It is what Trump does … not says

One of the evergreen bits of good advice is to go by what a people do … not what they say.  It generally applies that a person’s words are not as revealing as their actual acts.  People say good things and do bad things.

It is good advice in any situation – even when someone may speak unwisely but acts appropriately.  That brings us to President Trump.  He has the concept in reverse. His words can often be provocative and off-putting.  But his actions are well grounded.

We see this in the latest kerfuffle between the President and his critics.  He said that he would like to see the country start to return to normal around Easter – in about three weeks.  He was vague.  It was a “maybe.”  Possibly even a regional easing of restrictions.

That was all it took for the Democrats and their media allies to go berserk in a frenzy of exaggeration.  TRUMP WILL END RESTRICTIONS BY EASTER!!!  TRUMP WILL CAUSE A SURGE IN CASES!!!   TRUMP WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOUSANDS … NO, MAKE THAT MILLIONS … OF DEATHS.

MSNBC and CNN then invite a parade of Democrats and members of the #NeverTrump Resistance Movement across their 24/7 anti-Trump programming to assail what the President said – or more accurately, what they claim he said.

Now Trump did say that he was not sure if it would be possible.  As he often qualifies, “We will have to see.”  He said he would heed the advice of the medical professionals on the White House Coronavirus Task Force.  He actually said he was not about to do something foolish – and he won’t.

None of that got reported.  None of that cooled the passion of the press.  They had taken the bait and they had chiseled their narrative in granite.

If – as we get close to Easter – IF appears that we are seeing the decline of the virus and IF folks like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx determine that it is reasonably safe to eliminate some restrictions in some regions – Trump will probably recommend it.  IF social separation is still needed then, Trump will keep the restrictions in place. That is my impression.

This is not the only time we have seen this dynamic in the past three years.  He talked about banning all Muslims from entering the country.  The press went berserk, but Trump never did.  Remember when Trump would say nice things about Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The press went berserk.  But Trump has taken the toughest stand against Russia as any President since Reagan.

It happened again when Trump released the letter that indicated he had suggested that the new Ukrainian president should investigate corruption – including the corrupt Burisma Holdings and Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.  The press went berserk.  There was no investigation, but Hunter Biden went from almost total obscurity to the headlines for weeks – and there is likely to be more.  There was no holding back of military aid and no investigation – what something Trump said.

It is said in judo that you use your opponent’s energy against them.  That seems to be what Trump does.  He now has the media burning up their airtime and print space bouncing all over a non-story like a cat chasing the laser light.  If history is any indicator, they will again come up looking like fools.

One of the reasons all these hyperventilated reports from the left-leaning media seem to have little effect is that a lot of Americans can distinguish the difference between what Trump says and what he does.  Trump is a little like the trapeze artist who looks like he is about to miss the swinging bar.  The audience gasps.  But alas, he catches it – and everyone applauds.

But why don’t the news people get it?  We can only assume that their hatred for Trump and their obsession to get him out of office has destroyed their sense of objectivity, rationality and fairness.  Perhaps they arrogantly believe that their power over the people is much greater than it is – that we the people cannot discern when we are being sold snake oil by all those talking heads on the small screen.

If you want to see the symptoms of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), just check out MSNBC for a day.  And it is not just the anchors and hosts – it is all those panelists from the New York Times, the Washington Post and National Public Radio – not to mention all their in-house paid contributors.

Democrats and the elitist progressive press are so obsessively anti-Trump that they careen off the road of rationality.  They claim that he is woefully stupid.  They say he is mentally ill.  They craft him as evil incarnate.  In other words, Trump makes THEM crazy.  It is the media that has a crisis of credibility.  Trump benefits from the excesses of his enemies – and he knows how to make them go berserk.

So, there ‘tis.