Blog #4

     For this blog, I decided to check out a left leaning source called Crooks and Liars. The article that peaked my interest was one that involved Trump's actions at a MAGA Rally yesterday in Montana. The title is, "At His Later MAGA Rally, Trump Jokes Around About A Reporter Being Assaulted." My first thought was "Oh no, what did he say now?" Which seems to be a recurring questions when reading about Trump's actions and latest stories.
     First, I'll evaluate the situation that Trump was discussing. Last year at a meet and greet event for Greg Gianforte (a GOP candidate for Montana), a reporter for "The Guardian" named Ben Jacobs was simply doing his job and asking Gianforte a question that would only take a few minutes of his time. Also, typical for a meet and greet to be asked political questions that he should be expected to answer. However, Gianforte took matters into his own hands and decided it would be best to body slam this poor man to the ground. Let me say that again.... body slam him. Something's not right here. Granted, Gianforte was preparing for a television interview at the time of the question, but I don't think that would have been my first instinct post frustration with a man clearly doing his job. The article focused on Trump's reaction was what had everyone in shock though. After reading the article, I would agree that Trump was in no way helping the situation and the people that it effected. For example, him stating, "Any guy who can do a body slam ... he's my guy" (Paragraph 2) was truly unecessary and offended so many. I feel as if he was just laughing at the situation, rather than ridiculing Gianforte's behavior. Trump could have stood up there and said what really needed to be said about Greg Gianforte, but I truly think he already made as much of a fool out of himself as he could without the words of Trump.
     Lastly, I'm going to evaluate the author, the article, and it's claim. I thought that the author could have done a better job getting his thoughts in order throughout the article. I understood that he was appalled by Trump's view, but in the middle of the article he started rambling about another past situation where Trump did something similar without informing the audience that he was no longer talking about Gianforte. He wrote a final sentence about the crowd cheering for Trump at the MAGA rally and then I read, "This grotesque and depraved spectacle comes as the administration scrambles to determine what happened (they know) to Jamal Khashoggi (a Washington Post columnist that Trump doesn't care about) and determine how to respond (ignore) and what to do to MBS and Saudia Arabia (how to help them cover it up)"  (Paragraph 4). He certainly could have done a better job about informing the audience where he was going with his point. The audience for this article was directed toward Liberals who also cannot stand Trump and his views. At the very end of the article, the author boldly claims that everyone who attended the rally and anyone affiliated with "MAGA mob" is an animal and assumes, "Trump could call a reporter on stage and shoot them in the head and the crowd would chant and jeer and clap while Trump wiped the blood on his shirt. These animals are vile, infested, repulsive" (Paragraph 9). A pretty shameful comment if you ask me.

Blog #3

       On October 3^rd, the Editorial Board for the Washington Post released an article called, “Trump makes a mockery – of himself.” This is a heated and opinionated article that has the public in shock right now due to Trump's mockery toward Christine Bailey Ford's accusation of being “sexually assaulted” by Brett M. Kavanaugh. This article expresses resentment toward Trump specifically for his inconsiderate assumption of Ms. Ford being foolish throughout the night, rather than truly respecting her accusation of this possibly occurring. Another issue in the article, would be the confusion that lies due to Trump’s character. Only a week ago during Ms. Ford’s testimony on the matter, he believed her statement on the issue was “‘very compelling’” (Paragraph 1) and then yesterday, it just does not seem to be too compelling to him anymore...Apparently it didn’t take too long for his opinion to change.
      The article discusses that Trump wasn’t there for what happened between Mr. Kavanaugh and Ms. Ford, and has no idea what Ms. Ford could have possibly gone through physically and emotionally. Therefore, Trump was consciously taking Mr. Kavanaugh’s side and not necessarily being considerate of the fact that Ms. Ford has a voice and deserves to be heard at the very least. This entire article was specifically written for voters to see the flaws of our president, his character, and his decisions. For example, nominating possible sex offenders into the Supreme Court to represent our country and the general public. I truly agree that this article is disheartening when it comes to viewing the leadership that “holds the United States in place.” I also could not agree with the last paragraph in the article where it emphasizes that “Mr. Trump’s mockery serve[s] to set back the nation’s progress in understanding this kind of crime and will discourage victims from coming forward” (Paragraph 7). The last thing this country needs is for its people to feel as if their voice is not heard or that there cannot be anything done for them in a time of distress. Especially with an issue as serious as sexual assault.