Cringeworthy kowtowing. At least we were spared video coverage of Donald Trump’s skin-crawling sycophancy (complete with a tour of his ballroom construction site?!) in the presence of China’s dictator Xi Jinping since the press pool refused to return absent written assurance CNN cameras would be back in the rotation. (Hmm, is depriving Trump of attention as he sucks up to a dictator such a bad thing?) Frankly, the coverage has never been more accurate. (From the New York Times: “In the epic contest between democracy and autocracy, Mr. Trump has long given the impression that he may be on the other side. But rarely has that been brought home as starkly as this week, as he punishes news outlets for being too ‘negative’ about him while embracing Mr. Xi and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, two of the world’s leading authoritarians whose governments brutally suppress free speech.” Peter Baker’s excellent report is worth reading in full.)
