UPDATE: National media outlets are not happy at being “Rick-rolled” by Trump today. From the Daily Beast:
CNN anchor Jake Tapper decried how Trump had successfully gotten millions to tune into his “birther” address, only to find a drawn-out promotion of his campaign and hotel. “It’s hard to imagine this as anything other than a political Rick-roll,” Tapper remarked. “We got played again by the Trump campaign,” his colleague John King added.
—–
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
— from the movie “The Usual Suspects”
Republican Donald Trump may not be fit or qualified for the Presidency, but there’s no arguing that he is a master media manipulator. As Chris Cillizza reports for “The Fix,” Trump managed to convince news outlets to pay a lot of attention to him this morning in Washington D.C.:
Trump may have outdone himself on Friday morning. He and his campaign touted a “major” announcement at his newly-opened hotel in Washington, DC at 10 AM Friday morning. The word was that Trump would walk away from his past skepticism about President Obama’s citizenship while also laying the blame for the birther movement at the feet of Hillary Clinton. (That, of course, isn’t true — according to numerous fact-checkers — but no matter: Trump planned to say it anyway.)
And say it he did. “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it,” said Trump. “President Obama was born in the United States. Period.” [Pols emphasis]
Trump’s assertions about Clinton’s role in the birther movement are wrong. His simple statement that Obama was born in the United States directly contradicts myriad statements he has made questioning the president’s birthplace over the past five years…
…It was a low moment for politics and political coverage. A nothing-burger filled with falsehoods covered as though it was the Super Bowl. But for Trump, it might have been his crowning achievement: All eyes on him with the chance to direct the play in whatever way he saw fit. The ringmaster — calling the shots in all three rings of the circus. It was peak Trump.
We have nothing else to add here that isn’t glaringly obvious already.
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It's all Hillary's fault.
I hope Obama responds with a statement that rips Trump a new one.
BTW, the movie was "The Usual Suspects" not "Unusual". It's one of my all-time favorites with Kevin Spacey.
Thanks. Friggin auto-correct…
Anything with Kevin Spacey in it has got to be good.
Gee, I never would have guessed! 😉
BORN IN THE USA………
Now that the Donald has acknowledged what many of us already believed, will Mike Coffman join his leader and admit that Obama is an American. Or is that expecting too much.
Remember how Trump promised to donate $5 million to charity once Obama's birthplace and citizenship were proven to Trump's satisfaction?
[Pay up, ya deadbeat! Pay up NOW!]
He'll just dip into his campaign funds to make good on that one. Other people's money, baby! It's Trump's mantra
How about this for something to add: Show up for the "Weekend of Action" being organized by the Democrats, and do some phone banking, voter registration and canvassing. You're not doing enough if it's only posting on this blog. See you on the dusty campaign trail.
As long as he wants attention to his hotel —
– I hope someone will point out the room rates: "Room rates, which begin at $625 a night, are well above the $313-a-night average this year through July for luxury hotels in downtown Washington, according to lodging-data provider STR."
– I'd also be curious about the hotel's furnishings: how many were made in the USA?
– Are hotel employees unionized? Do they have maternity leave?
– and last, since Trump is a master negotiator: how many agreements are so irrevocably broken that there has been a civil suit filed? I know there is are suits involving the chefs that withdrew. Any others?