evil that Bannon is espousing.
Equally troubling is the tailwinds that the President gives to these white supremacists. They are feeling empowered and less restrained. The fact they are communicating secretly is very troubling.
Thanks for your thoughts. I hope you had a nice weekend. Keith
Dear Keith,
I just blogged as you suggested.
Ciao, Gronda
I will head there now.
Note to Readers: An honorable man testified today under oath and a man known for his untruthfulness said he was lying except for the one part he liked, which of course should be regarded as truthful. Which man do you believe?