June 15 // June 6, 2017
Is it us?
Seems like that "two weeks" things is showing up just about everywhere.
...with thanks to guest columnist, Nelson Pena.
At Two Weeks Ago News, we strongly believe that if we can't or won't listen to each other, we're lost. And while we all may grumble about the people surrounding us as we make our way down this path together, in our book, it beats being lost alone.
In that spirit, we offer today's post, courtesy of a very talented journalist and friend, Nelson Pena. We enjoyed it - hope you do, too.
Thanks, Nelson! Your voice is always welcome here.
You’re not the only person reading Two Weeks Ago News. The president is here, too.
It’s true. He must be.
The message of this web site, of course, is that media is moving so fast and breathlessly that the things that seemed earth-shattering even just two weeks ago are already almost gone from memory – replaced by a new set of crises that we’re obsessing over at the moment but which but will, in turn, soon also be largely forgotten. Just give it a couple of weeks.
And this is how we know that the president is reading this right now, because he has clearly absorbed the Two Weeks Ago News concept all too well, and is using it to his benefit. Just check out this Bloomberg article, “In Trump’s White House, Everything’s Coming ‘In Two Weeks.’” https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-06/in-trump-s-white-house-everything-s-coming-in-two-weeks
This is the key to understanding President Trump. He lives for the moment. That’s right, he’s an evolved, mentally healthy, savor-the-little-things kind of guy. (Just kidding. We’re talking about President Trump here. He’s not like THAT at all.) What I mean is that he lives to get through the moment, and will say whatever he needs to say to make that happen. So, as the Bloomberg article points out, when faced with a tough question or perplexing issue (and let’s face it, for President Trump, most questions are tough, and most issues perplexing) he goes to his stock answer: I'm going to have an announcement about that in (you guessed it) two weeks.
In the moment, it works. People tend to accept what he says, and he survives to lie another day.
Of course, two weeks comes and goes and there's no announcement. (That’s the thing about reality. It’s so much harder than a reality show.) But President Trump is a born salesman and so he knows how to read his audience. And this is what he has noticed: In two weeks, almost nobody remembers that old promise he made. Everyone has moved on (except for that cranky Rachel Maddow and she hates everything.)
This only reinforces the cycle. So he does it again, and again, and the lies themselves begin to pile up in such a way that the next one obscures the last, and the president’s diversionary tweets muddy the message even further, and after a couple of weeks, the average person has trouble even remembering it all, let along demanding accountability.
This is classic Trumpism, and the kicker: he is counting on us being too dumb or distracted to notice. Is that a smart bet? Last year it sure was. It’s partly how he got where he is. But things are a little different now, and at this point, it’s unclear how long he can keep running this game. Maybe check back in a couple of weeks.
Is it us?
Seems like that "two weeks" things is showing up just about everywhere.
...with thanks to guest columnist, Nelson Pena.
At Two Weeks Ago News, we strongly believe that if we can't or won't listen to each other, we're lost. And while we all may grumble about the people surrounding us as we make our way down this path together, in our book, it beats being lost alone.
In that spirit, we offer today's post, courtesy of a very talented journalist and friend, Nelson Pena. We enjoyed it - hope you do, too.
Thanks, Nelson! Your voice is always welcome here.
You’re not the only person reading Two Weeks Ago News. The president is here, too.
It’s true. He must be.
The message of this web site, of course, is that media is moving so fast and breathlessly that the things that seemed earth-shattering even just two weeks ago are already almost gone from memory – replaced by a new set of crises that we’re obsessing over at the moment but which but will, in turn, soon also be largely forgotten. Just give it a couple of weeks.
And this is how we know that the president is reading this right now, because he has clearly absorbed the Two Weeks Ago News concept all too well, and is using it to his benefit. Just check out this Bloomberg article, “In Trump’s White House, Everything’s Coming ‘In Two Weeks.’” https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-06/in-trump-s-white-house-everything-s-coming-in-two-weeks
This is the key to understanding President Trump. He lives for the moment. That’s right, he’s an evolved, mentally healthy, savor-the-little-things kind of guy. (Just kidding. We’re talking about President Trump here. He’s not like THAT at all.) What I mean is that he lives to get through the moment, and will say whatever he needs to say to make that happen. So, as the Bloomberg article points out, when faced with a tough question or perplexing issue (and let’s face it, for President Trump, most questions are tough, and most issues perplexing) he goes to his stock answer: I'm going to have an announcement about that in (you guessed it) two weeks.
In the moment, it works. People tend to accept what he says, and he survives to lie another day.
Of course, two weeks comes and goes and there's no announcement. (That’s the thing about reality. It’s so much harder than a reality show.) But President Trump is a born salesman and so he knows how to read his audience. And this is what he has noticed: In two weeks, almost nobody remembers that old promise he made. Everyone has moved on (except for that cranky Rachel Maddow and she hates everything.)
This only reinforces the cycle. So he does it again, and again, and the lies themselves begin to pile up in such a way that the next one obscures the last, and the president’s diversionary tweets muddy the message even further, and after a couple of weeks, the average person has trouble even remembering it all, let along demanding accountability.
This is classic Trumpism, and the kicker: he is counting on us being too dumb or distracted to notice. Is that a smart bet? Last year it sure was. It’s partly how he got where he is. But things are a little different now, and at this point, it’s unclear how long he can keep running this game. Maybe check back in a couple of weeks.