MAKING SENSE OF TRUMP AT CURIOUS MINDS

New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza talks at the HOT DOC’s Curious Minds weekend. Photo by Taku Kumabe

Ryan Lizza who is the chief political correspondent for the New Yorker paid a much needed visit to the Great White North this past weekend to discuss this confusing and anxious era of what is known to be the Age of Trump.  He was brought to discuss this topic at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema during the Curious Minds Weekend and enlighten the audience of the political machinations of the United States and what is to be expected.   How will Trump’s presidency effect everyone including Canadians?  Many of us north of the border are more fascinated with American politics because it is a lot sexier than ours and has reached a new height at this point.  What struck us here on FERNTV  is when Ryan Lizza mentions  that this presidential campaign of Donald Trump was like watching wrestling or reality television.  Lizza emphasizes that Trump loves the storylines, the controversy, saying things that are completely insane, belittling the competition and branding himself with the slogan “Make America Great Again” which is similar to any reality television show you see now.   Unfortunately for most, this is where Donald Trump takes advantage of today’s political, social and cultural system of the American people and turns it toward his favour and the GOP.  Social media and reality television are both American’s favourite pastimes and who better to bolster himself during the presidential race than the man who starred in The Apprentice…Mr. Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is no doubt entertaining and have we all forgotten that he is a billionaire too?   But even billionaires needs some assistance because Trump did not get to the Oval Office on his own.  Ryan Lizza asked the audience if we had an idea of who Steve Bannon was and most of the audience agreed that they knew exactly who this man was and what he was responsible for during Trump’s presidential campaign.  This campaign was something that journalists like Ryan Lizza didn’t see coming and was truly out of the ordinary.  Since there was nobody that special to represent the GOP, Steve Bannon, who was Sarah Palin’s strategist during her vice-presidential campaigns, flirted with the idea with Trump to run for office.  Ever since that first appearance of Trump on television back in 2015 where he said that he would run for president on behalf of the Republican party, the unexpected began to happen.   No one would have thought that someone  who immediately opposes the views of Barack Obama and what he has accomplished, would get the vote and make the polls work to his favour.   Slowly but surely Donald Trump who bypassed all the other hopeful president elects in the Republican party began the most watched presidential race in history.

Every major news outlet such as FOX and CNN began to investigate who the allies and villains were to Donald Trump.  The proposition of a wall to separate Mexico and the United States to stop the illegal immigrants from entering the United States was one of the craziest ideas ever proposed from Trump.   He then proposed that the country of Mexico would pay for this wall which caused major opposition from Mexican President Nieto who refused to pay for it.  Then of course there are allies to Trump such as Russian president Vladimir Putin.  Ryan Lizza discussed the relationship between both Trump and Putin but when someone from the audience asked why the Kremlin has taken a liking to American politics, Lizza put everything in perspective.  He mentioned that Putin loves the idea of Trump becoming president which has caused chaos in the United States.  Furthermore, the degradation of the democratic system and the division of America is considered good for the Russians.

Watching and following Donald Trump is a lot like watching and following sports but the Age of Trump has journalists like Ryan Lizza making an absolute run for their money by trying to make sense of all what is going on.  Most recently, which journalist would expect a 3:30 in the morning tweet from Trump claiming that Obama has wiretapped his phones at the Trump Tower of all places?  Things that are so unexpected from someone crazy like Trump whose never been in a political setting and has never achieved his position in a traditional manner similar to his colleagues has made this Presidency unpredictable.   Lizza says the question that journalists always ask is what will happen if there is a terrorist attack on the United States?  The questions arise of whether or not the country of America will become truly united or divided after these attacks and whether or not Trump will become a hero or villain.  These are the facets of President  Trump that a chief political correspondent like Ryan Lizza has to cover for the New Yorker.  Being mindful that this is a anxious and chaotic time for every inhabitant of this world, the journalism community has never been more excited during these times.  This is where you will see some of the best pieces of writing that will come out like that of Ryan Lizza and these are the moments that journalists like himself has been waiting for ironically.