I’ve noticed lately that political coverage in the media has been reporting more like celebrity gossip. Maybe that is because a well known reality television star by the name of Donald Trump has entered the arena. What we’ve been seeing is Donald Trump and President Obama being pitted against each other in a political feud.
Sure, we know Trump is an outspoken individual and has publicized his political views in the past, but his recent actions are coming across as someone competing for the title of CEO of America. Although Trump has not confirmed any intentions of running in the 2012 presidential election, there is speculation that his name may be on the ballot.
I think Trump is either very politically involved or he’s setting the foundation for a long term goal by winning supporters. The first is a given, so I’m going to go with the latter. Every potential candidate in any major election usually tests the waters before jumping in and Trump is no exception. He’s been taking jabs at Obama and offering solutions to significant issues concerning the welfare of our country. Trump has called Obama out on several occasions by questioning his education at Harvard and pushing for the release of his long form birth certificate. Other issues Trump has addressed include the national deficit, taxes, and gas prices.
Obama isn’t taking all this sitting down. He’s put a label on the “birthers”, calling them “carnival barkers” and accepted the challenge by releasing his long form birth certificate in an attempt to make his opponents look foolish. His plan had an adverse affect as Trump claimed victory and took credit for accomplishing a task that has yet been achieved.
So why is Obama playing into all this hype surrounding Trump? It was a bit of a surprise to some and made headlines when Obama reciprocated in a press conference. Perhaps Obama perceives some sort of threat to his reelection and feels the need to clear the air regarding certain subjects. After all, there is an ample supply of critics and Republicans concocting formulas for his replacement. The current economic crisis and declining approval ratings for Obama is an invitation for low blows.
Trump is setting the stage by making promises of change, but Obama is quite familiar with that strategy. The only problem is, Americans have an inflated perception of presidential power and do not realize that the policies passed today will have little effect on tomorrow. Change takes time, but we need to follow through with our commitments and allow it to happen. History has it that when there is a change in political party, the incumbent usually wins the second term. The media should stop dramatizing the exchange of words and focus on the matters that are important.
I was hoping for someone to write about the Obama and Trump drama, and as I was searching through all my classmate's work I found one that really caught my attention. "Political Feud in the Media" by Dat Lien. In this blog he talks on how the media has focused more on the exchange of words between Mr. Trump and former president Obama. I completely agree with him. I believe the media is making the whole drama even worse just but dramatazing the whole situation. The only thing it is helping with, it's making Trump and Obama look like high school girls gossiping and saying mean stuff to each other. Come on, politics and the sake of all the country it's not something to they should be playing with. There are real issues going on right now.
ReplyDeletePersonally, the whole Trump thing I see it as a joke. The way he is trying to put himself on the top is by focusing on pointless "rumors" like Obama's birth certificate... and as even Obama said on the White House dinner " now Mr. Trump can focus on the issues that really matter like did we fake the moon landing..." and I believe Obama has a point. It's childish what he is doing and the media is making it even worse.
As my classmate Lien said, "The media should stop dramatizing the exchange of words and focus on the matters that are important." There are way more important issues going on that we should be learning about through media then just making everything worse but dramatizing the Obama and Trump "issue".