TRUMP VS THE MEDIA THE FIRST MONTH
Katie Ehrlich
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Comparing Trump Administration statements versus news media coverage in search of truth
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CREDIBLE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS AND WHERE THEY STAND
To create the most objective and holistic representation of the media as possible, I vigorously researched news sources from both sides of the political spectrum. This included everything from Breitbart to Occupy Democrats. In this book, I only reference writings from the ‘news’ and ‘politics’ sections and not the ‘opinion’ ones. The following news organizations were the most
credible and almost always agreed about the facts. To represent the Trump Administration’s news, I used quotes from the White House website, Donald Trump’s website, the White House Twitter, and Donald Trump’s Twitter as well as statements made by Trump or his Press Secretary Sean Spicer vocally.
1 NBC 2 Slate 3 Vox 4 New York Times 5 Time 6 Independent 7 Fortune 8 The Hill 9 Fox News
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LEFT—LEANING
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RIGHT—LEANING
FOREI LEADE Within the first month of his presidency, Trump spoke to numerous foreign leaders, whether in person or over the phone. These included calls to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mexican President Enrique PeĂąa Nieto as well as a conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. While the White House described these conversations as productive
and civil, the reality of the call readouts is very different. From hanging up on Turnbull to threatening Mexico, Trump was less than friendly with these powerful officials, no matter how his team tried to justify it.
IGN ERS
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CALL WITH AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER
Trump reportedly called it “the worst deal ever” and suggested that Australia may be trying to send the U.S. “the next Boston bomber.” The Hill right-leaning
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FOREIGN LEADERS
...emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship. White House Website
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CONFERENCE WITH CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER
Slate left-leaning
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FOREIGN LEADERS
White House Twitter
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RUSSIAN RELATIONS
...the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said his government had been in touch with Mr. Trump’s advisers during the campaign. Independent fairly neutral
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FOREIGN LEADERS
I have nothing to do with Russia. To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.
Trump Statement
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CALL WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT
Trump told Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto during a Friday phone call that Mexico had “a bunch of bad hombres down there” and threatened to send in the U.S. military to intervene. The Hill right-leaning
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FOREIGN LEADERS
The two had a productive and constructive call regarding the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
White House Website
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CABIN PICKS President Trump began setting his cabinet in place during his first month in office. After only three weeks, his national security advisor Michael Flynn resigned when Flynn’s secret ties to Russia came to light. Two days later, Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination for Labor Secretary due to his position as CEO of a major fast food chain and resurfaced spousal abuse
accusations. Trump’s confirmed picks were not free from controversy either. Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was criticized for his history of racist and anti-semitic statements. Many other picks were denounced for having conflicts of interest. The Trump Administration continued to praise its cabinet picks without commenting on many of their controversies.
NET S
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CHIEF STRATEGIST STEVE BANNON
...the biggest problem he had with Archer [School] is the number of Jews that attend. He said that he doesn’t like Jews and that he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiny brats’... NBC / Bannon’s Ex-Wife left-leaning
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CABINET PICKS
No Posts on White House Website/ Social Media Addressing this Issue
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STEVE BANNON
New York Times left-leaning
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CABINET PICKS
Bannon’s Twitter
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NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER RESIGNATION
Michael T. Flynn, the national security adviser, resigned on Monday night after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States. Independent fairly neutral
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CABINET PICKS
No Posts on White House Website/ Social Media Addressing this Issue
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LABOR SECRETARY WITHDRAWAL
Fast-food chain CEO Andrew Puzder withdrew from consideration for Labor secretary Wednesday afternoon, amid mounting controversy over his personal and professional past. Fox News right-leaning
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CABINET PICKS
No Posts on White House Website/ Social Media Addressing this Issue
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MUSL BAN On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from 6
then blocked part of the order, saying it violated immigrants’ rights to Due Process and Equal
Muslim-heavy countries (Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen) from entering the United States for 90 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely. The next day, protesters showed up at many airports across the country including LAX and JFK. Federal Judge Ann M. Donnelly
Protection under the Constitution. 2 days later, Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates for also refusing to defend the ban. Trump tried to gain support for the ban by tweeting exaggerations and falsehoods about the United State’s immigration policies.
LIM
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MUSLIM BAN LEGALITY
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin... New York Times left-leaning
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MUSLIM BAN
Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may suspend the entry of any class of aliens... White House Website Citing Law 8 U.S.C. 1182(f)
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IMMIGRATION POLICY
Every refugee goes through an intensive vetting process, but the precautions are increased for Syrians. Multiple law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies perform “the most rigorous screening of any traveler to the U.S.,� says a senior administration official. Time slightly left-leaning
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MUSLIM BAN
What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?
Trump’s Twitter
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TERRORISM THREAT
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has admitted some 750,000 refugees. None have been arrested on domestic terrorism charges, though two— a pair of Iraqis in Kentucky—were charged with terrorist activities connected to aiding al-Qaeda. Time slightly left-leaning
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MUSLIM BAN
The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!
Trump’s Twitter
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BOSTON PROTEST AGAINST MUSLIM BAN
New York Times left-leaning
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MUSLIM BAN
No Photos on White House Website/ Social Media of the Protests 35
INAUG RATIO On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. After the ceremony was finished, Trump and his administration boasted on television and social media about the size of the crowd at the event, claiming it was the most-viewed inauguration in American history. Of all the broadcasts of the swear-in, only Fox News agreed with this claim.
They later realized their error and published an article fact checking Trump. Even against clear photo evidence, Trump continued to insist that his inauguration was the most viewed.
GU ON
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INAUGURATION CROWD
Screenshot from Livestream
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INAUGURATION
Trump’s Website
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INAUGURATION CROWD
Donald Trump’s Inauguration Draws 18% Fewer Viewers Than Barack Obama’s in 2009 Fortune right-leaning
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INAUGURATION
...the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe. Press Secretary Sean Spicer Statement
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INAUGURATION CROWD
Trump is wrong. Photos of the National Mall from his inauguration make clear that the crowd did not extend to the Washington Monument. Large swaths of empty space are visible on the Mall. Fox News right-leaning
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INAUGURATION
The field was — it looked like a million, a million and a half people... all the way back to the Washington Monument was packed.
Trump Statement
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“ WHOEVER C
THE MEDIA , THE M
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CONTROLS , CONTROLS MIND.” Jim Morrison
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Special thanks to all the news organizations referenced for their writings and photography. This book was typeset using Times New Roman pt 9 for all body copy and Korolev Bold or Light for everything else. It was perfect bound. This book was designed, written, and created by Katie Ehrlich for Making Meaning Spring 2017.