Can We Please Ignore Donald Trump Occasionally?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

Last week Donald Trump talked about buying Greenland. Within a day or two the news media was full of stories asking “Can America really buy Greenland?”

Today Trump mused about using nuclear weapons to break up hurricanes. I suppose this means that tomorrow we’ll be buried under earnest pieces asking “Are nukes the answer to hurricanes?”

I sympathize with news organizations over this stuff. I mean, the guy is president of the United States, so when he says stuff people want to know more about it. Still, I wonder if we really need to scurry around producing thumbsuckers—complete with expert interviews!—explaining things like Greenland’s territorial status and the physics of hurricanes? Just because Trump says something doesn’t mean it’s automatically a topic for deep investigation.

Anyway, the answers are (a) no and (b) no. If you really need more, Wikipedia is your friend.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate