The new White House Casual Friday uniform.
Feb 16 // Feb 2 2017
Note to everyone everywhere about everything: google is your friend.
Dress like a journalist.
Today’s quiz: What statement did President Trump make that resulted in a twitter storm, a day-long facebook feeding frenzy and numerous follow-up articles?
Answer:
None. He said none of these.
Here’s where we start to wonder if we’re losing our minds.
Outrage du jour, circa two weeks ago: “Dress like a woman.” Remember that?
The news was filled to the brim with stories telling us that President Trump likes the women who work for him to “dress like a woman” (in quotes, no less) and the universe responded. It was formidable, fierce and fiery.
Many women who tweeted their responses were scientists. Others were women in professions like firefighting, police work and other more traditionally male roles. Other women voicing their objections were strong, independent women who wanted to make it known that the phrase “dress like a woman” was offensive, unwelcome, misogynist, sexist and derogatory.
Facebook feeds were filled with images, tweets, and posts all deriding the President for making such a lame statement about one half of the population and demonstrating once again that he is a dope and a pig. Let’s show him what it means to “dress like a woman!” And the pictures – thousands and thousands of them - followed.
One problem. He never said it. Surprised? So were we. But we looked around for the interview, clip or other place where he made this statement and couldn’t find it. Until we found this.
It’s from a site called Axios and it was written by Mike Allen and Jonathan Swan. Axios is a relatively new site that “delivers a mix of original and smartly narrated coverage of media trends, tech business and politics…” The “quote” in question came from an anonymous source – or more than one source - who worked on President Trump’s campaign.
Surprise! We found out that the President appears to be a little shallow. A little concerned about appearance. Stunning news. Imagine the owner of the Miss Universe Pageant not being all about “inner beauty.”
The article contained the following bullets (italics courtesy of Two Weeks Ago News, just to be clear….):
So let’s sum up. Here are the people behind this story: A source, a source, a source. Additionally, someone quoted indicated “I would say” and "we hear.”
Now that’s the kind of solid, A+, bullet-proof-reporting we like to read.
And look: we’re not trying to make a case the other way. We can’t. But we will say this: We’ll agree that the “spirit” of the topic is unsavory and ill-advised, even dismissive and sexist, if everyone who was so outraged about the “dressing like a woman” headline will agree to this: None of us know what – if anything – President Trump has ever said to his staff, both men and women, about dress code in the White House.
Agreed?
Note to everyone everywhere about everything: google is your friend.
Dress like a journalist.
Today’s quiz: What statement did President Trump make that resulted in a twitter storm, a day-long facebook feeding frenzy and numerous follow-up articles?
- Muslims entering the United States should all be given Bibles to welcome them.
- He likes women who work for him to “dress like a woman.”
- Regarding climate change:“I’ve heard of lots of areas getting a lot of snow – the most snow – in the last 50 years.”
- About the Keystone Pipeline: “We’ve found plenty of ways to clean rivers and streams - we have the best scientists - the best! - if they get polluted.”
Answer:
None. He said none of these.
Here’s where we start to wonder if we’re losing our minds.
Outrage du jour, circa two weeks ago: “Dress like a woman.” Remember that?
The news was filled to the brim with stories telling us that President Trump likes the women who work for him to “dress like a woman” (in quotes, no less) and the universe responded. It was formidable, fierce and fiery.
Many women who tweeted their responses were scientists. Others were women in professions like firefighting, police work and other more traditionally male roles. Other women voicing their objections were strong, independent women who wanted to make it known that the phrase “dress like a woman” was offensive, unwelcome, misogynist, sexist and derogatory.
Facebook feeds were filled with images, tweets, and posts all deriding the President for making such a lame statement about one half of the population and demonstrating once again that he is a dope and a pig. Let’s show him what it means to “dress like a woman!” And the pictures – thousands and thousands of them - followed.
One problem. He never said it. Surprised? So were we. But we looked around for the interview, clip or other place where he made this statement and couldn’t find it. Until we found this.
It’s from a site called Axios and it was written by Mike Allen and Jonathan Swan. Axios is a relatively new site that “delivers a mix of original and smartly narrated coverage of media trends, tech business and politics…” The “quote” in question came from an anonymous source – or more than one source - who worked on President Trump’s campaign.
Surprise! We found out that the President appears to be a little shallow. A little concerned about appearance. Stunning news. Imagine the owner of the Miss Universe Pageant not being all about “inner beauty.”
The article contained the following bullets (italics courtesy of Two Weeks Ago News, just to be clear….):
- Trump judges men's appearances as much as women's. A source who's worked with Trump explains: "If you're going to be a public person for him, whether it's a lawyer or representing him in meetings, then you need to have a certain look. That look —at least for any male — you have to be sharply dressed. Preferably, I would say, solid colors. … You should have a good physical demeanor, good stature, hair well groomed."
- Trump pays close attention to ties. Says a source who has worked with Trump: "You're always supposed to wear a tie. If it's not a Trump tie, you can get away with Brooks Brothers. But I'd suggest Armani." Trump prefers wider, traditional ties, this source says. Regarding Trump's rakish policy adviser Stephen Miller, the source adds: "I've always been surprised about how Stephen Miller survives with those thin ties."
- Trump likes the women who work for him "to dress like women," says a source who worked on Trump's campaign. "Even if you're in jeans, you need to look neat and orderly." We hear that women who worked in Trump's campaign field offices — folks who spend more time knocking on doors than attending glitzy events — felt pressure to wear dresses to impress Trump.
So let’s sum up. Here are the people behind this story: A source, a source, a source. Additionally, someone quoted indicated “I would say” and "we hear.”
Now that’s the kind of solid, A+, bullet-proof-reporting we like to read.
And look: we’re not trying to make a case the other way. We can’t. But we will say this: We’ll agree that the “spirit” of the topic is unsavory and ill-advised, even dismissive and sexist, if everyone who was so outraged about the “dressing like a woman” headline will agree to this: None of us know what – if anything – President Trump has ever said to his staff, both men and women, about dress code in the White House.
Agreed?