May 31, 2016

Politico headline that makes no sense: "Reporter asks Trump about Cincinnati gorilla, is shamed."

I watched the whole Trump press conference, and it did include plenty of attacks on the press, but I absolutely do not see how Trump can be said to have "shamed" the reporter who asked about the killing of the gorilla at the Cincinnati zoo. Trump treated the question as an appropriate question for a presidential candidate and gave a serious, thoughtful answer:
"It was amazing because there were moments with the gorilla, the way he held that child, it was almost like a mother holding a baby. Looked so beautiful and calm and there were moments where it looked pretty dangerous.... I don't think they had a choice. I mean, probably they didn't have a choice. You have a child, a young child who is at stake, and, you know, it's too bad there wasn't another way. I thought it was so beautiful to watch that, you know, powerful, almost 500-pound gorilla, the way he dealt with that little boy, but it just takes one second. It's one second. It's not like it takes place over, well, he's going to do it in 30 seconds from now. It just takes one little flick of his finger, and I will tell you they probably had no choice."
Oh, I see. Boy, that headline threw me off. It wasn't Trump who shamed the reporter. The reporter, whose name is Hunter Walker, was shamed by other reporters. A Politico reporter, Edward-Isaac Dovere, said: "If you are looking for what's wrong with political journalism, this would be a good place to start." And a Wall Street Journal reporter, Reid J. Epstein, tweeted: "Whoever asked about the gorilla should meet the same fate as the gorilla." That is, Epstein said Walker should be shot to death. Incredible.

ADDED: I wondered whether Epstein is one of these characters who bemoan the decline of civility in politics. I found this of his from last August:
Donald Trump is turning the schoolyard taunt into a political art form.... [T]he intensely personal nature of Mr. Trump’s insults, sometimes mocking his rivals by mimicking them, is startling even to those who have grown accustomed to the sometimes low levels of civility in politics today.... So far, Mr. Trump seems to be paying no political price, so there is little incentive to ease up. But his critics say he is debasing the political discourse in an unprecedented fashion....
Sounds like maybe Epstein admires the aggressive rhetoric, so I'm not going to call him a hypocrite.

57 comments:

Achilles said...

Trump did shame some reporters at that press conference. Not that one of course, but others. It was glorious. And it is clear that most of those reporters are "sleazeballs." Then he let the retired 1st Sgt. have at them.

I am looking forward to more of these press conferences. And I love the fact the media have to cover their own shaming. Hopefully they televise themselves committing ritual seppaku.

DUSTER said...

No one asks Hillary about about her stand on gorilla's , another gorilla-a-phobe story swept under the rug.

Gusty Winds said...

Today's press conference was awesome.

I have been waiting my whole life for a candidate to come out and have the guts to punch the political press. They are smarmy, arrogant, and basically make shit up to fill their personal agendas. Been watching it since Cronkite.

And its even more than I could have wished for. We've been given a candidate that not only beats up the liberal media, he has used them to his advantage accurately calculating the catnip on which they feed.

They're whores and he knows it.

And the Marine that told the liberal media to get their head out of their "butts" was a treat.

God Bless You, Mr. Trump.

Yancey Ward said...

I don't think the question was appropriate either, but let's be honest, most questions reporters ask at press conferences aren't really very good- mostly due the inability to really do follow-up.

Like Achilles, I found the press conference to be something pretty refreshing- they are sleazeballs for the most part and it is delightful to see them called out for it publicly.

YoungHegelian said...

The press didn't take kindly to being called out by Trump, did they?

Was it rude & in their face? Yes, it was. Was it true? Well, I think so, but I'm just an Althouse hillbilly (actually, I am half hillbilly).

What I find most amazing about the whole exchange is that the press knows that the politicos hate them, on both sides of the aisle. Remember back in 2008, how the McCain campaign tried so hard to suck up to the press, keeping them in the loop all the time, while the Obama campaign left them running to catch up, often literally running to catch up? Did it do the McCain campaign a damn bit of good? No.

Does HRC talk to her press corps? Not a word. The administration's foreign policy "wonk" gives an interview in which he tells the whole world that the the press are a bunch of stupid fuckwits, without using the two words "stupid" & "fuckwits", of course. And it's not like Obama has ever been generous with his time to the press, either. Quick! When was Obama's last WH presser? Yeah, I can't remember, either.

At least a Trump administration will talk to the press, because, it's clear, Trump just loves smacking them around, & tuff love will go further for the press than the no love at all they get now.

Ann Althouse said...

When Trump was criticizing Romney (near the end) and saying that Romney should have won, it made me think of how devastatingly bad Romney was in the second debate (after a strong showing in the first debate). Romney had a "deer in the headlights" moment. And I said to myself: Trump never has a "deer in the headlights" reaction, no matter how tough the question. The man always stands his ground. It's quite something. I look forward to seeing how Hillary does with him. She's kind of the same way, actually, standing her ground.

Constitutional Insurgent said...

The reporters question, like most during event coverages, wasn't germane to the event. That said, when you have a faux-reality show nominee, this is what we're going to get. But it won't stop the media from covering every minute of every press conference and speech; it's been their business model from the beginning of this electoral season, and it will continue unabated.

If Trump can get elected, at least pressers will be entertaining. And it won't be Hillary's asinine rope-line.

Gk1 said...

I think the press is mad that the gorilla question kept them from asking another biased, agenda driven question no that it was not a serious question. Because if you know Trump muffed the question or gleefully cheered for the guy that shot the gorilla that would have been front page stuff. They are beginning to fear they lost their ability to take down a republican. You can smell the fear!

traditionalguy said...

The wild King Trump comes on and on with a mission from which he cannot be diverted. He says to each messenger sent out to ask if he comes in peace, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." And in his final Hillary encounter he will cry out, " Who is on my side?"

And Hillary's media eunuchs will throw her down to be trampled.

David Begley said...

AA

If Hillary makes it to the debates, Trump will destroy her. I am predicting right now he will constantly ask her tough question. Trump; not the moderators.

Two examples:

1. Hillary how do you sleep at night after you abandoned our people in Bengazhi?

2. Hillary didn't you have a private email server in order to conduct your bribery scheme with Bill and the Clinton Foundation?

Trump will be relentless. Hillary has NEVER been toughly questioned. The Gowdy committee blew its chance.

Comanche Voter said...

Hillary doesn't stand her ground so much as hunker in the bunker. But in a debate with any of the putative GOP Pesidential candidates, she would have had to put at least a teenie weenie eintsie toe out of the bunker. Unless of course she had Candy Crowley to ride shotgun for her. Trump is more bluster and bludgeon; Cruz and Carley Fiorina were more the surgical death of a thousand cuts. But either way the Hildebeest will get roughed up if she debates. Which is why she may decide to do a front porch style campaign and not come out at all. The Hillary fans will vote for her whether she says a word or not.

Humperdink said...

Not being familiar with the terrain, Trump parachutes behind enemy lines, which is the national press corpse (ha). He instantly recognizes his whereabouts and goes on the attack. His Rules of Engagement are a shock to the enemy. They are clearly befuddled and of course, furious.

"What do we do with this guy?"

Jupiter said...


Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"The man always stands his ground. It's quite something. I look forward to seeing how Hillary does with him. She's kind of the same way, actually, standing her ground."

Hmmm... Maybe you have seen more of her than I have. The sight of her makes me sick,and the sound of her ...

Anyway, I watched some videos of her "responding" to the IG's report. Looked to me like she didn't so much stand her ground as simply repeat the absurd lies she and her staff have cooked up. "Colin Powell did it. Colin Powell did it. Colin Powell did it." Pull the little ring, Hillary stands her ground once more.

stutefish said...

Trump gave a sensible, humane answer to the question. The reporter was shamed because she accidentally made him look like a thoughtful, caring human being. A few more questions like that, and answers like that, and Trump will start to look pretty good to some folks.

Bay Area Guy said...

In 2012, Gingrich got some traction by slamming some of the biased debate moderators.

Was this significant? Perhaps --but not enough to get Newt the nomination.

In 2016, Trump continually slams the mediator, the moderator, the NY Times reporter -- and folks love it.

In truth, most of the mediators, moderators and NY Times Reporters skew heavily Left (if they were honest and open about it), so, in essence, Trump supporters feel that Trump is puncturing the "palace Guard" so to speak.

I buy this. Trump has already demonstrated his mastery of the media. He simply doesn't play by their rules, he plays by his own rules, one of which is to respond quickly and personally, if attacked. So, he keeps the media on their toes. At times, it is enjoyable to watch. He gets ratings, because he has charisma.

Will it translate to a victory in November? I hope so. I am convinced that scheming Hillary is much worse, despite some of Trump's flaws and mistakes.

JCCamp said...

Trump has his moments. Today wasn't bad. But he was right. The MSM interviews HRC and it plays like an infomercial for a children's charity. Soft music, pans, sweeping answers to open-ended questions with no follow-ups to the blatant lies, etc etc, Meanwhile, the NYT and WAPO have teams of reporters digging through everything Trump has done for the past 50 years, and then run an expose' on his dating history like they caught him having sex with male nuclear scientists from North Korea. We saw this with Romney, his high school pranks held up as character references while Obama got a pass on everything, including how he got into college, his grades, how he paid, the whole shebang.

There was a very good moment when a reporter asked Trump "Is this how it's going to be if you are the President?" and Trump said "Yes, exactly." The reporter, apparently thinking Trump didn't understand the power of the press or something, repeated the question. Trump said "I said yes." Silence. I think there was some reflection among those media types in the room about that.

His shoot-from-hip style may or may not work so well in a debate. Luckily, he'll be debating with the Stilted Queen of Awkward.

rhhardin said...

That is, Epstein said Walker should be shot to death. Incredible.

That's a movie line. Maybe I will think of from where.

Oh, Mitchell and Webb, the Henchmen.

"We all agreed that from now on, when we want someone murdered, i.e. deliberately killed to death, then that's what we're going to say."

rhhardin said...

Gorilla My Dreams

Indigo Red said...

Perhaps it's now time to require (by law, of course) all children visiting zoos to wear helmets.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger Indigo Red said...
Perhaps it's now time to require (by law, of course) all children visiting zoos to wear helmets.

They should be armed.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger JCCamp said...
while Obama got a pass on everything, including how he got into college, his grades, how he paid, the whole shebang.

Yes, how, exactly, does a self described so-so student at a third tier college like Occidental transfer to Harvard law feeder school Columbia?

narciso said...

how quickly we forget, epstein is former politico,

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ben-carsons-past-faces-deeper-questions-1446861864

and he was on a crusade against carson, unmitigated by evidence that buzzfeed turned up,

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Oh boy. Trump Trump Trump. Trump trump trump trump trump. You'd better hope he wins. Four years of nothing but trivialities from a physical narcissist for you to blog about. Day in day out. Wheeeweee will it be fun.

Wake me up in 2020 or whenever it's over.

Mark said...

Your own commenters suggest people be shot or put to death on a fairly consistent basis, not sure why you are shocked at the statement.

Freeman Hunt said...

This incident with the gorilla has brought out the nuttiness in people. Given that, it seems like a good question for a presidential candidate. It's an are-you-nutty question. He passed.

PB said...

it used to be that different people wrote the headlines than the ones who wrote the story. Does anyone know if this is still a general practice or specifically at Politico?

Constitutional Insurgent said...

@PB - I've heard much the same, and not just at politico, but many major news/commentary outlets.....but I have no factual evidence of that.

FullMoon said...

Mark said...

Your own commenters suggest people be shot or put to death on a fairly consistent basis, not sure why you are shocked at the statement.


Yep, fairly routine from the progressives here. Kinda like burning flags and cop cars at Trump rallys, for fun.

narciso said...

remember politico was part of the journolist, ben smith went to buzzfeed, a host of others went over the times and the journal

http://www.newsbusters.org/people-organizations/reid-epstein

Hagar said...

Yes, how, exactly, does a self described so-so student at a third tier college like Occidental transfer to Harvard law feeder school Columbia?

He catches the attention of Bill Ayers, who talks his parents into paying for the promising young man's tuition, etc., and directs his Weatherman network to fix the paperwork as necessary to scoot him through.

Hagar said...

(According to the Frontline documentary, all the old Weatherman gents are now professors and the ladies are generally embedded in university administrative offices.)

Henry said...

Hunter Walker reports for Business Insider, an American business, celebrity and technology news website launched in February 2009 and based in New York City.

It's all hierarchy. Epstein is pissing down.

As far as the context of the question I like what Freeman Hunt said.

Let us not forget that we have a President that repeatedly appears on entertainment and sports television shows. Why not ask about a gorilla?

narciso said...

following the gramscian path through the institutions, ayers should have learned from lenin, that direct action, like that undertaken by the sr's and people's will, reinforces the regime at least in the long run,

Quaestor said...

So what if the gorilla was being "protective" toward the child, as at least one self-described animal behavior expert has claimed. The zoo authorities were right to take the action that they did. (Drudge used murdered gorilla at least twice, which caused my respect for his rhetorical tactics to slip more than a few notches.) They were faced with an animal at least five times stronger than a strong man that could without ever intending harm kill or cripple the boy in a heartbeat.

Trump gave the best answer possible. Perhaps that's why Epstein wished him, the reporter, dead for asking a question that gave Trump an opportunity to give a reasonable, measured reply instead of something along the lines of Mr. Trump, when did you decide to stop being the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler?

Achilles said...

Rhythm and Balls said...
"Oh boy. Trump Trump Trump. Trump trump trump trump trump. You'd better hope he wins. Four years of nothing but trivialities from a physical narcissist for you to blog about. Day in day out. Wheeeweee will it be fun.

Wake me up in 2020 or whenever it's over."

You are just jealous republican voters were able to stiff the corrupt GOP and you Bernie fans lost to the corrupt democrat machine.

Quaestor said...

Gorilla My Dreams

Quaestor said...

Wake me up in 2020 or whenever it's over.

The 13th Labor of Hercules.

narciso said...

and lets not forget who founded business insider, a scam artist from the tech bust of 2001,

rcocean said...

Its impossible to take the MSM whining seriously. They badger Trump endlessly over whether he gave $5 million or $6 million to Vets. Meanwhile Hillary has given Vets... $ZERO$

They badger Trump about tax returns for months. Meanwhile they're strangely incurious about the corruption involving the Clinton Foundation.

It goes on and on. Smart people know they're in the tank for Hillary.

narciso said...

I was speaking of the chief editor,

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp18115b.htm

who endulged trig denialists on his site,

Laslo Spatula said...

Rolling the Grenade:

Trigger Alert.

More White people care about the Gorilla than BlackLivesMatter.

Gorilla.

BlackLivesMatter.

Gorilla.

BlackLivesMatter.

Gorilla.

BlackLivesMatter.

Lather and Repeat.

I am Laslo.

Sebastian said...

"She's kind of the same way, actually, standing her ground." You mean, the way she "stands her ground" at all the press conferences she keeps giving?

Constitutional Insurgent said...

Hillary can never claim to 'stand her ground'. That's apparently a leftist code phrase for 'racist' shootings. In other words, what normal people call self defense. St. Trayvon thus spoketh to her.

Laslo Spatula said...

Gorilla: expected to be violent, but then found nurturing.

BlackLivesMatter: expected to be violent, but then ______.

Red Meat on the Table: fill in the blank.

I am Laslo.



iowan2 said...

The gorilla thing? The internet is using it for click bait. No one serious, believes anything but the beast had to be put down. Its an animal. There is not even a hint that there was even a second option. None. I find it very revealing that the media types thought they could trip Trump up on such an inanity. (the reporter earned the mocking)

cubanbob said...

The mistake Trumpy made was not to segway to the real 800 lbs gorilla question and ask the reporter when is he and the rest of the Democrats with bylines going to ask President Obama when did he first learn of Hillary's email server and why did he allow it?

Michael Fitzgerald said...

It's starting to become clear that the Republican party was lucky Trump chose to run. Is there a single other candidate who could not only withstand the defamations, but respond in kind to the delight of the hoi-polloi? Walker? Cruz? Fiorina? Rubio? Someone earlier mentioned the word charisma.

narciso said...

so it seems, like you can see this was a light slattering,

http://www.newsbusters.org/people-organizations/tom-llamas

tim in vermont said...

Eighteen women have said they were sexual assaulted at a music festival in Germany. Three men from Pakistan aged between 28 and 31 have been arrested and police are still searching for three men who may also have been involved. The attacks are similar to those reported in Cologne and other cities on New Year´s Eve, when as many as 1,000 women were groped and robbed. Police said three women reported being groped at the Schlossgrabenfest music festival in Darmstadt on Saturdaym saying they had been encircled then sexually harassed by a group of men. By Tuesday, 15 more women...

Hillary owns these men. She created the refugee crisis in Europe, she has said that it is "racist" to suggest that these men need to be vetted more thoroughly, she claims there is a war on women, well, Europe is finding out what a real war on women looks like thanks to Hillary.

tim in vermont said...

But let's ask The Donald about a gorilla.

Brando said...

"We all agreed that from now on, when we want someone murdered, i.e. deliberately killed to death, then that's what we're going to say."

The best part was where the henchman pointed out that time when the boss said "perhaps he will meet with an accident" and so the henchmen waited around six months to see if an accident would happen.

damikesc said...

The reporters question, like most during event coverages, wasn't germane to the event. That said, when you have a faux-reality show nominee, this is what we're going to get.

Romney was accused of killing a man's wife and of not paying taxes for 10 years. McCain was demanded to criticize a random person who allegedly made a threat against Obama, even though the Secret Service said it didn't happen.

A "serious" candidate is asked asinine questions if they're a Republican as well.

grackle said...

Trump did shame some reporters at that press conference. Not that one of course, but others. It was glorious. And it is clear that most of those reporters are "sleazeballs." Then he let the retired 1st Sgt. have at them.

It WAS glorious, but we’ll never see the retired 1st Sgt. on the MSM news, not on CNN, MSNBC or Fox. Why? Because the sergeant’s tirade was much too favorable to Trump – they have to try to keep the “unfavorables” up on Trump and that means censoring everything they possibly can that might be viewed as favorable to Trump. What a bunch of sleazeballs.

The reporters keep falling into Trump’s traps. At the presser they realized quickly that the case against Trump and the vet donations was a dead issue so they switched to whining about Trump’s treatment of the sleazeball media – which is apparently exactly as Trump anticipated and he let them have it. It’s great exposure for Trump when in their eagerness to get Trump they stumble across these Trump public relations mine fields.

It turns out that the progressive vets, if they really were vets, protesting against Trump outside the presser were set up by the Clinton campaign. Another bunch of sleazeballs.

http://tinyurl.com/h5cg3ew

damikesc said...

It turns out that the progressive vets, if they really were vets, protesting against Trump outside the presser were set up by the Clinton campaign. Another bunch of sleazeballs.

And that's the thing. While they MIGHT be vets, I wouldn't gamble much money on that.

Constitutional Insurgent said...

I admire the good 1SG's passion, I don't understand why he [like Trump] relies on absurdly false absolutes. He stated that the media has been ignoring the +/-22 veteran suicides each day [on average]. If your message is sound, you don't need to use rhetorical devices that will turn off people who would otherwise support your message.

Fernandinande said...

Laslo Spatula said...
More White people care about the Gorilla than BlackLivesMatter.


http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/30/black-outrage-gorilla-shot-protect-white-privilege-just-one-problem/

"That gorilla was taken from it’s homeland, put in captivity, and then killed to preserve White life. That sounds familiar."
- Isa Ibn (@IsaIbnOfficial) May 29, 2016

"That gorilla was black, unarmed and 17"
— Kar L. Stine (@karyewest) May 29, 2016

"Killing an endangered gorilla at a zoo for a white boy’s safety is white privilege. If the boy was black they would’ve found a tranquilizer."
— Hood Intellect (@NelsonEmpowered) May 29, 2016

There’s just one flaw in this GorillaLivesMatter thesis. Can you guess what it is?

"Wait a minute so you guys spent all day talking about white parenting practices & the gorilla boy is black? Oh boy lol."

Thorley Winston said...

Perhaps it's now time to require (by law, of course) all children visiting zoos to wear helmets.

Leashes would be a better option. I’ve seen parents who attach a leash to their child’s belt when they take them to the State Fair and it allows the child to walk by themselves but not get too far from their parent. Had the parents of the three/four year old at the zoo done that, their kid would never have gotten into the gorilla enclosure and the gorilla wouldn’t have had to get shot.