>From a friend.
[Any uncertainty about Trump that I may have had went up in a puff of spoke when I read Trump's vicious attacks on US media and his press secretary's mendacious claims about the size of his inauguration crowd. His press secretary attended a press conference at which only he spoke, from prepared notes whose tone was very reminiscent of Trump. The intimidatory theme was: the media claim that Trump must be accountable to them. This cuts two ways. From now on Trump will monitor the media and will make them personally responsible for their errors. His press secretary's claims had not been fact-checked, and contained several major errors. There was no opportunity for journalists to ask questions. *Trump wants to beat US media into submission, and will abandon all normal standards of truth to achieve this goal. It is bad enough when this modus operandi is applied to domestic politics. It will become positively hair-raising when the same principle is applied to US foreign policy and international relations, war and peace and so on.] * Trump press secretary Sean Spicer claims inauguration drew ‘largest audience ever’ in a conference light on facts http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-press-secretary-claims-inauguration-grew-largest-crowd-article-1.2952666 BY Rich Schapiro <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Rich-Schapiro> Denis Slattery <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Denis-Slattery> NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Saturday, January 21, 2017, 11:58 PM President Trump’s top spokesman used his first White House press briefing to berate the media — for accurately reporting the crowd size at Friday’s inauguration <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-donald-trump-barack-obama-inauguration-crowd-article-1.2951453>. “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period — both in person and around the globe,” a seething Sean Spicer said in a Saturday address riddled with falsehoods. “These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong.” Spicer delivered much of his 5 1/2-minute diatribe flanked by photos he claimed showed the “enormous” crowds gathered for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. Trump to CIA: ‘Trust me, I'm like a smart person’ <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-cia-trust-smart-person-article-1.2952569> News outlets had earlier displayed aerial photos of the scene at Trump’s inauguration <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trumps-obamas-share-ride-capitol-article-1.2951384> that showed large swaths of open space on the National Mall — drawing a stark contrast to photos of Obama’s packed 2009 inaugural. White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that Trump’s inauguration was the first to use floor covering on the grass near the Capitol, making open spaces more apparent. (Alex Brandon/AP) Spicer claimed that Trump’s swearing-in was the first to use floor coverings on the grass near the Capitol, making open spaces more apparent. But photos from 2013 show that plastic sheets were also used to protect the grass during Obama’s second inauguration. Spicer also argued that the use of magnetometers slowed Trump supporters attempting to reach the National Mall. But a Secret Service spokesperson later said that the devices weren’t used on the Mall. Stasi: Trump's inauguration was saddest and strangest in history <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/stasi-trump-inauguration-saddest-strangest-history-article-1.2952649> Spicer went on to deliver another whopper when he claimed that more people used the city’s train system for Trump’s inaugural than Obama’s 2013 swearing-in. Aerial shots show a smaller crowd for President Trump’s inauguration (l.) compared to President Obama’s. Aerial shots show a smaller crowd for President Trump’s inauguration (l.) compared to President Obama’s. (STAFF/REUTERS) Spicer said 420,000 people used the Metro on Friday compared to 317,000 for Obama’s inauguration four years ago. The rail system in fact saw 570,000 trips Friday compared with 1.1 million at Obama's 2009 inauguration and 782,000 at his 2013 inauguration, according to the Washington Post. The newly-minted White House press secretary also slammed a journalist who had already apologized for incorrectly reporting that Trump removed a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. from his office. Trump’s deleted tweets could violate Presidential Records Act <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-deleted-tweets-violate-presidential-records-act-article-1.2952416> “This was irresponsible and reckless,” Spicer said. 77 photos view gallery Donald Trump sworn in as 45th President of the United States <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/donald-trump-inauguration-day-gallery-1.2951228> The blistering attack on the press echoed the disdain Trump regularly shows toward reporters. “There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the responsibility to hold Donald Trump accountable, and I’m here to tell you that it goes two ways,” Spicer said. “We’re going to hold the press accountable as well.” National Park Service back on Twitter after anti-Trump retweets <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/national-park-service-back-twitter-anti-trump-retweets-article-1.2952312> Capping his extraordinary news conference, Spicer marched out of the briefing room without taking any questions. Spicer blasted the media for publishing “inaccurate” numbers and photos of the inauguration crowd. (CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS) The 45-year-old Spicer is a seasoned press operative. A native of Rhode Island, he worked in the George W. Bush administration before serving as communications director for the Republican National Committee. Spicer’s angry address stunned the assembled press corps — and prompted a backlash on social media. But former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted that Spicer was merely doing his boss’ bidding. “This is called a statement you're told to make by the President. And you know the President is watching,” Fleischer wrote. “So, while press is stunned & can't believe it, Sean is getting praised by his boss & co-workers now. MSM is from Venus. WH is from Mars.” Jay Carney, a former White House spokesman under Obama, saw it very differently. “Wrong. The President I worked for never told me to lie. Ever,” Carney tweeted. “And I doubt Pres. Bush ever told @AriFleischer to lie. Today was not normal.” -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
