Trump tower

Thursday December 19, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 19, 2019

‘Historic rebuke’: what the US papers say about Trump’s impeachment

There was not much debate on the top story in the US on Thursday morning, with the two votes to impeach Donald Trump getting near universal coverage.

August 23, 2018

“Trump impeached” is the headline in one of the president’s least favourite papers, the Washington Post. It devotes its entire front page to coverage, under a picture of speaker Nancy Pelosi. One headline reads: “An impeachment that mirrors his presidency: Disruption and division”. Alongside a picture of the president at the rally he hosted at the same time as the House vote, the Post runs the headline: “Unclear path to a virtually certain Senate acquittal”.

Andrew Johnson

On Twitter the paper also posted its front pages for Clinton’s impeachment (1998) and that of Andrew Johnson (1868).

The New York Times carries exactly the same headline (“Trump impeached”), saying after “fierce arguments, House approves a charge that he abused power”.

The paper’s editorial says Republicans are “following him (Trump) down” and that “ignoring facts and trashing the impeachment process is no way to protect democracy”. It says there is plenty of blame to go around, “but the nihilism of this moment – the trashing of constitutional safeguards, the scorn for facts, the embrace of corruption, the indifference to historical precedent and to foreign interference in American politics — is due principally to cowardice and opportunism on the part of Republican leaders who have chosen to reject their party’s past standards and positions and instead follow Donald Trump, all the way down.”

November 2, 2019

USA Today splashes with one word: “Impeached”, and says the Clinton impeachment is a “study in contrasts”. The paper’s editorial headline is: “Donald Trump’s impeachment defenders set a dangerous precedent”.

“The Republicans have engaged in a whole pattern of behavior that will undermine Congress’ ability to serve as a check on presidential overreach,” it writes, adding that the Senate jurors like Lindsay Graham, who has said he will not pretend to be fair in the impeachment trial “are colluding with the defense lawyers to help ensure a favorable outcome at trial”.

Bill Clinton

Politico magazine’s front cover also has a one-word headline: “Impeached”, over a picture of Trump. It says the house has delivered a “historic rebuke” and describes Trump’s conduct as “A bruised ego, a Twitter eruption and a winding rally”.

The paper reports that although the White House was keen to suggest this was just a normal day for the president, and that Trump was “busy working and only ‘between meetings’ catching snippets of the action on the House floor, his Twitter feed belied that claim and showed a president obsessed with the historic nature of this day.”

November 16, 2019

Politico said that through four dozen tweets and retweets, “Trump did not shy away from weighing in on his favorite medium. “SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!, he tweeted around lunchtime Wednesday.” (The Guardian)  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/19/historic-rebuke-what-the-us-papers-say-about-trumps-impeachment

 

Saturday December 24, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday December 24, 2016 Trump Tower failing to do its bit to Make Christmas Great Again At a Òthank youÓ rally in early December,ÊDonald TrumpÊpromised that he would Make Christmas Great Again. ÒWeÕre going to start saying ÔMerry ChristmasÕ again!Ó Trump told the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan.Ê ÒHow about all those department stores?Ó he mused. ÒThey have the bells and they have the red walls and they have the snow. But they donÕt have ÔMerry ChristmasÕ.Ê ÒI think theyÕre going to start putting up ÔMerry ChristmasÕ.Ó Given this full-throated pledge, it might come as a surprise to learn that Trump Tower, the golden jewel in TrumpÕs property portfolio and the building where he is currently plotting his first term, has no signs saying ÒMerry ChristmasÓ whatsoever.Ê Not one. Visiting the Trump Tower on Wednesday, it was clear that holiday decorations have not been eschewed altogether. In fact, itÕs the opposite. The interior of the building is festooned with festive frippery. There is a 30ftÊChristmasÊtree. There are four-foot wreaths all around the entrance area. There are scores of golden boxes, tied up with ribbons, laid around the place, as if Santa Claus gave up on his way to the Trump residence and dumped the presents in the lobby. There are life-sized nutcracker statues, some holding trumpets. But no Christmas signs. The only mention of Christmas the Guardian could find in Trump Tower was in the gift shop, where a little Christmas tree bauble, which showed Santa Claus lying down on top of a yellow taxi, was described as a ÒChristmas ornamentÓ. The ornament had been made in China. Trump has promised that he will return Merry Christmas to common parlance before Ð most notablyÊin November 2015, when he was gearing up for the Republican primaries. It makes sense. The idea of a war on Christmas Ð that Americans are being forced to say Òhappy holidaysÓ instead of Òmerry ChristmasÓ because

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday December 24, 2016

Trump Tower failing to do its bit to Make Christmas Great Again

At a “thank you” rally in early December, Donald Trump promised that he would Make Christmas Great Again.

“We’re going to start saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again!” Trump told the crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“How about all those department stores?” he mused.

“They have the bells and they have the red walls and they have the snow. But they don’t have ‘Merry Christmas’.

“I think they’re going to start putting up ‘Merry Christmas’.”

Given this full-throated pledge, it might come as a surprise to learn that Trump Tower, the golden jewel in Trump’s property portfolio and the building where he is currently plotting his first term, has no signs saying “Merry Christmas” whatsoever.

 

Not one.

Visiting the Trump Tower on Wednesday, it was clear that holiday decorations have not been eschewed altogether. In fact, it’s the opposite. The interior of the building is festooned with festive frippery.

There is a 30ft Christmas tree. There are four-foot wreaths all around the entrance area.

There are scores of golden boxes, tied up with ribbons, laid around the place, as if Santa Claus gave up on his way to the Trump residence and dumped the presents in the lobby.

There are life-sized nutcracker statues, some holding trumpets.

But no Christmas signs.

The only mention of Christmas the Guardian could find in Trump Tower was in the gift shop, where a little Christmas tree bauble, which showed Santa Claus lying down on top of a yellow taxi, was described as a “Christmas ornament”. The ornament had been made in China.

Trump has promised that he will return Merry Christmas to common parlance before – most notably in November 2015, when he was gearing up for the Republican primaries.

It makes sense. The idea of a war on Christmas – that Americans are being forced to say “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas” because of political correctness – is a popular theory among some conservatives.

Trump has four years to force “merry Christmas” upon the American public, so perhaps change will eventually come to the US. He could certainly start by using the phrase in his own building.

But anyway. Happy holidays. (Source: The Guardian)