A President In Search Of An Enemy | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

A President In Search Of An Enemy

Trump's war with the media

59
A President In Search Of An Enemy

A day after Mr. Trump’s now notorious solo press conference, The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza floated an idea gleaned from a senior White House official, that without an enemy in his sightlines, Donald Trump is virtually at sea. It was Steve Bannon who suggested “the media” as a target, simple for Bannon, the official grumbled, “because he never talks to the media”, and minutes after the hour-long presser ended, the administration seemed to solidify this tactic by rolling out the “Mainstream Media Accountability Survey.” The survey is a masterclass in leading questions (“On which issues do the mainstream media do the worst job of representing Republicans?”), and some of its sentence constructions are gnarled beyond comprehension by double negatives (“Do you believe that contrary to what the media says, raising taxes does not create jobs?”). If anything, the survey resembles the kind of impossible questioning one might find on a literacy test for voters in the Jim Crow south.

Enemies, if you need them, are important to define early, and with the administration coming up on its one-month anniversary, Trump decided to ramp up his rhetoric with a tweet that was deleted (gasp!) and then shortly reinstated (of course) that called the media “the enemy of the American people.”

Trump updates deleted tweet to include more media outlets he hates: pic.twitter.com/uZu474LOwI
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) February 17, 2017

Garry Kasparov soon noted that the president was pretty much right on time, if his goal was to beat Vladimir Lenin to the punch.

A century ago, it took Vladimir Lenin one month after taking power to coin the term "vrag naroda", "enemy of the people", on 28 Nov, 1917.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) February 18, 2017

In his 2013 book "The White Rose of Stalingrad", about the Soviet air-ace Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyak, author Bille Yenne describes the uses and reuses of the political phrase “enemy of the people” which was first used by the Roman Senate in the ousting of Nero, and later has been trotted out by any leader looking for a few good enemies:

"Stalin and his fellow Bolsheviks had always been cognizant of the fact that their Revolution was as transformative to the course of world history as was the French Revolution nearly 130 years earlier. Just as French Revolutionaries used the term ennemi du peuple to describe counterrevolutionaries as harshly as possible, so did the Bolsheviks. To be an enemy of the people, a vrag naroda, was an indefensible crime.

Said Maximilien Robespierre in December 1793, “The revolutionary government owes to the good citizen all the protection of the nation, it owes nothing to the Enemies of the People but Death.”
Said Vladimir Lenin in November 1917, “all leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, a party filled with enemies of the people, are hereby to be considered outlaws, and are to be arrested immediately and brought before the revolutionary court.”

On is also reminded that in 1934, Maxim Gorky had remarked that the use of slave labor in the construction of the “Canal Named Stalin” had been an exercise in reeducating “enemies of the people into their friends.”
Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

1962
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less
Jenna Pizzi and her mom smiling by a waterfront with a historic ship in the background.
Jenna Pizzi

There is always a time in the semester when you have about three papers, four tests, five assignments and two projects due within the same time period. Isn't that just the best?

It's almost as if the professors all plot against you just to make college even more stressful than it already is. No matter how many people try to make you feel better, no one ever compares to your mom. Moms always know exactly what to say.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

7 Jobs Your Roommate Has

She's got your back with everything that college throws at you.

1912
Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey in scrubs sit against a wall, smiling and enjoying a break.

If you are anything like my roommate and I, you have a friendship with your roomie. You’re lucky to have gotten a roommate that is easy to get along with and more importantly cool to live with. Whether you found her on Facebook or went random, a roommate is a big part of life in college. This list goes through some of the jobs that a roommate has that help you get through college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

35 Things I Wish I Learned In My Freshman Year Of College

Just some relatable college student advice! Yes, you aren’t the only one!

1585
Towson University
YouTube

Freshman year can either be the greatest year, or the roughest year. It depends on your transition and how you adjust. For me, freshman year in college was one of the best years of my life. However, looking back, there are a few things that I wish I learned.

Now that I am a sophomore, I can finally do things a little differently. Here are a few things that I wish I learned my freshman year of college!

Keep Reading...Show less
Woman in field with a red heart-shaped balloon under a colorful sky.

Being single can be great and awful at the same time. Yeah, it's awesome to have time to yourself to figure out who you are and make your own decisions. It would also be nice to have someone to go through life with, but it needs to be the right person. I haven't found that person yet and here's a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments