Endlessly, George Lakoff has tried to pound into the liberal mind the importance of framing. In politics, he who creates the frame wins.
What frame has Donald Trump created for himself and sold to his base? He is the champion of the “forgotten,” the new majority minority. He is the embodiment of anti-establishment that believes all progress in the liberal sense is a zero-sum game, that every right gained at the margins diminishes the rights held at the center.
His base likes his boisterous, rude, crude insults and threats. He wants to be seen as tearing down the fabric of a society that since FDR has successfully become increasingly inclusive. He sold himself to them as a dealmaker, one that will scrap all the “bad deals” (i.e. all deals ever made by Democratic administrations) in favor of new, “better” deals. He is the dealbreaker, and they cheer him on as he shatters every alliance.
It is important that the free press portray accurately what actually transpires when Trump is confronted by longstanding allies and the deals and treaties we have in place with those parties. It is disconcerting that both the New York Times and The Daily Beast chose to run headers that indicate that they have bought into Trump’s self-portrayal as deal-buster at this weekend’s G7.
The reason I focus on headers is because they often are all the reader will see of an article. In the age of information overload, people scanning headers on a newsfeed will click into a few articles at best, but all the headers that reader sees go into the “wet cement.” The impression is there.
Here are two headers that give a false impression of the effect of Trump’s behavior on the G7 proceedings.
This from The New York Times on June 9.
Trump Shakes Up World Stage in Break With U.S. Allies
By PETER BAKERAt a moment of tumult over trade and nuclear security, President Trump is making friends with America’s enemies and enemies out of America’s friends.
This header portrays Trump exactly as he wants to be seen. He has not shaken up anything. He would like to think he did, but Trudeau, Macron, and Merkel stabilize what he would like to upset. I am not linking to the story. Just sharing the header and lede that came in the morning email. I have no problem with the lede, but that header…. nuh-unh.
This from The Daily Beast June 10.
Trump Upends G7 With ‘Fits of Anger’ at Trudeau
The president ignites a new personal rivalry with the Canadian leader even as he sets off to make nice with North Korea.
Here’s another header that caters exactly to the image Trump wants to present of himself. Again, not linking to the article. This is about the header. It sets the stage. That is what creates the impression. In fact Trump has neither shaken up nor upended anything. The stabilizing influences, Merkel, Marcon, and Trudeau, prevailed. Trump is the one who is isolated (and thereby isolated us).
The true leaders, Merkel, Macron, and Trudeau, made it clear that they and their constituents could easily move forward as a G6 without the United States. Certainly other big economies like India and Brazil might be ripe for membership. Trump, on the other hand, has indicated a preference to go forward as a G2 with Russia.
The toddler with the hammer has not shattered anything except the trust of our longtime allies – and that should be enough to set off bells and whistles. Tantrums are not manifestations of power. They are warning signs of instability. Trump has made us the dispensable nation.
The media should stop catering to the image Trump wants to create and present the real picture. The rage and chaos he seeks to portray feed his base. That, to them, is “winning.” Stop writing headers that create the impression that this behavior is effective. It is destructive. It is dangerous.
Some of the damage is rolling in. Read Krugman’s thread.