Jimmy Carter: The Media's 'Been Harder on Trump Than Any Other President'

[DonViejo]

Source: Mediate




by Josh Feldman | 9:57 am, October 22nd, 2017

Former President Jimmy Carter spoke out on the current President in an interview out last night with The New York Times‘ Maureen Dowd As Dowd writes, Carter sounded “eager” to work with Donald Trump on North Korea. He said he would even be willing to go there himself:

He said he has talked to Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Trump’s national security adviser, who is a good friend, including at Zbigniew Brzezinski’s funeral when McMaster asked to sit next to Carter, but has so far gotten a negative response. “I told him that I was available if they ever need me,” he said.

In fact, there were some illuminating quotes from Carter on issues ranging from Russia––”Carter is also not as bothered as some by Trump’s Putin bromance”––to the Clintons to even NFL players kneeling during the national anthem: “I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate. I would rather see all the players stand during the American anthem.”

-snip-

“I think the media have been harder on Trump than any other president certainly that I’ve known about,” Carter replied. “I think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation.”

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/online/jimmy-carter-the-medias-been-harder-on-trump-than-any-other-president/

[hlthe2b]

1. I think either Carter is trying to use psychology on Trump--esp given his offer to intercede with

North Korea, or his devoutly held religious principles are at play. Frankly, I think more likely the former.

[shanny]

7. I'm inclined to agree.

Carter is smart enough to know how easily tRump is to manipulate, and the importance of reining in his belligerent posturing. Carter would be an exceptional envoy; he just needs to make the pResident think it is all his idea.

[pandr32]

23. Exactly. Flattery could put him in position to do something.

Trump is as obvious as can be and will love that Carter mentioned the media being "hard on him."

[maddiemom]

31. So do I.

Even Jimmy can't be that good of a Christian.

[yurbud]

39. I've wondered if a couple of his cabinet people might be doing the same

who could be proud to work for that half-wit moral pustule or think it will impress anyone on their resume?

Either they think they can steal some of the White House silverware or they didn't have time to dig a fallout shelter, so they are trying to keep an eye on his nuclear trigger finger instead.

[joshcryer]

45. I'm inclined to the latter.

He still retains respect for the Presidency and to assume that the President is deranged, which he is, would be to disrespect the Presidency.

I think all of the living former Presidents still hold the office in high regard, even though there's an idiot in office right now.

You look at Tom Hanks' latest comments about the historical aspect of the Presidency and how he basically shrugs off Trump as a blip. An anomaly that will go away eventually and whose actions will be reversed eventually.

[theaocp]

2. The obvious follow-up is

Do you think he is deserving of the increased scrutiny by the press?

I say this without reading the rest of the link. Also, as much as I love Carter, his view on the NFL demonstrations shows he can be out of touch regarding some things. You don't fucking protest to make people comfortable. Jeez.

[mpcamb]

20. Maybe it's 'cause trump is an incorrigible liar.

If he occasionally told the truth it'd only confuse people.

[heaven05]

3. "I think they ought...."

WTF... well more talking points for repthuglikkkans......and the goddamn media hasn't been hard on trumpilshit at all, the media is a major reason he is a POS potus now ....jimmy....

[A Morpheus Felinae]

25. Exactly what I was thinking

“I think the media have been harder on Trump than any other president certainly that I’ve known about,” Carter replied. “I think they feel free to claim that Trump is mentally deranged and everything else without hesitation.”

You just know that Herr Donarrhea Von Gropenführer and the rethuglicans are going to use this as a weapon. Sorry, Jimmy. As much as I respect you and all you've accomplished, I believe this was the wrong thing to say.

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. Sorry Jimmy. You're wrong about Trump and the media

With Trump constantly tweeting "FAKE NEWS" they have every right to respond.

[samnsara]

5. cuz the a-hole deserves every bit of hate we can throw at him

[DURHAM D]

6. As always, Carter gets it wrong. nt

[Liberalagogo]

8. Jimmy...

Just go back to Habitat and hurricane relief where you can do some good. You're not helping at all here. You are looking like a enormous fool.

[mazzarro]

32. Sadly, I completely agree with you!

Jimmy Carter is deluding himself if he thinks that he can get into the orbit of Herr Trumpf without getting himself smeared all over with his muck and lies and other despicable crap.

[Liberalagogo]

41. I really hated saying that about Carter

I really do.

[CatMor]

9. Carter just gave trump more ammo....

the problem is the press didn't give trump a hard time and that's why he's in the White House. Carter seems hell bent on wanting to deal with N. Korea and will make these statements to achieve that goal. It's shameful on his part to say what he did and my opinion of him just went way down. trump has done more harm to our country than any other president in history.

[Orrex]

10. I have yet to see the media do anything but coddle Trump

Yes, there are talking heads who go after him, but on the whole the media has been nauseatingly deferential. How many major, legitimate outlets have actually called him a liar? Or a sexual predator? Or a racist? Or toxic to democracy? Very few, I'll wager.

The media were harder on Obama, in a way, because they always sought Republican responses to Obama's statements and actions, while sometimes seeking Democrats' responses in those same cases.

NPR, the famous figurehead of The Liberal Media, routinely features Newt Gingrich, Jonah Goldberg, and others who nominally dislike Trump but who are nonetheless happy to normalize him while making excuses for his bullshit and deflecting responsibility onto others.


So unless President Carter has some trick up his sleeve with this apparent expression of sympathy, I'm afraid that I can't see how he reached this conclusion.

[SunSeeker]

11. It won't work, Jimmy. Trump won't let you be his NK negotiator.

Now please go back to building houses with Habitat for Humanity before you ruin your credibility.

[Vinca]

12. Trump's been the first obviously crazy POTUS we've ever had.

The media could do a whole lot more IMO.

[JI7]

13. McMaster probably told Carter to say something like that

As a way to get trump to let carter help on this issue.

[rainin]

14. This is disheartening. n/t

[left-of-center2012]

15. Trump's the first pond scum we've had as President

[nolabels]

33. And if they were actually measuring, then the pond scum even wins that race every time

The US Press has been cheerleading for the POTUS since we had one. I pay for a local paper so mom can get (what might be called)news. Taking the paper into to house I often get humored at the headlines on how they try to put the best face on the crap that's going on

Even funnier is watching some that voted for him now declaring him public enemy number one.

[Plucketeer]

16. And here I'd been thinking

the world could not be MORE "upside down" than it already is!

[still_one]

17. Carter was always trying to look for the best in things, and is a decent man, but as a President

he was woefully inadequate, from such things as the deregulation of the airline industry, to boycotting the Olympics, was naïve at best, and damaging at worst

[underpants]

18. Carter's doing diplomacy here

He knows Trump will hear about this and it could help Carter get involved in some way with the NK issue. It may not be directly or publicly but he could get into the mix in some way and attacking Trump isn't going to help that happen.

[still_one]

19. Gee Jimmy, we have a sitting President who has catered to racists, sexists, bigots, tried to

take away people's health care, appoint extremist SC judges, destroy the environment, and undo every positive thing that President Obama accomplished, and you are suggesting the "media is being to harsh on him"?

I suggest the media isn't being harsh enough

[LenaBaby61]

22. President Carter ....

Was as wrong on this issue as 5 left shoes.

He now gives ammo and aid to that pig in the White House who'll keep repeating what Carter said over and over about how HORRIBLY he's been treated by the media, when in reality the media has coddled him for the most part as one poster in this thread has said. Hell, the media is NOT hard enough on this tReasonous, racist, fat, lying, sexist, orange PIG.

[still_one]

49. Thank goodness the media wasn't hard on Hillary unfairly

[rurallib]

21. Was he saying that like it is a bad thing? Cause it isn't. It isn't even proportional

to the shit that Trump has tried to do or done in the case of filling judgeships.

[elehhhhna]

51. Jimmy's like 99 years old and has evidently forgotten how the media treated Bill Clinton

Jimmy's like 99 years old and has evidently forgotten how the media treated Bill Clinton

[Doreen]

24. No, Mr Carter the media is not being harder on trump than any other president.

They are just calling it what it is and all by himself has earned himself the title of the worst president in the history of the U.S. Oh, by the way, I remember a lot of asshole media laying shit all over Obama and he is the only fucking president that did not have some illegal or shady goings on. This president ( in title only ) has been harder on this country than any other president so go think about that.

[awesomerwb1]

26. Jimmy needs to not say anything more

[jetwash]

27. Maybe, but Trump brings it on himself

I think it's fair to say that the media¹ has been harder on Trump than previous Presidents, but I think that it's the media's fault. Trump (and his administration) simply do so much to be critical of.

Look at the issue of contacting families of fallen soldiers as an example. The media wouldn't have gone after Obama for something like that because Obama wouldn't have baselessly (and without prompting) accused his predecessors of not calling families. He wouldn't have told a grieving mother than "knew what he signed up for … but when it happens it hurts anyway.", then lied about it even after his chief of staff effectively admitted he did. He wouldn't have said that he had called "virtually all" the families when he hadn't. And that's just Trump; while this was happening you also had Kelly lying about Wilson, Sanders lying about Kelly's lie, and Sanders saying that people shouldn't question Kelly because he is a 4-star Marine General.

And then there are the *constant* lies. Politicians are constantly stretching the truth, but usually they stop short of flat-out lying. Trump, on the other hand, lies constantly. The media tends to tolerate a *lot* of spin, but they're a lot less likely to put up with factual errors.

Add to that the fact that virtually all of Trump's policies range from divisive to unpopular, and it's difficult to see how the media could be anything but hard on Trump.



¹ When I say "media", I'm not including Fox News, Brietbart, Daily Caller, etc. I don't know that it's possible to include them in a reasonable conversation about this issue… There is a difference between being hard on someone for things which actually happened and making up insane conspiracy theories.

[truthisfreedom]

28. And will continue to be, for good reason

[procon]

29. Its a classic suck up, a little reverse psychology to appeal to Trump's monstrous ego.

Carer thinks he can be more effective than Trump and his inept minions in possibly defusing the Korean situation before it reaches the flashpoint. But first he has to get his foot in the door and then get Trump to believe he can make him look good by brokering some sort of arrangement.

[Progressive dog]

30. Trump isn't "any other president",

Trump has earned the scorn of most "media" for his ignorance and his lies.

[Thor_MN]

40. Exactly. Saying the media has been harder on Trump

than other Presidents contains a false equivalence that Trump is comparable to other Presidents. He isn't. He is not qualified and certainly not competent.

[YOHABLO]

34. Carter knows how to play Trump. He really wants to intervene in Korea, it seems he's currying

favor with Trump. All the better for us. Carter's no dummy. He was very much attacked by the media during the Iranian hostage debacle.

[Paladin]

35. President Carter, direct that charitable outlook toward those who deserve it. (nt)

[Bradical79]

36. I don't agree buuuuut....

I think Carter is more concerned with avoiding nuclear apocalypse.

[ucrdem]

37. Modo is not exactly a reliable witness, especially when it comes to Dems.

So I'd put her entire column including its insulting theory in the bottom of the bird cage.

[mdbl]

38. Whatever Carter is trying to do with trump, it's a fruitless effort

Give it up Jimmy. The guy's a major asshole and no matter how hard you pray, it ain't gonna change.

[Ferrets are Cool]

42. Ive liked President Carter for many years. This comment makes me rethink that

position. This idiot is ruining the American I live in and does not deserve anything but loathing.

[bitterross]

43. I like Carter. But I have to disagree with him on 45.

Nothing 45 is getting is from the media is undeserved.

[hadEnuf]

44. Carter puts country before party.

He knows Trump is a impetuous and clueless train wreck. He also sees this clueless and impetuous train wreck having to deal with a nuclear North Korea, among other things.

Carter is a voice of reason and he would certainly be a better influence on the man-child Trump than the RWNJ's that are currently steering him.

[mdbl]

46. Even though the man-child listens to no one

The only thing the man-child needs is to be removed from power and sat in the corner with a dunce cap on his head.

[dreamland]

47. The media should be hard on tRump

He's made more screw ups than any other President so we are calling him out on it.

[JHan]

48. "harder on Trump than any president"......... sighhhh.

"“I think they ought to find a different way to object, to demonstrate. I would rather see all the players stand during the American anthem.”

Sighhhhhhhhhhh.

[Butterflylady]

50. I have the utmost respect for Jimmy Carter

but in this case he is totally wrong. I think he tries to see that there is some good in everyone. However, when it comes to tRump, there isn't any.

[SHRED]

52. That helped usher him into office

So there's that.