That NYT piece is fascinating. The style is binary. If it were written as a slam piece from the start, I can't imagine it would have included so many quotations from people genuinely impressed with him. Surely they could have found more people to trash himself instead. On the other hand, most of the best quotations in the first half of the article are followed by snippy little "explanations" that seek to undercut the praise. It reads exactly as if a reasonably fair-minded journalism wrote up the report, then an editor marked it up with furious sabotage.
'“Over the past year, we have made extraordinary strides in the United States,” Mr. Trump said. “After years of stagnation, the United States is once again experiencing strong economic growth.”
'Economists note that the American economy is into its ninth year of expansion, a trend that speaks to how the aftermath from the 2008 financial crisis has finally run its course. A surge of cash delivered by the Federal Reserve has stimulated commercial activity.
'The International Monetary Fund this week lifted its forecasts for American growth in large part because of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts. Economists note that the benefits fall overwhelmingly on corporations and wealthy American households, exacerbating economic inequality.
'But Mr. Trump framed the tax cuts as a broad source of what will be better days for all Americans. And he gained the unbridled endorsement from the man who heads the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, whose eagerness to flatter his interlocutors is legendary.
'“On behalf of the business leaders here in this room let me particularly congratulate you for the historic tax reform,” Mr. Schwab said, adding that the tax cuts were “fostering job creation while providing a tremendous boost to the world economy.”
'Whatever the optics of the head of an institution dedicated to reducing economic inequality offering his unqualified support for Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, Mr. Schwab was indeed speaking for business.'
Glenn Reynolds linked to two different stories in a post yesterday. One was a USA Today prediction that Trump would be speaking to an empty room, the other was a Sun (UK) report that half of Theresa May's audience left her speech early to attend Trump's.
Trump showed up at Davos after one year in office, with spectacular economic results demonstrating that his policies are effective and the US economy can be turned around quickly. George Soros, the New York Times and the rest of those who wanted to see our economy crash six months ago are not pleased. Oh, well.
But there were protesters there who hated him. Surely those are the voices we should be listening to?
ReplyDeleteI mean, that's who many media outlets are reporting on, right?
That NYT piece is fascinating. The style is binary. If it were written as a slam piece from the start, I can't imagine it would have included so many quotations from people genuinely impressed with him. Surely they could have found more people to trash himself instead. On the other hand, most of the best quotations in the first half of the article are followed by snippy little "explanations" that seek to undercut the praise. It reads exactly as if a reasonably fair-minded journalism wrote up the report, then an editor marked it up with furious sabotage.
ReplyDelete'“Over the past year, we have made extraordinary strides in the United States,” Mr. Trump said. “After years of stagnation, the United States is once again experiencing strong economic growth.”
'Economists note that the American economy is into its ninth year of expansion, a trend that speaks to how the aftermath from the 2008 financial crisis has finally run its course. A surge of cash delivered by the Federal Reserve has stimulated commercial activity.
'The International Monetary Fund this week lifted its forecasts for American growth in large part because of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts. Economists note that the benefits fall overwhelmingly on corporations and wealthy American households, exacerbating economic inequality.
'But Mr. Trump framed the tax cuts as a broad source of what will be better days for all Americans. And he gained the unbridled endorsement from the man who heads the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, whose eagerness to flatter his interlocutors is legendary.
'“On behalf of the business leaders here in this room let me particularly congratulate you for the historic tax reform,” Mr. Schwab said, adding that the tax cuts were “fostering job creation while providing a tremendous boost to the world economy.”
'Whatever the optics of the head of an institution dedicated to reducing economic inequality offering his unqualified support for Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, Mr. Schwab was indeed speaking for business.'
Life comes at you fast.
ReplyDeleteGlenn Reynolds linked to two different stories in a post yesterday. One was a USA Today prediction that Trump would be speaking to an empty room, the other was a Sun (UK) report that half of Theresa May's audience left her speech early to attend Trump's.
ReplyDeleteTrump showed up at Davos after one year in office, with spectacular economic results demonstrating that his policies are effective and the US economy can be turned around quickly. George Soros, the New York Times and the rest of those who wanted to see our economy crash six months ago are not pleased. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteValerie