SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The president-elect's Twitter habit does nothing to inspire confidence and much to trigger concerns and fears. (Image: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)
Four Takeaways from Trump's Latest Tweet Tantrum
This morning Donald Trump bashed NBC, tweeting: "Totally biased NBCNews went out of its way to say that the big announcement from Ford, G.M., Lockheed & others that jobs are coming back to the U.S., but had nothing to do with TRUMP, is more FAKE NEWS. Ask top CEO's of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!"
Here are four takeaways from Trump's latest tantrum:
Jan 18, 2017
This morning Donald Trump bashed NBC, tweeting: "Totally biased NBCNews went out of its way to say that the big announcement from Ford, G.M., Lockheed & others that jobs are coming back to the U.S., but had nothing to do with TRUMP, is more FAKE NEWS. Ask top CEO's of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!"
Here are four takeaways from Trump's latest tantrum:
1. As usual, Trump has his facts wrong. Analysts say Ford's decision to expand in Michigan rather than in Mexico had mostly to do with the company's long-term plans to invest in electric vehicles. It's easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.
GM said its plan was approved before the election, but it was "accelerated" under pressure from Trump. Relatedly, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler chief executive, said Chrysler's plan to build some cars in the U.S. had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Marchionne credited the decision to talks with the United Auto Workers.
2. Once again, the tweet reveals Trump's pathological narcissism. All Trump can think of about is "TRUMP," which he capitalizes, then insists that the jobs "Came back because of me!" This is the rant of a child wanting attention and praise, not someone who will shortly be President of the United States.
3. It's also dangerous. Although Trump's outrage at NBC - like his condemnation of other specific media outlets that don't report what he wants - is harmless now, it could threaten press freedom when Trump has power over regulators at the FCC and antitrust division who could make life difficult for targeted media outlets.
4. It's intended to divert attention from the big stuff. Trump's specific deals with particular companies diverts attention from his larger initiatives that will hurt working Americans.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act, for example, will leave at least 18 million Americans without health insurance next year.
Trump's cabinet picks are overwhelmingly anti-worker. Andrew Puzder, Trump's nominee for the Labor Department, wants to get rid of Obama's overtime rule, which, if implemented, is expected to add $12 billion to workers' wallets over the next decade. And Puzder is against the minimum wage.
And the huge corporate tax cuts and military buildup Trump is pushing will give congressional Republicans a rationale to cut Medicare and Social Security, in order to avoid bigger budget deficits.
A few jobs "saved" is nothing compared to these and other hardships Trump will be imposing on working Americans.
All told, Trump's tweet tantrum reveals a great deal about the man who's soon to be president of the United States. None of it inspires confidence.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich, is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.
This morning Donald Trump bashed NBC, tweeting: "Totally biased NBCNews went out of its way to say that the big announcement from Ford, G.M., Lockheed & others that jobs are coming back to the U.S., but had nothing to do with TRUMP, is more FAKE NEWS. Ask top CEO's of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!"
Here are four takeaways from Trump's latest tantrum:
1. As usual, Trump has his facts wrong. Analysts say Ford's decision to expand in Michigan rather than in Mexico had mostly to do with the company's long-term plans to invest in electric vehicles. It's easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.
GM said its plan was approved before the election, but it was "accelerated" under pressure from Trump. Relatedly, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler chief executive, said Chrysler's plan to build some cars in the U.S. had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Marchionne credited the decision to talks with the United Auto Workers.
2. Once again, the tweet reveals Trump's pathological narcissism. All Trump can think of about is "TRUMP," which he capitalizes, then insists that the jobs "Came back because of me!" This is the rant of a child wanting attention and praise, not someone who will shortly be President of the United States.
3. It's also dangerous. Although Trump's outrage at NBC - like his condemnation of other specific media outlets that don't report what he wants - is harmless now, it could threaten press freedom when Trump has power over regulators at the FCC and antitrust division who could make life difficult for targeted media outlets.
4. It's intended to divert attention from the big stuff. Trump's specific deals with particular companies diverts attention from his larger initiatives that will hurt working Americans.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act, for example, will leave at least 18 million Americans without health insurance next year.
Trump's cabinet picks are overwhelmingly anti-worker. Andrew Puzder, Trump's nominee for the Labor Department, wants to get rid of Obama's overtime rule, which, if implemented, is expected to add $12 billion to workers' wallets over the next decade. And Puzder is against the minimum wage.
And the huge corporate tax cuts and military buildup Trump is pushing will give congressional Republicans a rationale to cut Medicare and Social Security, in order to avoid bigger budget deficits.
A few jobs "saved" is nothing compared to these and other hardships Trump will be imposing on working Americans.
All told, Trump's tweet tantrum reveals a great deal about the man who's soon to be president of the United States. None of it inspires confidence.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich, is the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. His book include: "Aftershock" (2011), "The Work of Nations" (1992), "Beyond Outrage" (2012) and, "Saving Capitalism" (2016). He is also a founding editor of The American Prospect magazine, former chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." Reich's newest book is "The Common Good" (2019). He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.
This morning Donald Trump bashed NBC, tweeting: "Totally biased NBCNews went out of its way to say that the big announcement from Ford, G.M., Lockheed & others that jobs are coming back to the U.S., but had nothing to do with TRUMP, is more FAKE NEWS. Ask top CEO's of those companies for real facts. Came back because of me!"
Here are four takeaways from Trump's latest tantrum:
1. As usual, Trump has his facts wrong. Analysts say Ford's decision to expand in Michigan rather than in Mexico had mostly to do with the company's long-term plans to invest in electric vehicles. It's easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.
GM said its plan was approved before the election, but it was "accelerated" under pressure from Trump. Relatedly, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler chief executive, said Chrysler's plan to build some cars in the U.S. had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Marchionne credited the decision to talks with the United Auto Workers.
2. Once again, the tweet reveals Trump's pathological narcissism. All Trump can think of about is "TRUMP," which he capitalizes, then insists that the jobs "Came back because of me!" This is the rant of a child wanting attention and praise, not someone who will shortly be President of the United States.
3. It's also dangerous. Although Trump's outrage at NBC - like his condemnation of other specific media outlets that don't report what he wants - is harmless now, it could threaten press freedom when Trump has power over regulators at the FCC and antitrust division who could make life difficult for targeted media outlets.
4. It's intended to divert attention from the big stuff. Trump's specific deals with particular companies diverts attention from his larger initiatives that will hurt working Americans.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act, for example, will leave at least 18 million Americans without health insurance next year.
Trump's cabinet picks are overwhelmingly anti-worker. Andrew Puzder, Trump's nominee for the Labor Department, wants to get rid of Obama's overtime rule, which, if implemented, is expected to add $12 billion to workers' wallets over the next decade. And Puzder is against the minimum wage.
And the huge corporate tax cuts and military buildup Trump is pushing will give congressional Republicans a rationale to cut Medicare and Social Security, in order to avoid bigger budget deficits.
A few jobs "saved" is nothing compared to these and other hardships Trump will be imposing on working Americans.
All told, Trump's tweet tantrum reveals a great deal about the man who's soon to be president of the United States. None of it inspires confidence.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.