990WBOB
  • WBOB Radio
  • Past Casts
  • F Bomb Friday
  • Weather
  • Contact
  • About
    • WBOB Press Releases
    • Join Our Team!
    • CHARITY GALA

Colley: Trump Publicly Testifying is Just Another Example of His Media Mastery

11/21/2019

Comments

 
Picture
Mark Colley 
​
We saw it during the Mueller investigation, as we are seeing it now: Donald Trump is musing about testifying publicly, just as impeachment efforts are ramping up and damning testimony after damning testimony comes in, day after day.


What we also know about Donald Trump is his ability to lie. He has made more than 13,435 false claims since swearing the oath of office, an astounding number. And while we have nothing to compare that number to — the fervor of fact checking against Trump is something new — those very fact checkers were spawned by his ability to spew off falsehoods.

Take those two considerations together. The President of the United States, publicly testifying under oath, unable to hold back lies. Sense the danger?
Of course, it will never happen. Trump did indeed float the idea of being questioned by Robert Mueller in his investigation, but never followed through. (His team did submit written answers to Mueller’s questions.) The same will likely ring true for his most recent musings.

Another indication that Trump will never testify just arose in the news, right around the same time he brought up the idea of testifying, again. The House is currently investigating whether Trump lied in his written answers provided to Mueller. Why would Trump give the House more of an opportunity to do just that?

It’s safe to assume that Trump understands he will never testify. His aides, administration and counsel understand that too.

So why does he keep suggesting it publicly? More specifically, how does Trump gain from putting these suggestions out there?

It distracts the media. Whether you like Trump or not — for the record, I do not — he is a master at manipulating the media. Actually, scratch that; he is a master of the media. It’s not that the media is being played by Trump, but that Trump has found out the best way to use the media to his advantage.

In this case, Trump is chipping away at the negative coverage about him literally everywhere, and capitalizing on a small corner of the market with positive coverage. This news shows to some that Trump has nothing to hide. He’s cooperating with the investigation. He’s reasonable, confident and looks like someone who leads, not someone who cowers in fear at Adam Schiff’s gavel.

And that’s what this is all about — theater. The impeachment hearings themselves are theater, and you’d be right to assume all of this is about looks. When a witness is called to testify, it is more a chance for Jim Jordan to pontificate on primetime than to get facts from Kurt Volker. All of this is theater, and Trump is just putting his hat in the ring.

Does it have any discernible impact on what anyone actually believes? I doubt it. But it’s just one example of many that Trump, an entertainer and media mogul, is doing what he does best: staying relevant and always being the spectacle with the power, regardless of what else is happening.

Read More 990WBOB

  • Hay! Look Who's Back
  • Does al-Baghdadi's Death Change Anything For Trump?
  • Providence Misses the Mark with Bag Ban​
  • WBOB Spotlight: The Mind Of GR's Greg Ballard
Comments

    WBOB
    Original
    ​Reads

    Picture

    Unbiased, Unfiltered. WBOB's Original Reads feature our brightest and boldest personalities, offering their two-cents on the goings on of news, sports, politics, entertainment, and business. -- Are our opinions always PC? Nope. Are they always perfect? Nah. But, are they always 100% authentic? Absolutely!


    LISTEN
    ​TO WBOB ORIGINAL PODCASTS

    Picture
    Listen to
    ​Past BOBCasts

    WBOB 
    Best Reads
    Brought To You By
    TripAdvisor.com

    Picture

    Celebrating David Clyde: A Wild Passionate Friend To All


    Picture

    Search 
    The Archives


    Reads From Our Friends

    Picture

    The Best Game Development Tools: How to Make Your Own Game


    Contact Us
    info@990WBOB.com


Search For Your Favorite WBOB Author,
​or BobCast

990WBOB 
An Independent Media Outlet.

The views opinions and thoughts expressed do not  reflect those of 990WBOB, its management or its staff. All Rights Reserved 990WBOB.com 2007-2020
​
Contact WBOB HERE

WBOB Reads

Weather

Live BOBCasts

Past Casts

Contact Us

Join Our Team!

Featured Supporters

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Photo used under Creative Commons from nzhamstar
  • WBOB Radio
  • Past Casts
  • F Bomb Friday
  • Weather
  • Contact
  • About
    • WBOB Press Releases
    • Join Our Team!
    • CHARITY GALA