This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/trump-stormy-daniels-60-minutes-hush-money.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
‘Hush Money,’ Now Playing Everywhere ‘Hush Money,’ Now Playing Everywhere
(about 11 hours later)
Gail Collins: Bret, did you find the Stormy Daniels interview sort of … boring? I did, and it seems like a tribute to Donald Trump that I could be listening to a woman talking about how she swatted his rear end with a magazine that had his picture on the front and think, “Well, at least he had underwear on.”Gail Collins: Bret, did you find the Stormy Daniels interview sort of … boring? I did, and it seems like a tribute to Donald Trump that I could be listening to a woman talking about how she swatted his rear end with a magazine that had his picture on the front and think, “Well, at least he had underwear on.”
Don’t get me wrong: Her claim about the guy who admired her baby and said, “It would be a shame if something happened to her mom,” was definitely worth talking about. And if her hush money counts as a campaign donation, that could be a huge issue.Don’t get me wrong: Her claim about the guy who admired her baby and said, “It would be a shame if something happened to her mom,” was definitely worth talking about. And if her hush money counts as a campaign donation, that could be a huge issue.
It’s just that we now have a president whose sleaze rating is so high it’s hard to get shocked by anything.It’s just that we now have a president whose sleaze rating is so high it’s hard to get shocked by anything.
Bret Stephens: Exactly. It’s boring because nothing about this president scandalizes us anymore. I can remember when news of Bill Clinton’s alleged affair with Gennifer Flowers broke when he was running for president in 1992. Conservatives erupted: The man was not fit to sit in the Oval Office!Bret Stephens: Exactly. It’s boring because nothing about this president scandalizes us anymore. I can remember when news of Bill Clinton’s alleged affair with Gennifer Flowers broke when he was running for president in 1992. Conservatives erupted: The man was not fit to sit in the Oval Office!
Nowadays it’s a different story. Right-wing political culture, including the institutional Christian right, has been pornogrified. The Stormy Daniels affair isn’t a shock to that culture; it’s a representation of it. This is the bed conservatives made, so to speak, when they adopted Trump as one of their own, so they shouldn’t be surprised by anyone who turns up in there with them.Nowadays it’s a different story. Right-wing political culture, including the institutional Christian right, has been pornogrified. The Stormy Daniels affair isn’t a shock to that culture; it’s a representation of it. This is the bed conservatives made, so to speak, when they adopted Trump as one of their own, so they shouldn’t be surprised by anyone who turns up in there with them.
If Trump were smarter, he would confess to the affair, maybe have a Jimmy Swaggart “I have sinned against you, my Lord” moment. That way he improves his ratings and probably lessens any legal jeopardy.If Trump were smarter, he would confess to the affair, maybe have a Jimmy Swaggart “I have sinned against you, my Lord” moment. That way he improves his ratings and probably lessens any legal jeopardy.
Gail: Another point on the Trump-is-so-terrible-nothing’s-shocking-anymore barometer: Stormy Daniels was only one of at least half-dozen weird/scary stories coming out of the White House in recent days.Gail: Another point on the Trump-is-so-terrible-nothing’s-shocking-anymore barometer: Stormy Daniels was only one of at least half-dozen weird/scary stories coming out of the White House in recent days.
I know this lacks a certain pizazz, but I was bowled over by the president’s response to the spending package. The fact that Congress actually passed one at all seemed worthy of at least a minor celebration: Trump wine for all! But instead, he reacted as if they’d done something wild and crazy behind his back — when his negotiators were there for the whole deal.I know this lacks a certain pizazz, but I was bowled over by the president’s response to the spending package. The fact that Congress actually passed one at all seemed worthy of at least a minor celebration: Trump wine for all! But instead, he reacted as if they’d done something wild and crazy behind his back — when his negotiators were there for the whole deal.
Bret: Here’s The Times’s account of how Trump’s responded. “Senior advisers spent Thursday telling reporters that he would sign” the bill. “Then early Friday, on a morning when he watched a fierce backlash to the measure play out on Fox News, Mr. Trump seemed to hesitate, tweeting angrily about the lack of wall funding.” Bret: Here’s The Times’s account of how Trump responded. “Senior advisers spent Thursday telling reporters that he would sign” the bill. “Then early Friday, on a morning when he watched a fierce backlash to the measure play out on Fox News, Mr. Trump seemed to hesitate, tweeting angrily about the lack of wall funding.”
I suppose there are two ways of interpreting this. One is that “Fox & Friends” runs the country and we’re all gonna die. The second is that the president is nervous about his base and feels compelled to manufacture a drama in order to keep them in line. Hence the second-most interesting line in the Times’s article: “Amy Kremer, a Tea Party activist who helped found Women for Trump, tweeted, ‘I’m done.’ ”I suppose there are two ways of interpreting this. One is that “Fox & Friends” runs the country and we’re all gonna die. The second is that the president is nervous about his base and feels compelled to manufacture a drama in order to keep them in line. Hence the second-most interesting line in the Times’s article: “Amy Kremer, a Tea Party activist who helped found Women for Trump, tweeted, ‘I’m done.’ ”
Gail: I really am prepared to believe he didn’t know the wall wasn’t in the bill. He probably didn’t even ask. When his top people are sitting in the Oval Office, the conversation goes something like this:Gail: I really am prepared to believe he didn’t know the wall wasn’t in the bill. He probably didn’t even ask. When his top people are sitting in the Oval Office, the conversation goes something like this:
AIDE: I have some good news: The whole spending package is almost done.AIDE: I have some good news: The whole spending package is almost done.
PRESIDENT: Did you hear what Oprah said about me?PRESIDENT: Did you hear what Oprah said about me?
Bret: Hehe.Bret: Hehe.
Gail: The two things a Republican president is supposed to do are cut taxes and try to cut domestic spending. Which generally doesn’t work, but you expect there’d be an effort at least.Gail: The two things a Republican president is supposed to do are cut taxes and try to cut domestic spending. Which generally doesn’t work, but you expect there’d be an effort at least.
Bret: The operative phrase on right-wing blogs is always something like: “The swamp wins again. Trump surrenders.” This is also known as “compromise.” Republicans got a $61 billion increase in military spending, the biggest annual increase in 15 years. Democrats got some of their own priorities funded. This is more or less how things are going to work when you don’t have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. The correct conservative response ought to be to nod, shrug and get on with life.Bret: The operative phrase on right-wing blogs is always something like: “The swamp wins again. Trump surrenders.” This is also known as “compromise.” Republicans got a $61 billion increase in military spending, the biggest annual increase in 15 years. Democrats got some of their own priorities funded. This is more or less how things are going to work when you don’t have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. The correct conservative response ought to be to nod, shrug and get on with life.
But it won’t work that way, because right-wing ideologues have convinced themselves that they own Washington and that any policy victory that is less than 100 percent complete is a sellout to the nefarious forces of liberalism and globalism. Wouldn’t it be something if Trump had gone out there and said, “This administration is prepared to take two-thirds of the loaf and that’s how politics in a democracy ought to be”? He can’t because he is unwilling and unable to move beyond the furies of his base.But it won’t work that way, because right-wing ideologues have convinced themselves that they own Washington and that any policy victory that is less than 100 percent complete is a sellout to the nefarious forces of liberalism and globalism. Wouldn’t it be something if Trump had gone out there and said, “This administration is prepared to take two-thirds of the loaf and that’s how politics in a democracy ought to be”? He can’t because he is unwilling and unable to move beyond the furies of his base.
Gail: Now that is the kind of sensible, real-world answer I’ve come to expect from you. Personally, I’d love to have a fight about the defense budget, and the whole idea that we’re supposed to be the world’s sole policeman. A country capable of putting Donald Trump in the White House should not be trusted with that kind of responsibility, and I’m tired of paying for it.Gail: Now that is the kind of sensible, real-world answer I’ve come to expect from you. Personally, I’d love to have a fight about the defense budget, and the whole idea that we’re supposed to be the world’s sole policeman. A country capable of putting Donald Trump in the White House should not be trusted with that kind of responsibility, and I’m tired of paying for it.
But that’s a rant — please ignore. The other White House weirdness has been the ever-shifting cast of characters. I guess there’s no reason for us to worry about the way his lawyers have been racing through the revolving doors, but we’re only one Fox broadcast away from Judge Jeanine as attorney general. Which allows me to once again express amazement at having come to a moment in history where Jeff Sessions is a somewhat sympathetic character.But that’s a rant — please ignore. The other White House weirdness has been the ever-shifting cast of characters. I guess there’s no reason for us to worry about the way his lawyers have been racing through the revolving doors, but we’re only one Fox broadcast away from Judge Jeanine as attorney general. Which allows me to once again express amazement at having come to a moment in history where Jeff Sessions is a somewhat sympathetic character.
Bret: We really should have a longer conversation one day about the defense budget, which I would double if it were it up to me.Bret: We really should have a longer conversation one day about the defense budget, which I would double if it were it up to me.
The departures of Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson and H. R. McMaster confirm the central truth of the Trump presidency: He’s an incompetent executive. He offers no loyalty to his subordinates but expects flattery from them in return. He provides no direction but refuses to take direction when it is offered to him. People call him the chaos president, which he thinks is a compliment because it hints at the possibility that there’s method to the madness. There isn’t. It’s just a personality disorder with command authority over nuclear weapons.The departures of Gary Cohn, Rex Tillerson and H. R. McMaster confirm the central truth of the Trump presidency: He’s an incompetent executive. He offers no loyalty to his subordinates but expects flattery from them in return. He provides no direction but refuses to take direction when it is offered to him. People call him the chaos president, which he thinks is a compliment because it hints at the possibility that there’s method to the madness. There isn’t. It’s just a personality disorder with command authority over nuclear weapons.
On second thought, maybe your point about Trump having control over the Pentagon budget is a good one. Ever consider moving to Costa Rica?On second thought, maybe your point about Trump having control over the Pentagon budget is a good one. Ever consider moving to Costa Rica?
Gail: I never could buy the “I’m going to Canada” thing. Although Costa Rica does have better weather.Gail: I never could buy the “I’m going to Canada” thing. Although Costa Rica does have better weather.
Still, it’d be like having a contractor tell you the gas is leaking in the basement and saying, “Well, then, I’m going to visit my sister in Cincinnati.” We’ve got to stay here and fix the problem.Still, it’d be like having a contractor tell you the gas is leaking in the basement and saying, “Well, then, I’m going to visit my sister in Cincinnati.” We’ve got to stay here and fix the problem.
Speaking of which, I know we’re in agreement about the gun issue, and nearly everybody was moved by the marches over the weekend. But I still do wonder why the country was so totally mobilized by what happened in Florida when the response to previous disasters — for God’s sake, grade-school kids in Newtown — was so comparatively muted.Speaking of which, I know we’re in agreement about the gun issue, and nearly everybody was moved by the marches over the weekend. But I still do wonder why the country was so totally mobilized by what happened in Florida when the response to previous disasters — for God’s sake, grade-school kids in Newtown — was so comparatively muted.
Do you think it was because these survivors are older and so articulate? Or that having Trump in the White House made everyone more sensitive to moral issues? I even wondered if it was because this time it happened in a political barometer-state like Florida.Do you think it was because these survivors are older and so articulate? Or that having Trump in the White House made everyone more sensitive to moral issues? I even wondered if it was because this time it happened in a political barometer-state like Florida.
Bret: All of the above, I suspect. The Parkland students have spoken out to magnificent effect, something the Newtown children were simply too young to do for themselves.Bret: All of the above, I suspect. The Parkland students have spoken out to magnificent effect, something the Newtown children were simply too young to do for themselves.
I also get the sense that the pace of these atrocities has accelerated. Before Parkland it was the church shooting in Sutherland Springs. Before that, the concertgoers in Las Vegas. Before that, the shooting of Representative Steve Scalise at the baseball field near Washington. Maybe, at some level of the national psyche, we understood that we we’re coming dangerously close to accepting these atrocities as an accepted fact of life. Defining deviancy down for the sake of Wayne LaPierre’s N.R.A.? No, thank you.I also get the sense that the pace of these atrocities has accelerated. Before Parkland it was the church shooting in Sutherland Springs. Before that, the concertgoers in Las Vegas. Before that, the shooting of Representative Steve Scalise at the baseball field near Washington. Maybe, at some level of the national psyche, we understood that we we’re coming dangerously close to accepting these atrocities as an accepted fact of life. Defining deviancy down for the sake of Wayne LaPierre’s N.R.A.? No, thank you.
Gail: Whenever I feel depressed I remind myself that the N.R.A. is having its worst year ever.Gail: Whenever I feel depressed I remind myself that the N.R.A. is having its worst year ever.
Bret: One of the paradoxes of the Trump presidency is that it has galvanized the country in all sorts of positive ways. From Charlottesville to l’Affaire Stormy, he has brought to the surface all sorts of ugliness that is simply unignorable. For instance, do you think the #MeToo movement would have taken hold the way it did if he weren’t in the White House?Bret: One of the paradoxes of the Trump presidency is that it has galvanized the country in all sorts of positive ways. From Charlottesville to l’Affaire Stormy, he has brought to the surface all sorts of ugliness that is simply unignorable. For instance, do you think the #MeToo movement would have taken hold the way it did if he weren’t in the White House?
Gail: It’s a necessary stage in women’s progress — socially and economically — so we’d have gotten there anyway. But having the worst-possible male image in the White House probably propelled things forward faster.Gail: It’s a necessary stage in women’s progress — socially and economically — so we’d have gotten there anyway. But having the worst-possible male image in the White House probably propelled things forward faster.
I guess you could say he’s so bad he’s making us better.I guess you could say he’s so bad he’s making us better.
Bret: As political writers, too, I suspect. Sometimes I wonder: After Trump, will we ever have this kind of material to work with? I mean, that’s assuming there is an “after Trump.”Bret: As political writers, too, I suspect. Sometimes I wonder: After Trump, will we ever have this kind of material to work with? I mean, that’s assuming there is an “after Trump.”