How best to describe this week? Oh, yes, this:
It was the meme that captured the internet’s imagination, and provided a distraction from all the other news in the world last week. Because it the last seven days have pretty much been a garbage fire. Don’t believe us? Here’s what else was going on while the internet quietly hummed “Zendaya is Meechee.”
This Is the End. Or Maybe Not
What Happened: The week started with a rumor that, if true, would mean that the constitutional crisis everyone has spent the last two years thinking about was literally about to begin. So, you know, it was a pretty intense way to end September.
What Really Happened: Those paying attention to the news may remember that, just a week or so ago, it was reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had apparently suggested secretly recording President Trump and attempting to invoke the 25th Amendment to get him out of office. Unsurprisingly, Rosenstein denied those reports, and indeed, other reports backed away from the idea that the deputy AG made those suggestions seriously. Nonetheless, it launched a lot of speculation about what was going to happen next: Would Rosenstein resign? Would Trump fire him? And in either case, what would that mean for the special counsel investigation that Rosenstein was overseeing?
With all that as background, the week got off to quite a stunning start, with this story breaking early Monday morning:
It was all based around the Axios story, with speculation and panic flowing from that as others sought clarification. That search brought its own confusion, however, as things were really nowhere near as straightforward as might have appeared to be the case:
And then, the White House issued an official statement on the matter that cleared everything up without, you know, actually clearing anything up.
So, what was actually going on? The usual tick-tock reports attempted to explain away why there had been so much confusion throughout the morning, but the truth may have been far more straightforward than that.
Turns out, Axios’ Jonathan Swan wasn’t a fan of that idea:
As people tried to understand what was going on, the entire story was punted into the future—Rosenstein was scheduled to meet with President Trump on Thursday, which was later postponed to this upcoming next week—and everyone wondered, somewhat dazed, what had just happened.
The Takeaway: It’s hard to properly sum up how the ever-changing dynamic of Monday morning seemed at the time to anyone on social media, but this does a pretty good job, considering.
Laugh If You Wanna Laugh
What Happened: The president used to claim that the world was laughing at the United States. This week, he made his fantasy a reality. Good job, Sir!
What Really Happened: President Trump had to address the United Nations General Assembly last week, a fact that made quite a few people nervous considering his famous disdain for the organization. What would he say to the assembled dignitaries of the world, and how quickly would other people be able to backtrack from it?
There’s nothing that says “strong leader” like the rest of the world laughing at you. According to some, the laughter didn’t stop after that one line, which probably just made it sting worse.
And it wasn’t just laughter, apparently.
In a move that’s at once surprising and utterly unsurprising, Fox News edited out the laughter from its footage, which brought a not-surprising response.
Even if other people apparently weren’t comfortable with it, at least President Trump said that it was OK.
…Oh. In fact, a day later, the president claimed that, despite saying, he “didn’t expect that reaction,” he actually had expected the reaction—and had, indeed, been hoping for it.
Still, at least he didn’t attempt anything ridiculous the very next day to try and win back the narrative of his being a great orator.
The Takeaway: OK, this is perhaps a little dark, and yet not entirely unfitting…
I’ll Answer Anything, No Really
What Happened: After weeks of people wishing that the president would be more open with journalists, a mid-week press conference made a lot of people do a 180 and dream of him shutting up again.
What Really Happened: The president’s relationship with the press has been, let’s say, love/hate. Or maybe troubling. Abusive is also a possibility, let’s be honest. White House press briefings have become rare, even as some think we should do away with them all together considering the obfuscation they deliver, but at least President Trump likes to talk to the press. Take this week, for example, when he held a press conference at the United Nations. It was … shall we go with “freewheeling”? Let’s go with “freewheeling.”
Some wondered what the hell was going on, as the 80-plus-minute press conference—yes, it really went on for that long—continued.
As always, the answer was exactly what you’d expect…
The media noted outrageous comments and wild moments (or maybe they were simply strange moments, who can tell), fact-checked and annotated what just happened to the best of its ability and just generally wondered what had just happened. Still, at least someone was happy.
The Takeaway: Midway through the press conference, it was fascinating to watch how journalists were responding to it; the idea that it was a strange battle of wills between the president and those having to pay attention became more and more apparent.
She Said; He Said
What Happened: For anyone online, there was only one thing happening on Thursday: The Senate appearance of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh as both gave testimony about Ford’s sexual abuse allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.
What Really Happened: Thursday was utterly dominated by the latest round of Senate hearings about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As opposed to the first round, these were called specifically to address Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation that she had been sexually assaulted in high school by the judge. It wasn’t, notably, touching on the other recent accusations against him, prompting him to declare that he was the victim of an organized smear campaign. Against that backdrop, tensions were high as Ford and Kavanaugh prepared to tell their stories.
Ford’s testimony came first, and it was, essentially, live-blogged via Twitter.
Ford’s words hit home with many and were widely shared. The end result was that, ultimately, Ford came across as a smart, brave, and entirely credible witness.
Of course, when I say that everyone was watching, I really meant that everyone was watching, as reporters made clear.
And while Trump Sr. raged silently, Trump Jr.—did, well, something else.
The Takeaway: Amongst the many things people learned from Ford’s heartbreakingly honest and humble testimony was this: Few of us have ever been as strong or as brave as she was for hours, in front of senators, cameras, and a prosecutor, sharing some of the worst moments of her life. The question remained, however … what would Kavanaugh’s testimony look like in response?
But What About the Plight of the White Man?
What Happened: As if Ford’s experience hadn’t been heart wrenching enough, Kavanaugh’s testimony added another layer of emotion to Thursday’s Senate hearing. Namely, the layer called “anger and self-righteousness.”
What Really Happened: So, what about Kavanaugh’s testimony? If Ford was restrained and noble, the accused’s approach was more than a little different.
Some noticed that Republican lawmakers appeared to treat Ford and Kavanaugh differently.
Some couldn’t help comparing the two:
The testimony was seen by many as over-the-top and surreal, but it apparently did what it was supposed to, with Republicans coming out in favor of him once again after he was finished. Even Trump took to Twitter to send out support for Kavanaugh’s performance:
As of this writing, the Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed to send Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote, but to postpone it for a week so that the FBI can investigate the new allegations against the judge. Stay tuned…
The Takeaway: This tweet.
Source:WIRED
