January 27, 2017

Did Donald Trump utter what Ronald Reagan called the "9 most terrifying words in the English language": "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"?

You might think so from this NYT headline: "‘I’m Here to Help,’ Trump Tells Tech Executives at Meeting."

But if you watch the video — provided at the link — and read the text, you'll see what he said was "I’m here to help you folks do well." And:
“There’s nobody like you in the world,” he enthused. “In the world! There’s nobody like the people in this room.” Anything that the government “can do to help this go along,” he made clear, “we’re going to be there for you.”
Yesterday, there was a much more conspicuous example of the NYT using a deceptively incomplete quote in a headline: "Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut.'" The full quote — which does appear in the article, in the second paragraph — is "The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while."

We discussed that article here, and the commenters observed the problem. Harkin said:

Bannon clearly implied with his "and just listen for awhile" modifier to "keep its mouth shut" that the press needs to step back and look at how wrong they've been.

Instead, the headline drops five words and implies Trump wants a press blackout.
They just can't help themselves.
Mattman26 said:
The bulletin the NYT issued through its phone app claimed Bannon "attacked the media as the 'opposition' and said it should 'keep its mouth shut'"

They left out the "and just listen for a while."

Bannon's obviously a feisty guy, and it might be a good thing if he'd tone things down a bit. But the quote in full, especially with the "and just listen for a while," suggests Bannon was prescribing what the media ought to do in order to its job properly.

The way the Times bulletin describes it makes it sound like Bannon thinks the media just shouldn't say anything (ever), which obviously sounds a good deal darker and more authoritarian.

They just can't help it.
And MaxedOutMama said:
Well, by definition the media can't keep its mouth shut for a while. It has to talk or write - that's its only function. If Bannon means there should be a little less opinion and a little more reporting, his comment may be more reasonable.

65 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Another day, another round of hackery from our pathetic pro-democrat anti-GOP press.

Anonymous said...

That's pretty innocuous, for the NYT. After all, as Trump's detractors have always pointed out, Trump isn't a "conservative". So even though he plans "to help" in some Reaganesque ways (lowering and simplifying taxes and regulations), nobody should be surprised to find out that he's not opposed to helping in the "terrifying" way, either.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

All the news that is fit for ignore.

steve uhr said...

I think you are reaching. Trump told them he was there to help. Headline is spot on.

Michael K said...

Steve, you just can't help it. My sympathy.

cubanbob said...

Trump and his people are shooting fish in a barrel. If the Democrat Party house organs were any good at the game they wouldn't be so transparently obvious.

Trumpit said...

To REWRITE Bannon and get it right:

"My boss, President Trump, should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep his mouth shut and just listen for a while."

The Orwellian utterances and actions of Trump and his inner circle need to be not redacted, but rewritten to reflect the truth. Who does that job fall to? The truth-seeking part of the public, I suppose.

Lucien said...

Trump, Conway, Bannon and the rest are "feisty guys" who a lot of people on their side wish would tone it down a little. But that's not the way they are, as the most recent presidential campaign shows. They have a much more brash and direct style. When attacked, they don't just defend themselves, they counterattack. People who are used to making those attacks with no down-side risk are hurt and offended by these tactics. Sad.

Not only do they counterattack, they set out traps, usually loaded with bait. Some on the left say Bannon's comments were foolish because they will make the media dig in and redouble their anti-Trump efforts -- like Bannon didn't know that before he spoke.

Dude1394 said...

Pointing out NYTimes bias seems like a full-time second career Dr.

Unknown said...

Trumpit says that Trump should be embarrassed and humiliated.

I have to ask, Why?

All of you leftists seem to think that Trump and Republicans and conservatives should be ashamed and crawl on the floor to apologize for disagreeing with you. Why?

Leftism is evil, it's horrible, it leads directly to misery, poverty, murder, theft, enslavement, tyranny, and so forth. Ample historical evidence for all of the above. Why should anyone feel like they need to apologize for not plunging into the leftist's maelstrom of identity politics, racism, sexism, hypocrisy, violence, and so on?

I honestly cannot think of a single thing today's Progressive Democrat party stands for that is in any way, shape or form a good thing. Some of their stated goals sound ok, but the methods that you have to accept to get to those goals are evil and destructive.

It should be a badge of honor to resist the left. It IS a badge of honor to say no to leftism. And I am glad that Trump is giving you leftists the middle finger. You need it. You need it desperately. You need to be mocked, scorned, and shunned as the representatives of the most vile, evil political system mankind has ever come up with. Your side actively enables evil and calls it good.

--Vance

Ann Althouse said...

"I think you are reaching. Trump told them he was there to help. Headline is spot on."

The difference between the full quote and the truncated quote matters a lot.

The truncated quote invites us to see government as the central driver of the economy.

The full quote is more in keeping with the actual plan to reduce regulation and get out of the way of private business. That's "help" too, but a different kind of help.

Ann Althouse said...

Also, as I stress in my quote, "I'm here to help" are the precise words Reagan decried.

Trump did/didn't say those words. Alternative facts. 2 ways to present the same thing.

steve uhr said...

Michael K. -- ditto. You shouldn't let politics interfere with your relationship with your children. You may regret it someday but by then it might be too late.

mccullough said...

Trump is helping media corporations. His presidency is ratings and clicks gold.

CarolynnS said...

Considering that many (most?) people only read the headlines, I would call this an example of the left creating "alternative facts."

tim in vermont said...

I blame Hillary for Trump, and there is a lot of evidence

Drago said...

Trumpit: "The Orwellian utterances and actions of Trump and his inner circle need to be not redacted, but rewritten to reflect the truth."

Read that one again slowly and let it sink in.

Lol

Drago said...

Another Trumpit self-immolation.

The Trump era is already at 11 on the fun scale for Lefty beclowning.

sunsong said...

Trump is gaslighting. His message is believe our lies and don't watch or read the news.

Trumpit said...

Vance, you are a dangerously deluded man. I think "Brownshirt" and violence when I listen to you. You are not guilty of subtlety or Bannon's doublespeak that Orwell wrote about in 1984. Rest assured, your ignorant hatred of the Left is no matched for our justified, reasoned hatred for everything Trump.

roesch/voltaire said...

As a once headline writer, there is only so much space, count, for each article depending on how much column space it takes up, font size etc, so I won't water board the headline writer or the NYT for this as you are free to read the whole article and get the gist and full quote.

tim in vermont said...

That being said, the obtuseness of the Media is boundless. They keep thinking just until they find a way to attack, only then does that tumbler fall.

tim in vermont said...

Who sent thugs to create violence at opposition rallies? That is where I would look for Brownshirts.

Drago said...

Btw, go read today's NYT article on the weak 1.9% GDP growth for the 4th qtr of 2016.

Obama mentioned once in the 3rd paragraph. Trump mentioned in the second with the sentence structured to convey Trump responsibility. Trump is then mentioned about 10 more times in attacks on his economic plans.

The left media dropped all pretense long ago so expect the gradual rewrite of Obama failings directly onto Trump. This is already in evidence by the Dems assigning current Obamacare failings (prior to any changes by republicans) to the GOP.

SayAahh said...

I confess to being angry. I have been well aware of liberal media bias and have in reaction learned Glenn Reynold's mantra: "just think of them as Democrat operatives with bylines". Josh Rogin's blatant and intentionally misleading headline about the senior State Dept. officials yesterday was the last straw.
I read that headline and was deceived. As the truth about the "mass resignations" came out(yes, I know there is a post about it) I became irate.

I have a much keener awareness of the brutal opposition now. I will be much more skeptical of any content from the hostile 4th estate.

Drago said...

Poor sunsong. She remains heartbroken over the loss of the Lefts monopolization of the media.

Bob Boyd said...

A friend of mine said, and this is a paraphrase, 'The government today is like an old oak that hasn't been pruned in 200 years. Presidents keep getting elected promising that they will prune it, but no one ever does it. Now it looks like it will actually get pruned this time. The problem is it's going to get pruned by amateurs.'

He has a point, but if no one has ever pruned the tree since it was planted, maybe there are no professional tree pruners to turn to. At some point you just have to start lopping. Nobody is going to cut the tree down and the tree will keep growing. That's the nature of a tree.

Achilles said...

"Rest assured, your ignorant hatred of the Left is no matched for our justified, reasoned hatred for everything Trump."

This statement screams moby. It is possible trumpit is just trying to make leftists look bad. It seems unlikely anyone is this stupid and so lacks self awareness.

Achilles said...

Blogger sunsong said...
"Trump is gaslighting. His message is believe our lies and don't watch or read the news."

If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Rest assured, your ignorant hatred of the Left is no matched for our justified, reasoned hatred for everything Trump.
1/27/17, 9:30 AM


You are SO wrong. As, I suppose, you will just have to learn the hard way.

WisRich said...

What I find amusing is that the NYT thinks that a Reagan line invalidates his Presidency because...Republicans are evil..or something.

Trump is not an ideologue, he's a pragmatist.

In short, Donald "Honey Badger" Trump don't give a sh*t.

Ann Althouse said...

"A friend of mine said, and this is a paraphrase, 'The government today is like an old oak that hasn't been pruned in 200 years. Presidents keep getting elected promising that they will prune it, but no one ever does it. Now it looks like it will actually get pruned this time. The problem is it's going to get pruned by amateurs.'"

To say "amateurs" is to presume that there are professionals in this particular field.

In your analogy, what corresponds to experienced arborists? Who are the professional government pruners?

LYNNDH said...

Drago said Poor sunsong. She remains heartbroken over the loss of the Lefts monopolization of the media.

Drago, it should be "She has no heart".

Unknown said...

I like Trumpit's "My hatred is reasonable, justified and everyone should have it! Yours is dangerous and you need to be put down because you are a Nazi!"

Funny, isn't it, how Nazism is always falling on the Republicans but somehow it always lands on the Democrats. Violence in the streets; press censorship, propaganda, holding up of politicians as god-figures: it's always Democrats who do that.

And who can forget that the 20th century saw the greatest mass murders in history, all on the left? Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, Hitler, the Kim family in North Korea.... all leftists. All celebrated by the left. Heck, Che Guevara is a hero, and he loved executing peasants with his bare hands--beloved by the left, though. I'm sure Trumpit has a Che Guevara shirt or has had one. The New York Times right now has columnists praising communist China and calling for us to become just like them. And the candidates to lead the Democrat party are openly racist; more open than they were back when the Democrats started the KKK.

What part of the Democrat Progressive party is not engaged in evil designs, Trumpit? Their stated goal is to eliminate individual liberty and rule over us with an iron fist. They state that they decide what is moral; what is right and wrong. They claim that all people's money and income belongs to them and they are the ones that should decide how it is spent, and we should be grateful for the few crumbs left to us. You leftists even argue that we humans poison the earth just by breathing.

No, you and your side promotes the very antithesis of goodness, right, and virtue. Your side deserves to be tossed onto the ashbin of history, never to be resurrected.

--Vance

Seeing Red said...

Are you listening?

There's a way to handle this.

Seeing Red said...

Ignorant hatred of the left?


Bwaaaaa

Outside of almost 100 years of destruction, misery and death.

In short - history.

The left is the death cult.

Hagar said...

CBS News has raised the campaign rhetoric up quite a bit since the election and raised it another notch after the inauguration.

As bannon said, the Democratic Party is not the enemy; the media is the enemy.

Paul said...

"This statement screams moby. It is possible trumpit is just trying to make leftists look bad. It seems unlikely anyone is this stupid and so lacks self awareness."

Nah. If you think of leftists as brainwashed members of a religious cult there beliefs and actions are easily comprehensible.

You cannot reason somebody out of something they were not reasoned into so why waste your time? I suppose that debating with delusional leftists is sport for some people.

The thing that's different now is THEY HAVE NO POWER. None. All the bitter bitches in the world marching in their cunt hats will not influence policy one iota. It's just a foolish exercise in drumming up a mirage of power, but actual power shapes events and needs political or military force to give it form. The left is a hollow shell in America today. The Federal government is under the control of a true man of action with the ability to see and organize to change its dysfunction.

At this point I find it easy to just ignore the left. Their insane ravings and egregious lies are like background noise to be tuned out. Everything is right with the world for a change and it's time to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Bob Boyd said...

"To say "amateurs" is to presume that there are professionals in this particular field.

In your analogy, what corresponds to experienced arborists? Who are the professional government pruners?"

I can't take credit for the analogy. But that's what I was saying in my comment above, I'm not sure there are any pro pruners for this tree because no one has ever actually done it. The arborists serving the government oak have long been dedicated to growing their respective branches. A branch can only get so long before it snaps off under it's own weight or starts interfering with its surroundings, homes, power lines, other trees. But the government arborists are only rewarded for growing the branches, never for for pruning. We've gotten to the point where we are taking down homes, power lines and cutting down other important trees just to make room for longer branches on the government oak.
This metaphor is growing out of control as well, I think.

harkin said...

Roesch/Voltaire said:
"As a once headline writer, there is only so much space, count, for each article depending on how much column space it takes up, font size etc, so I won't water board the headline writer or the NYT for this as you are free to read the whole article and get the gist and full quote."


Yeah, I'll bet it came down to the wire for the 'headline writer' (aka editors) choosing between:

"Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Keep Its Mouth Shut.'"

and

"Trump Strategist Stephen Bannon Says Media Should ‘Just Listen For Awhile'"

They probably flipped a coin.

Love the unnecessary waterboarding reference, so Times.

Birkel said...

Roesch/Voltaire:

Do you ever stop and consider that while space constraints are a reality the way they editorial decisions cut is ALWAYS in one direction?

I know you don't. It is a rhetorical question. But people have noticed the pattern.

CStanley said...

Well unless someone denies that Trump got this far by riding a populist wave, it's really a given that he's flipping the idea of government as the enemy of the people. He's presenting himself as the true government that serves the common man, and the old order as the corrupted government that must be swept away...it remains to be seen if that's true and if he'll succeed, and he should be given a chance. At the same time though, I hope conservatives will remain wary- trust but verify that Trump is serving our interests and not his own.

Anonymous said...

Bannon's full quote was no better. The Press isn't there to be quiet after listening to you, they're there to report what you've said.

Michael K said...

You shouldn't let politics interfere with your relationship with your children. You may regret it someday but by then it might be too late.

It is interesting how the left always tries to personalize political differences. What do you know about my children ?

Some are left leaning. some are right leaning. Someone without a leftist bias might think that I let them grow up and be educated without trying to influence their political choices.

I paid for their educations. Two are lawyers and lean left. One of those is an FBI agent and she was the one who, in spite of her political sentiments, told me in September that she would not vote for Hillary. I took that as unspoken acknowledgement of Hillary's corruption.

Another has two degrees and was halfway to a PhD when she decided she did not want to be an academic. She speaks and reads four languages, including Arabic. She is now in a multi-interview process with Apple to join their design team.

She thinks Trump will be impeached but I don't care. She drove her mother to Tucson for the move and is quite close to us.

Another is a fireman and owns the nicest home of all the kids.

I just think it is funny that you, a leftist, assume that I would let political opinions influence how I feel about my children.

One of them is estranged because his wife, a very hard left Psychology professor, told him he was too close to his family.

CStanley said...

My opinion of Brannon's quote is that he is absolutely correct but he's the wrong person to say it. Journalists have been committing malpractice and should be called out for it, but it makes me very uncomfortable for the sitting administration to do the calling out (too self-serving.)

Anonymous said...

"Trumpit says that Trump should be embarrassed and humiliated."

"I have to ask, Why?"

Have you been living under a rock? Trump's obsession with the crowd size of the inauguration, so much so that he calls the Parks Director and pressures him to find other photos so he can "prove" his crowd was bigger than Obama's for starters. He is obsessive about size apparently. That's just one issue, every single day he does more nutty things that would embarrass a sane person.

Gusty Winds said...

Lucien said...

...who a lot of people on their side wish would tone it down a little.

I don't want them to tone it down. Keep swinging. Bannon is right. The press is the opposition party. The liberal press and the lifetime liberal establishment in Washington are finally being challenged and called out on their bullshit.

We've been waiting too long for this battle to cower when we finally have people willing to fight.

Anonymous said...

We've been waiting too long for this battle to cower when we finally have people willing to fight."

The left wants the battle too and we're are raring to fight.

Drago said...

Trumpit: "Vance, you are a dangerously deluded man. I think "Brownshirt" and violence when I listen to you. You are not guilty of subtlety or Bannon's doublespeak that Orwell wrote about in 1984. Rest assured, your ignorant hatred of the Left is no matched for our justified, reasoned hatred for everything Trump."

LOL

BarrySanders20 said...

AA says "Trump did/didn't say those words. Alternative facts. 2 ways to present the same thing."

Fake but accurate = crash and burn for MSM.

So why not try accurate but fake?

Drago said...

Theresa: "The left wants the battle too and we're are raring to fight"

LOL

"raring to fight"...in footie pajamas, safe spaces and always, always, with properly scented candles, playdough and puppies.

"NOW, WITNESS THE AWESOME POWER OF THIS FULLY-ARMED AND OPERATIONAL BATTLE VULVA!!!"

MaxedOutMama said...

Unknown wrote " Pointing out NYTimes bias seems like a full-time second career Dr."

Well, it is. In fact, if the Althouse-Meade confederation spent 8 intense hours a day at it, they wouldn't get half the job done on most days.

The stakes are high. No one who defends the First Amendment with any degree of thought can believe that the societal right to political speech doesn't require a free press. Every dictator tries to control the media. Look what happened and is happening in Turkey!!

By extension, a functional press must be a goal. It's not enough to have a free press - it must be a press that functions to report facts and offer necessary background and commentary, in order to spark meaningful public dialogue. There has to be some internal constraint to report facts, to quote accurately, and to make commentary at least reasoned.

The one virtue that Ann saw in this election was that it should restore a critical press. It would be surprising if she did NOT do what she could to help that process along. The problem isn't that the NYT is against the Trump administration. The problem is that it is not offering real criticism and real reporting.

DR Judge said...

President Trump, the pope and some other dignitaries go fishing. The wind comes up and blows the pope's hat into the lake. Trump gets out of the boat, walks across the water and retrieves the pontiff's hat. Next day headline in the New York Times: TRUMP CAN'T SWIM

MacMacConnell said...

"The left wants the battle too and we're are raring to fight."

Good luck with that, all you'll get is more Trump. You have a neutered party and you have the leftard press which the majority of citizens don't believe, you'll get more Trump. You want a real battle? Bags of urine, bricks and obscene signs are no match for what we can bring to the streets. You'll get more Trump, enjoy.

Kevin said...

The Press isn't there to be quiet after listening to you, they're there to report what you've said.

By reporting part of your words in quotes and out of context to make it appear you said something else.

Sebastian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sebastian said...

"The left wants the battle too and we're are raring to fight." We know. We've seen the riots in Oakland and the Rape Melania signs in New York. We have heard Madonna's blow-up-the White House fantasy and John Lewis' Trump-is-not-legitimate screech. We know how you wanted to disrupt Trump rallies and how one of the prime instigators met frequently with O himself. We read the opposition papers and watch the MSM, fighting against the GOP 24/7 for the past 8 years. Y'all have been fighting for a long time, weaponizing even the government itself. The only difference now is that a nominal Republican is fighting back. He was not my first choice, but it's about time.

Michael K said...

"raring to fight"...in footie pajamas, safe spaces and always, always, with properly scented candles, playdough and puppies.

"NOW, WITNESS THE AWESOME POWER OF THIS FULLY-ARMED AND OPERATIONAL BATTLE VULVA!!!"


You poor pussified creatures. You are afraid of guns and let anarchists in masks do your fighting for you.

Good luck.

Bad Lieutenant said...


To say "amateurs" is to presume that there are professionals in this particular field.

In your analogy, what corresponds to experienced arborists? Who are the professional government pruners?
1/27/17, 9:48 AM


A couple of more recent ones might have been Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich. But nobody would give them the keys to the toolbox.

Bob Boyd said...

As the tree has grown out of control, so has the squirrel population.

tcrosse said...

"The left wants the battle too and we're are raring to fight."
Odd that the left would have chosen a greedy, corporatist war-monger for their leader, Hillary Clinton. Although, to be fair, their leader was chosen for them by the DNC and a lot of big-money donors.

Paul said...

Vagina men and spinsters in pink cunt hats does not a formidable army make. All you have is "sound and fury, signifying nothing". If you ever were to pick and actual violent confrontation with the right it would be as if entering a lion's den armed only with your farts.

viejo loco said...

To Theresa, Sunsong, Trumpit and possibly Chuckie on his bad days; be careful what you wish for. It would behoove to you all historical know-nothings to follow the aftermath of the French Revolution, or the results of the Bolshevik v. Menshiviks affair. How did that all work out? Attacking peole while hiding your identities is typical anarchist behavior.
Perhaps you should heed "Sic Semper Proditor."

MacMacConnell said...

Before the leftist brown shirts go to war they might want to watch the movies "Patton" or " The Longest Day" to name just two. It will give you a clue as to how American patriots fight fascism, we don't do it wearing black mask and cunt hats, we don't do it PC.

harkin said...

"To Theresa, Sunsong, Trumpit and possibly Chuckie on his bad days; be careful what you wish for. It would behoove to you all historical know-nothings to follow the aftermath of the French Revolution, or the results of the Bolshevik v. Menshiviks affair. How did that all work out? Attacking peole while hiding your identities is typical anarchist behavior."

Helpful hint to the snowflake squadron re Mensheviks, ask Ted Cruz, not Chuck Todd.