If you misplaced your countdown clock, you might not have noticed that Friday was the day that Donald Trump declared he was going to sign a “full and complete healthcare plan.” So, that’s another example of promises made and … something something. However the rest of that goes. In a moment that was absolutely no surprise to anyone, Trump did not pull out the executive sharpie to either provide healthcare or reroute storms on Friday. However, the subject of healthcare did come up as Trump was enjoying the adoration, and viruses, of the assembled Bedminster crowd. Actually “crowd” is too strong a word. Even “gaggle” seems too much for the handful of very fine golfers who showed up to cheer on Trump’s declaration that he, and only he, decides who lives and dies.
But while he’s unwilling to help American workers facing an increasingly desperate situation, Trump did hand out a gift to his favorite giftee … Donald Trump. Because two weeks after Trump said he’d be signing a complete healthcare plan, he instead determined that he would be working for two more weeks on just one very special feature of that plan. “Over the next two weeks,” said Trump, “I’ll be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions for all customers.” And if that sounds like something that the Affordable Care Act already does … you’re absolutely right. After two weeks, all Trump delivered was a plan to provide something that Barack Obama signed over a decade ago.
Of course, there is a reason why Trump might need to write that executive order saving pre-existing conditions. That’s because while Trump was standing on front of his golf buddies to declare he was going to wag an executive finger at insurance companies, he has Bill Barr was in court trying to take away exactly that protection. Which is, of course, exactly the plan. Trump needs to destroy Obamacare so that Trump can then gift everyone with a “complete plan” that is actually just one of several items already covered by the ACA. That is, he’ll give it to Americans who are grateful enough.
You might think that Americans would notice that Trump was offering to grace them with something that they already have, while actually working to take that very thing away. But that might be harder than it seems. For example, here’s the headline on this item from CNBC.
“Trump says he’s working on health insurance executive order on pre-existing conditions”
That same headline is in the New York Times, and in hundreds of other publications — all of them simply repeating an article from Reuters.
Seriously there are only two rules:
1. Don’t repeat a lie until you are ready to debunk that lie. “Trump says ...” is not news. News requires considering what was said and putting in context. Any publication not prepared to debunk a lie, should not repeat that lie, because it only serves to amplify the effect.
2. Don’t make the lie your headline. Even if your article is 100% devoted to debunking the lie, which this Reuters article is not, placing the lie in the headline ensures that for most of those passing by, all they get is a boost of the lie. And since Reuters compounds this by repeating the lie again in the first paragraph, it’s understandable that any reader might come away with the wrong impression.
Putting “says” or even “claims” in the headline is not enough. Not nearly enough when the rest of the headline serves the purpose of propaganda.
Donald Trump is trying to take away insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. That’s the truth. That is what Trump is actively doing, right now, in court. He is trying to blow a hole in healthcare, so he can pretend to patch it. That’s the truth of the situation. Reporting what Trump says, rather than what Trump does, is a fundamental mistake.
