Donald Trump has a whole new Melania problem
As his numerous criminal scandals eat him alive and his illegitimate presidency collapses into a heap of treason, Donald Trump cannot afford any sideshow scandals that serve to make things even more difficult for him. So naturally, there’s now an ill timed sideshow scandal involving Melania Trump, Fox News, CNN, Air Force One, and a whole lot of defensive anger.
Every now and then Melania Trump does something – whether it be vanishing for a month, or reemerging while wearing an intentionally tone deaf jacket – which causes yet another round of negative coverage for the failing Donald Trump administration. This time around, Melania appears to have been doing the sensible thing, and Donald flipped out about it. She was reportedly watching CNN on Air Force One, prompting him to throw a fit at his staffers, because no one on Air Force One is allowed to watch any channel but Fox News. This story sounds like small potatoes on the surface, but it actually is a big deal.
Melania Trump’s spokesperson is responding in defensive fashion, and believe it or not, this is an actual quote: “Seems kind of silly to worry about what channel she watches on TV (any channel she wants btw).” In other words, Melania’s camp isn’t even bothering to try to deny that the incident happened. But consider for a moment why Melania was watching CNN, and why Donald had such a problem with it.
Melania was watching CNN because she wanted to know what’s really going on in the world, and perhaps more to the point, what’s really going on with her husband’s criminal scandals. In contrast, Donald Trump only wants to watch Fox News because the network spends so much time dishonestly kissing his butt (though perhaps not so much after this past week). Not only does Donald only want to hear positive lies about himself, he only wants his staffers and family members hearing positive lies about himself. He’s not trying to get a firm grasp on his situation and save himself; instead he’s clinging to the delusion that everything is going great, even as his presidency burns.
Bill Palmer is the publisher of the political news outlet Palmer Report