Blog #10

Press Coverage 

With the recent events in North Korea and Syria it is quite the time to search Trump’s name on the internet! I have a feeling that due to the recent events that news  stories will be slightly more similarly directed that usual. Weather it is a right wing, left wing or neutral new site everyone is talking about these current event but each with a different spin.

Fox News:

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/17/pence-speaking-near-dmz-delivers-strong-message-to-north-korea.html

Fox news is notorious for being a conservative right wing news station. Most of the news casters on Fox showed moderate support for Trump through out the election. The article I looked at published by Fox was about the current events that happened in South Korea and in Syria. Fox news is saying that Trumps decision to bomb Syrian Air has showed that he is capable of making tough decisions for the better of the United states. Fox is looking at the events of the past week and pointed out that Trump as risen as a leader.

MSNBC:

http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/trump-tweeting-his-way-to-ww-iii-922377283735

I would highly recommend reading these articles one after another. It is almost comical how vastly different two new sources can twist the same event. MSNBC looks at the same events in North Korea and Syria. The only difference is that MSNBC looks at Trump’s participation in these events as creating WWIII. MSNBC even had the author of a book called “How to catch a Russian Spy” talk on behave of his disapproval of Trump. As most of us know there’s been a lot of skepticism between Russia and Trump’s relationship so it is ironic that they would chose this man to speak on the topic of Trump.

CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/politics/donald-trump-travel/index.html

A lot of CNN’s articles are not so discretely biased in my opinion. Most the CNN’s articles focus on the negative aspects of what Trump as done in his presidency so far. For example the article I read by CNN was titled “ Travel abroad not for Trump”.

Media cites are to blame for these articles. I do not think that Trump’s team is feeding these stories to the press because there is so much for the press to go off of all on their on at this point. However, if I were Trumps team I would make sure all of the public knew the strides he was making and exactly WHY he is taking the steps he is when it comes to Syria.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/17/politics/donald-trump-travel/index.html

http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/trump-tweeting-his-way-to-ww-iii-922377283735

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/17/pence-speaking-near-dmz-delivers-strong-message-to-north-korea.html

Blog Post 9

Agenda-Setting 

For most of the election Trump did not shy away from a few of his main platforms. Trump was stern on his stances when it comes to immigration reform, the wall, guns, abortion and pro big business. This election was devastating to a lot of Americans solely because Trump and Clinton were so vastly different and. They had directly opposite opinion on important topics that people hold close to the heart so when one candidate won the followers of the other candidate felt at a total loss. When analyzing the different stances of candidates, where this opinion comes from, and the influence of the media I chose to stick to the topic of abortion. Abortion and the funding of Planned Parenthood was an actively discussed topic this election and it is easy to analyze the differences.

Trump on Abortion

One of the issues that provoked a very heated debate was the topic of abortion. Trump does not believe in the benefit of Planned Parenthood and Clinton is very pro funding and supporting Planned Parenthood. When this topic was debated between Trump and Clinton often times it was in painfully gory detail. One saying Trump loves to use is to refer to abortion as the baby being ripped out of the womb. I am sure I am not the only one to find this graphics explanation painful to hear.  Trumps stance on abortion does not surprise my as a conservative this is usually a circuital issue to take this stance on. I feel like Trump may have this stance because he feels it fits his political persona more than actually being passionate about the topic. 

Clinton on Abortion

Through out the election Clinton has been very vocal about her strong stance to support Planned Parenthood. Clinton has received a lot of criticism for being labeled as a being “pro-abortion” and in response Clinton reminds people that Planned Parenthood is not solely an abortion clinic but a women’s health clinic as well. Clinton most likely has her stance towards Planned Parenthood and abortion due to her extensive work with mothers and women. Clinton is a women’s activist that supports the choice and rights of women so it only makes since that she too supports the choice of abortion.

Media Influence

When Google searching “2016 Election abortion” the results were surprisingly mixed. It seemed the majority of the media I was exposed too was supporting pro-choice and the support of Planned Parenthood but when looking further into it I see how truly split the media is. Another major media topic that brought in a lot of attention towards the topic was the releasing of the Planned Parenthood video that revealed a Planned Parenthood worker discussing in detail the idea of selling dead baby carouses. This caused a media frenzy it was almost impossible to get on the Internet and not see an article about it. In return it forced the candidates to continue to speak on the topic and address their stances. I firmly believe that the media is setting the agenda people care the most about topics they understand and know about. So when the media tells the public about controversy or various topics the public creates their own opinions which circles around and forces the candidates to address The topic. It is a never ended circle.

Now here is a funny gif to end on a lighter note..

https://www.google.com/search?q=planned+parenthood+sells+baby+parts&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz_b2Sh6LTAhXF7iYKHdiqCJAQ_AUICCgD&biw=1117&bih=732&dpr=1#imgrc=rCgFGykjd232fM:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jan/24/donald-trump-signs-executive-order-defunding-inter/

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/10/19/hillary_clinton_s_debate_answer_on_abortion_is_why_we_need_more_women_in.html

https://giphy.com/gifs/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-ifttt-ZEmYj5XWiPoti

Blog 8

Pop Culture & Politics

I decided to look at a Saturday Night Live skit that showed Fake Donald Trump conducting a press conference. Saturday Night Live has been notorious for “going there” when mocking different celebrities or social figures and the Donald Trumps skit was no exception. Here are just a few topics that the Saturday Night Live skit touched on:

• Mike pence is really going to act as president
• Questioned Donald Trumps sexuality
• Mocked Trumps use of repetition
• Emphasized Trumps weird facial expressions
• Trump is paying people to like him
• Russia
• Russia                                                                                                          
• And Russia AGAIN
• Over emphasis on Brining back jobs
• Obama care repeal
• Calling women “sweetheart”
• Making fun of Trump’s sons
• Discounting Trumps word
• “Fake news”

 

The Saturday Night Live skit does not make up any qualities about Trump but it over emphasizes existing qualities in order to make them funny/obnoxious. The skit makes Trump out to be a sexist man that lies and lacks the ability to truly act as the president of the untied states. The skit chooses to focus on Trump’s weaknesses in mannerisms and on his weaknesses in this political platform. For example the skit makes fun of the fact that Trump often repeats himself and pokes fun at the fact that Trump likes to name call (e.g., “Fake News”). Fake Trump in the Saturday Night Live skit is sporting the power red tie, American flag clip, orange tinted skin and cotton candy-esk hair. As I said earlier, Trumps appearance was not made up in any way it was just emphasized. Trumps character looks like Trump but in a more extreme way.

Most of the things that Trumps character represents are things that Trump backs. The only aspect of Fake Trump that would go against Real Trumps created image would be all the remarks about Russia. As most of you probably know there is a lot of talk that Trump is doing some shady business with Russia. This topic is something that Trump strongly disputes and is even somewhat of a trigger topic for him. I would image that if Trump watched this video with Fake Donald Trump that he would get a little aggravated especially since Trump has been working hard to make the Russia rumor go away.

Satirical skits making fun of a candidate is all just fun and games. In the end it is not really hurting the candidates image. If anything, political satire helps bring humor and light into politics’ when things get a little to intense.  



https://giphy.com/gifs/snl-saturday-night-live-season-42-l3q2uLPVYh1vJl1VC/
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live