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NBC News Story About 3 Trump Scandals Being Reported in One Day Says Everything About Our Politics in the Age of Trump
20 February 2019
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a meeting with members of his cabinet, including (L-R) acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, White House adviser Ivanka Trump, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Trump,
National Security Advisor John Bolton, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in the Cabinet Room at the White House February 12, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
NBC News' First Read—their daily breaking news summary—made note of something that prior to January 2017 would have been considered a major development. Now, not so much.
What was this paradigm shift?
<p>Three scandals from the administration of President Donald Trump all broke on Tuesday:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage">reportedly asked</a> acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to ensure a Trump ally was in charge of the Michael Cohen investigation</li><li>Trump administration insiders "<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/flynn-backed-plan-transfer-nuclear-tech-saudis-may-have-broken-n973021">told a congressional committee</a> that efforts by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia may have violated the law, and investigators fear Trump is still considering it"</li><li><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/hill-democrats-say-education-dept-tried-interfere-probe-remove-investigator-n973256">Reports surfaced</a> House and Senate Democrats "obtained evidence that a senior official at the Department of Education tried to oust the department’s independent watchdog after she pushed back on an attempt to interfere in an active investigation of Secretary Betsy DeVos"</li></ul><p>But investigations, <a href="https://thesocialedgen.wpengine.com/news/politics/read-epa-head-scott-pruitts-resignation-letter-is-full-of-devotion-and-admiration-for-donald-trump/">resignations</a> and firings under clouds of scandal, <a href="https://thesocialedgen.wpengine.com/news/politics/crew-trump-quashed-fbi-move/">charges of ethics violations</a> and <a href="https://thesocialedgen.wpengine.com/news/politics/watch-shepard-smith-lists-trump-officials-indicted/">indictments</a> are so commonplace in the Trump administration that three new ones seemed like a normal day.</p><p><div id="insticator-container" class="embedid-ee1b1245-7f34-4d5c-8a70-c8be74fe7696"><div id="div-insticator-ad-1"></div><div id="insticator-embed"></div><div id="div-insticator-ad-2"></div><script data-cfasync="false" type="text/javascript">Insticator.ad.loadAd("div-insticator-ad-1");Insticator.ad.loadAd("div-insticator-ad-2");Insticator.load("em",{id : "ee1b1245-7f34-4d5c-8a70-c8be74fe7696"})</script></div></p><p></p><div id="b1d5d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RIHK751574967902"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098228040969142272" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">In today's @NBCFirstRead: https://t.co/XVm1t9cFJ6 https://t.co/JVldpHb6CW</div> — NBC News (@NBC News)<a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/statuses/1098228040969142272">1550672943.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>NBC called the Trump administration "ethically challenged."</p><p>According to NBC:</p><blockquote>"Any one of these stories would have dominated the news — for days and weeks — in any other administration. But in our current era, it was just Tuesday."</blockquote><p>And people noticed the new normal.</p><p></p><div id="6d4a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="P54SUR1574967902"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098218967376703488" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">From NBC's First Read - It's just Tuesday. https://t.co/zQ9CP1Ef2h</div> — Jesse Ferguson (@Jesse Ferguson)<a href="https://twitter.com/JesseFFerguson/statuses/1098218967376703488">1550670780.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="2c53a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="M2OM0Z1574967902"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098228574006509568" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NBCNews @NBCFirstRead It is hard to keep up with Trump scandals. As usual, Trump's response is to attack the messager</div> — rmc (@rmc)<a href="https://twitter.com/Thelast_try/statuses/1098228574006509568">1550673070.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="d2e29" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UO5L9A1574967902"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098247854630596608" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NBCNews @NBCFirstRead would someone please end this nightmare legally I feel we slowly bleeding to death</div> — Jamie Parris (@Jamie Parris)<a href="https://twitter.com/werthersgirl/statuses/1098247854630596608">1550677667.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="63139" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BTD5A41574967903"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098240062846832642" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NBCNews @NBCFirstRead DOJ needs to investigate. FBI should question Justice Thomas for determination on whether Da… https://t.co/eO98uzeYS7</div> — David Louis Whitehea (@David Louis Whitehea)<a href="https://twitter.com/LouisWhitehea/statuses/1098240062846832642">1550675809.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="d586d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="62DXK11574967903"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098234276233936896" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NBCNews @NBCFirstRead The entire Trump administration is as corrupt as they come. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.</div> — Ken Finch (@Ken Finch)<a href="https://twitter.com/finchPDX/statuses/1098234276233936896">1550674430.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>Although the Trump administration line of defense against all such stories—even those that go from alleged to confirmed—seems to be paying dividends.</p><p>While a new Trump administration scandal is an expected almost daily occurrence, his ardent followers' claims of fake news are equally predictable.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="bba0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="U45NR81574967903"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098228537159503872" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@NBCNews @NBCFirstRead First line:
"It's hard to keep up with all the alleged scandals..." 😂
Keyword: alleged… https://t.co/QIhDsisFFN</div> — Dave Dunn 🇺🇸 (@Dave Dunn 🇺🇸)<a href="https://twitter.com/DaveDunndee/statuses/1098228537159503872">1550673062.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>Trump's own reaction to at least one of the scandals was to attack the messenger: <em>The New York Times</em>.</p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p></p><div id="ff982" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6UVZJN1574967903"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098218016255414272" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The New York Times reporting is false. They are a true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!</div> — Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/1098218016255414272">1550670553.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>But unlike the President's core supporters, most people found his response troublesome.</p><p></p><div id="96467" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0XOBZ71574967903"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098268249828016128" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@realDonaldTrump Trump, when you speak this way, you incite violence. We have already seen a mail bomber and templ… https://t.co/vYuLBB3wZ5</div> — Fred Guttenberg (@Fred Guttenberg)<a href="https://twitter.com/fred_guttenberg/statuses/1098268249828016128">1550682530.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="b2d88" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UCLK2S1574967904"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098218696256802816" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@realDonaldTrump Trump constantly yells the slogan “ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” like a communist or fascist dictator abou… https://t.co/wW6VvNAmIw</div> — Eugene Gu, MD (@Eugene Gu, MD)<a href="https://twitter.com/eugenegu/statuses/1098218696256802816">1550670715.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="e1daf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="MKZXUS1574967904"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098219082069897217" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@realDonaldTrump Maybe this is something Vladimir Putin learned from Joseph Stalin who then taught it to Donald J. Trump.</div> — Eugene Gu, MD (@Eugene Gu, MD)<a href="https://twitter.com/eugenegu/statuses/1098219082069897217">1550670807.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><div id="43de5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="MI0P311574967904"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1098219804551311361" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@realDonaldTrump For those of you who are curious, this is the New York Times report that is making Trump nearly bl… https://t.co/fsc7iqgwun</div> — Eugene Gu, MD (@Eugene Gu, MD)<a href="https://twitter.com/eugenegu/statuses/1098219804551311361">1550670979.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p></p><p>NBC provided additional coverage on each story, but felt they also needed to make a statement about the new normal.</p>
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