The trouble with deadlines is that sometimes real world events don’t happen to fall neatly into the slot of time allotted for writing about them. So it’s tempting to write 90% of a story in advance and just … touch it up later. That seems to be what happened at this New York Times piece.
In a spirited bid for undecided American voters to see him anew, Mr. Trump swept into Mexico City to make overtures to a nation he has repeatedly denigrated, then flew to Phoenix to outline his latest priorities on immigration — a stark turnaround from the “deportation force” and other severe tactics that helped win him the Republican nomination.
Wait. So Donald Trump didn’t deliver a fire-and-brimstone full-on fascist rant in which he not only screamed about his deportation force, but talked about immigrants as if they were somewhere between zombies and cockroaches? He didn’t praise Operation Wetback and brag about how efficiently he was going to make people disappear? That’s good because that speech–the “maybe they can deport Hillary” speech? That was the most frightening thing I ever heard. So I’m glad that … wait.
The paragraph above was the version of the New York Times article that was released at 11. The one timed to make it look like they had actually listened to Trump’s speech and produced a lickety-quick response. It took another hour for the current version of the story to appear. And the Times didn’t admit they’d completely remodeled the piece until … never. They never mentioned that.
And the real problem? Both versions have snippets of Trump’s actual speech, so at least some part of each version was written after Trump’s actual talk. But both versions are so intent on ladling praise on Trump and sticking to the original framing, that they twist the actual content into an unrecognizable pile of treacle.
Here’s the revised version of the paragraph above.
In a spirited bid for undecided American voters to see him anew, Mr. Trump swept into Mexico City to make overtures to a nation he has repeatedly denigrated, then flew to Phoenix to outline in his usual bullying tone his latest priorities on immigration.
As someone who wrote two pre-speech intro pieces telling people to “not expect much” from the Trump’s visit to Phoenix, and who assumed it would consist of the same mealy-mouthed mush his team had been producing for days, I can sympathize with being surprised by the hate-dripping actuality. But that’s not an excuse for becoming so wedded to the initial lede that it stands in the way of telling what actually happened.
Here’s opening number one.
Donald J. Trump made an audacious attempt on Wednesday to remake his image on the divisive issue of immigration, shelving his plan to deport 11 million undocumented people and suggesting that the United States and Mexico would solve the immigration crisis together.
Wow. That’s … wrong. So, let’s look at what an hour of considered reflection wrought.
Donald J. Trump made an audacious attempt on Wednesday to remake his image on the divisive issue of immigration, shelving his plan to deport 11 million undocumented people and arguing that a Trump administration and Mexico would secure the border together.
That’s … just as wrong. Mostly it gives the impression that of someone spent the time doodling “Trump administration” in the corners of their notebook. Possibly with tiny hearts above each ‘i.’
The first version also included this bit of text torn from the cover of a handy shirtless-hero romance novel.
Never had Mr. Trump gambled quite like this. Aiming to appear bold and diplomatic, he traveled to politically hostile territory to meet with a president who might surprise him with a rebuke, and he also risked support from some conservatives who do not want him cozying up to Mexico or softening his immigration plans.
For those keeping score, in just two paragraphs Trump has been audacious, bold, diplomatic, and a risk-taker. That’s pretty amazing work for a guy who traveled all the way to Mexico without remembering to take the bobby-pins out of his hair.
But at least the second version of the times story does include this bit.
Yet the juxtaposition of Mr. Trump’s dual performances was so jarring that his true vision and intentions on immigration were hard to discern. He displayed an almost unrecognizable demeanor during his afternoon in Mexico, appearing measured and diplomatic, while hours later he took the stage at his campaign rally and denounced illegal immigrants on the whole as a criminally minded and dangerous group that sows terror in communities and commits murders, rapes and other heinous violence.
Yes. That description fits with the speech Trump actually delivered. Too bad it took two tries and two articles full of bold, diplomatic, audacious, spirited hyperbole to get there.