Taking Trump at his word

In September 2016, Salena Zito, who was then covering voters in The Heartland, wrote of the then-candidate Donald Trump, in a column for The Atlantic: “the press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.” The phrase quickly slipped into Trumplore. Trump allies, such as Peter Thiel, invoked it to argue that while reporters and fact checkers obsessed over the fine print of Trump’s pronouncements on, say, banning Muslims from the US and building a wall at the southern border, his supporters were hearing more general pledges to, say, reform immigration. Trump critics, such as Dara Lind, then of Vox, complained about the moral and factual slipperiness of such logic—criticisms that were vindicated when Trump moved to literally ban Muslims and literally build his wall almost as soon as he took office. Ever since then, the literally/seriously motif has echoed, Zelig-like, through the press. We’ve heard of Trump being taken seriously and literally, seriously but not literally (by the media this time), and neither seriously nor literally—the latter because, as The Atlantic’s David Frum put it last year, the president’s “words are as worthless as Trump Organization IOUs.” In large part, the phrase and the many variations thereupon are hard to pin down because Trump himself is hard to pin down. Since taking office, he’s said literally tens of thousands of things that aren’t true while also pursuing his more extreme campaign... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-08-03 12:05:46 UTC ]
News tagged with: #open internet #british government #finance minister #news corp

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Never mind what Rupert Murdoch really thinks about Donald Trump | Jane Martinson

Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury is further proof that Murdoch never lets personal feelings get in the way of good businessThere are many reasons to want to go back to early 2016 – not least the fact that Rupert Murdoch was still tweeting his views of the world rather than leaving it to the minions... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Books: The new Trump book, plus book reviews and news

For book lovers and politics fiends, 2018 has gotten off to a bang with the early publication of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” by Michael Wolff. Welcome to the new year! I’m Carolyn Kellogg with this week’s books newsletter. THE BIG STORY Excerpts from “Fire and Fury” that... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philippe Sands to take on English PEN Presidency

Prominent human rights lawyer Philippe Sands QC is to be the new president of English PEN, taking over from Maureen Freely. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling book on chaos of Trump's first year is itself the product of that dysfunction

Donald Trump has this much in common with Barack Obama: Both presidents’ first years spawned books that chronicled crises. Obama’s crisis, however, was inherited. Trump’s has been largely self-made. Trump even provided the alliterative title — “Fire and Fury” — for the book that has roiled... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Free speech groups praise UK decision to publish tell-all Trump book

Free speech groups have praised Little, Brown’s decision to release Michael Wolff’s tell-all book on Donald Trump’s presidency despite the UK’s strict libel laws and legal threats from the president. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump exposé gets early UK release

The explosive "insider’s account" on Donald Trump’s presidency will go on sale in the UK today, four days early, publisher Little, Brown has confirmed to The Bookseller. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Freedom To Publish: Macmillan’s Henry Holt Defies Trump Order, Rushes Out ‘Fire and Fury’

The American publisher Macmillan/Henry Holt, under an order from Donald Trump's personal attorneys to stop publication of Michael Wolff's book, instead moves to rush out 'Fire and Fury' on Friday as the publishing world watches developments. The post Freedom To Publish: Macmillan’s Henry Holt... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump presidency exposé climbs pre-order chart after media storm

An insider's account about Donald Trump's presidency has risen up the Amazon pre-order charts after the Guardian got hold of an early copy and revealed some of its controversial contents. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump's lawyers try to stop release of explosive exposé on his presidency

Donald Trump's lawyers have moved to prevent publication of an explosive "insider's account" of his presidency, due to be published next week. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pre-Orders for 'Fire and Fury' Skyrocket as Trump Rages; Pub Date Pushed to January 5

After the media released some choice bombshells from Michael Wolff's forthcoming White House tell-all, 'Fire and Fury,' the book has skyrocketed to #1 on Amazon and its on-sale date has been moved up—to the tune of infuriated tweets from President Trump. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ABA, Authors Guild Slam Trump's Legal Campaign Against 'Fire and Fury'

The ABA, Authors Guild, and National Coalition Against Censorship have issued separate statements condemning a cease and desist letter sent to Henry Holt by a lawyer for President Trump demanding that the publisher stop publication of Michael Wolff's White House tell-all. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little, Brown to publish 'inside account' of Trump presidency

Little, Brown is publishing what it calls an inside account of Donald Trump's presidency by journalist Michael Wolff. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spreading the Word About Diverse Books: 'PW' Talks with Marley Dias

We spoke with activist Dias and asked her to reflect on her activism and publishing journey so far, and to share some of her future goals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ebury takes on book 'exploding' gender stereotypes

Penguin Random House has inked a deal to publish The New Female Tribes which "explodes" gender stereotypes and explores the role of women in advertising. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH takes on Do Books' audio distribution

Pocket guidebook publisher, Do Books, has launched an audio partnership with Penguin Random House. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kenilworth Books takes fight for libraries to Theresa May

Staff at independent bookshop Kenilworth Books have written an open letter to Theresa May lamenting the "deep injustice" of libraries cuts, which they say are threatening the nation’s literacy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Guadalajara: Four Views of International Trade and Publishing in the Time of Trump

Four specialists at Guadalajara Book Fair look at US-Mexican trade in the Trump era and bilingual English-Spanish publishing issues. The post At Guadalajara: Four Views of International Trade and Publishing in the Time of Trump appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lily Pebbles' The F Word to Hodder

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired a "personal celebration" of female friendship by lifestyle content creator Lily Pebbles. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AAR/SBL 2017: Attendance Rises, Trump Talk Dominates

Nearly 10,300 scholars gathered in Boston from Nov. 18-21 for the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), marking an almost 8.5% increase in attendance from last year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Few Words With Jacks Thomas on ‘Building Inclusivity in Publishing’

Ahead of the second 'Building Inclusivity' event, London Book Fair's director sees 'tangible examples of publishers making concerted efforts' in diversity. The post A Few Words With Jacks Thomas on ‘Building Inclusivity in Publishing’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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