Berl Falbaum
With this column, we will do some musing about a couple of “what ifs?” relating to the Trump era.
I have discussed these with many in the last 10 years or so, wondering what could have happened if these had been addressed.
More and more I noticed how friends and colleagues were depressed, hoping, in vain, that tomorrow will be better than today.
But it was not to be.
In the Trump years, we have not had “one normal day” which is the title of my 2019 book on Trump and, while not wanting to sound self-serving, little did I know how true that would turn out to be.
So, as we concluded the first year of Trump’s second term (January 20) and approach the 11-year anniversary (June 16) of that infamous ride down the golden escalator, I thought it was time to speculate about two “what ifs” that involve the performance of media and the legal community. —
Let’s begin with the media.
What if the media had challenged Trump directly on every one of the tens of thousands of lies that he has told during the last 11 years? — I mean face-to-face and press him — hard — on his falsehoods.
Regrettably, that never — and I use “never” advisedly — happened. Let’s just take a couple of recent examples. One relates to the gut-wrenching fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota.
During a two-hour interview session with Trump, four New York Times correspondents heard the president tell them that the shooting was justified because Good “…behaved horribly.” While having an aide play the video tape, he added: “And then she ran him over. — She didn’t try to run him over. — She ran him over.”
The reaction from the journalists? — Zolan Kannon-Youngs, the paper’s White House correspondent, reported in a video post and article: “We told the president that the early videos circulating online were unclear” and that the tape did not appear to show an ICE officer being run over.
I am not sure what Kannon-Youngs video shows but the one I watched, many, many times, as did millions of Americans, was not “unclear” and did not show an ICE agent being run over.
In summarizing the two-hour session with Trump, Kannon-Youngs said the president displayed a “reflexive defensiveness.” — Wow, there is a synonym for lying.
Or take the case of Norah O’Donnell, 60 Minutes senior correspondent who interviewed Trump for about an hour during which Trump told about two dozen lies.
She never challenged him on one — not one.
These are just two “minor” examples but thus it has gone on for 11 years. In its book, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President’s Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies,” The Washington Post documented 30,516 lies Trump told between his inauguration in 2017 and January 8, 2021.
Perhaps, just perhaps, had the media held him accountable, we would have been spared some political grief.
And, perhaps, even staunch MAGA-ites might have recognized Trump’s venality. Naw, that’s going too far.
Now, that I have used the word “accountable,” it brings us to the second “what if?”
Despite all the charges, court hearings and trials, Trump escaped total — emphasis on total — accountability.
Even though he was found guilty in three trials, Trump has not paid a price.
The $83 million fine for sexual assaulting the writer E. Jean Carroll is still in the appellate courts as is the case in which Trump was found guilty for real estate fraud.
In his conviction on 34 felony charges involving hush money payments, Trump escaped punishment when Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge” in New York, 10 days before Trump’s inauguration for a second term as president. With that sentence, Trump walked away free with no jail time, probation or fine.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice dropped the cases involving attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and illegally holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The cases were closed because of a DOJ policy that prohibits prosecution of a sitting president.
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court broadened presidential immunity, giving Trump more protection from his unsavory and criminal behavior.
Finally, we cannot ignore how Trump’s lawyers often blatantly lied in court and escaped accountability. Yes, they were rebuked by judges, sometimes strongly, but suffered no punishment.
They walked away scot-free while some charge as much as $3,000 an hour, others even more. Thus, their billing hours increase dramatically since judges had to schedule additional hearings.
On the legal side of the Trump “what if” dilemma, consider the following: What would happen if the Venezuela raid is found to have been unconstitutional by the courts, the United Nations or other international law entities. What consequences would Trump suffer? The answer: None.
The raids have been conducted. The damage cannot be undone. And, surely, Trump would not be arrested, tried or held accountable by other means.
Yet, except for politicians, mostly Democrats, complaining on political talk shows, no one has been held accountable.
And that, dear reader, is our conundrum.
The media have been guilty of dereliction of duty and the law has failed in its obligations.
Trump has played the two expertly having dealt with the media and the law in New York for decades. He understands them and has exploited their weaknesses all too well. (Before being elected president, Trump was involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits in New York.)
The “better tomorrow” I mentioned at the top of this column and that Annie looked forward to in her famous song from the musical bearing her name and many Americans hope for will never come for at least another three years, if not longer.
I have discussed these with many in the last 10 years or so, wondering what could have happened if these had been addressed.
More and more I noticed how friends and colleagues were depressed, hoping, in vain, that tomorrow will be better than today.
But it was not to be.
In the Trump years, we have not had “one normal day” which is the title of my 2019 book on Trump and, while not wanting to sound self-serving, little did I know how true that would turn out to be.
So, as we concluded the first year of Trump’s second term (January 20) and approach the 11-year anniversary (June 16) of that infamous ride down the golden escalator, I thought it was time to speculate about two “what ifs” that involve the performance of media and the legal community. —
Let’s begin with the media.
What if the media had challenged Trump directly on every one of the tens of thousands of lies that he has told during the last 11 years? — I mean face-to-face and press him — hard — on his falsehoods.
Regrettably, that never — and I use “never” advisedly — happened. Let’s just take a couple of recent examples. One relates to the gut-wrenching fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minnesota.
During a two-hour interview session with Trump, four New York Times correspondents heard the president tell them that the shooting was justified because Good “…behaved horribly.” While having an aide play the video tape, he added: “And then she ran him over. — She didn’t try to run him over. — She ran him over.”
The reaction from the journalists? — Zolan Kannon-Youngs, the paper’s White House correspondent, reported in a video post and article: “We told the president that the early videos circulating online were unclear” and that the tape did not appear to show an ICE officer being run over.
I am not sure what Kannon-Youngs video shows but the one I watched, many, many times, as did millions of Americans, was not “unclear” and did not show an ICE agent being run over.
In summarizing the two-hour session with Trump, Kannon-Youngs said the president displayed a “reflexive defensiveness.” — Wow, there is a synonym for lying.
Or take the case of Norah O’Donnell, 60 Minutes senior correspondent who interviewed Trump for about an hour during which Trump told about two dozen lies.
She never challenged him on one — not one.
These are just two “minor” examples but thus it has gone on for 11 years. In its book, “Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth: The President’s Falsehoods, Misleading Claims and Flat-Out Lies,” The Washington Post documented 30,516 lies Trump told between his inauguration in 2017 and January 8, 2021.
Perhaps, just perhaps, had the media held him accountable, we would have been spared some political grief.
And, perhaps, even staunch MAGA-ites might have recognized Trump’s venality. Naw, that’s going too far.
Now, that I have used the word “accountable,” it brings us to the second “what if?”
Despite all the charges, court hearings and trials, Trump escaped total — emphasis on total — accountability.
Even though he was found guilty in three trials, Trump has not paid a price.
The $83 million fine for sexual assaulting the writer E. Jean Carroll is still in the appellate courts as is the case in which Trump was found guilty for real estate fraud.
In his conviction on 34 felony charges involving hush money payments, Trump escaped punishment when Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge” in New York, 10 days before Trump’s inauguration for a second term as president. With that sentence, Trump walked away free with no jail time, probation or fine.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice dropped the cases involving attempts to overthrow the 2020 election and illegally holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The cases were closed because of a DOJ policy that prohibits prosecution of a sitting president.
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court broadened presidential immunity, giving Trump more protection from his unsavory and criminal behavior.
Finally, we cannot ignore how Trump’s lawyers often blatantly lied in court and escaped accountability. Yes, they were rebuked by judges, sometimes strongly, but suffered no punishment.
They walked away scot-free while some charge as much as $3,000 an hour, others even more. Thus, their billing hours increase dramatically since judges had to schedule additional hearings.
On the legal side of the Trump “what if” dilemma, consider the following: What would happen if the Venezuela raid is found to have been unconstitutional by the courts, the United Nations or other international law entities. What consequences would Trump suffer? The answer: None.
The raids have been conducted. The damage cannot be undone. And, surely, Trump would not be arrested, tried or held accountable by other means.
Yet, except for politicians, mostly Democrats, complaining on political talk shows, no one has been held accountable.
And that, dear reader, is our conundrum.
The media have been guilty of dereliction of duty and the law has failed in its obligations.
Trump has played the two expertly having dealt with the media and the law in New York for decades. He understands them and has exploited their weaknesses all too well. (Before being elected president, Trump was involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits in New York.)
The “better tomorrow” I mentioned at the top of this column and that Annie looked forward to in her famous song from the musical bearing her name and many Americans hope for will never come for at least another three years, if not longer.
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