The reiteration on the “Opioid Epidemic,” Reagan inspired Trumponomics, and the escalating tensions with Russia show that President Trump must really want to turn back the clock in order to “Make America Great Again.” So much so, he’s placing emphasis on the release of several thousand previously classified files on John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
The impending release of the classified files excited historians and conspiracy theorists alike, that is, until President Trump agreed to withhold some documents due to the lobbying of the CIA and FBI.
Critics of the delay demanded to know why the U.S. Intelligence Agencies failed to meet the deadline that mandated the release of all remaining Kennedy files. The U.S. Intelligence Agencies has had a 25 year notice.
In response to the backlash, President Trump issued a tweet stating, “JFK Files are being carefully released. In the end, there will be great transparency. It is my hope to get just about every thing to the public!”
The release of the JFK files trended on Twitter and made multiple headlines since its announcement, and consequent amendments to the initial announcement. With the country’s eye on finally finding out the “truth” of JFK’s assassination, President Trump’s other actions are being allowed to go unnoticed.
The release and delayal of the Kennedy files is nothing more than a diversion attempt in hopes to mask the other investigations or actions that are being undertaken, which range from Clinton’s emails under the Obama administration to Russian interests in uranium.
I’ll give credit where credit is due, whoever is on President Trump’s PR team deserves a raise. After all, they so far successfully removed the spotlight from the inane decision House Republicans made to open two investigations regarding the Obama administration’s handling of Hillary’s emails, and the other regarding the sale of a uranium mining interest to a state-owned Russian company.
They also managed to redirect the focus from the President’s decision to roll back protections at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, which are located in Utah.
In doing so, lands sacred to Native Americans and home to animals and archeological sites alike can now be repurposed for logging or other uses. Not only is this decision a disaster for the environment, but an addition to the blatant disrespect Native American’s faced throughout history.
If President Trump can not make himself look good off of his own merit, his tactic seems to make the other guy look worse than him, but President Trump has set a pretty high bar.
But how far does this tactic work? Is there any limit to the amount of diversions he can implement? Will President Trump say something too unforgivable to divert? Will his PR team survive the rest of the year? The use of ‘bait and switch’ has turned six o’clock news from a relatively serious affair into a reality TV show, Keeping Up with the White House.
The handling of JFK’s files are just another one of President Trump’s attempts, or rather, his PR team’s attempts, to clean up his image in light of his failures to meet his campaign goals along with prominent calls for his impeachment.
President Trump’s campaign goal of “Make America Great Again,” by creating a working model for immigration, trade, tax, and foreign policy came with momentous opposition and failure.
So much so that billionaire environmentalist, Tom Steyer, is calling for his impeachment. Steyer is not the first person to call for President Trump’s impeachment, but he is one of the few who has put his money where his mouth is. Steyer pledged to spend at least $10 million in advertising calling for the President’s impeachment.
With the sheer mass of political news received daily, it is important, now more than ever, to be aware of where your priorities and values lie when choosing what media you consume.
James Cantu
Opinion Editor