The details of what's going on there are described, by Dylan Byers at CNN, in "Behind Trump's 'job interview' with Alicia Watkins."
Identifying herself as a 9/11 survivor and Afghanistan/Iraq war veteran, [Alicia] Watkins asked Trump if his new hotel in Washington would include a veterans employment program. Trump said it would, and asked her to come to the podium for a job interview.Oh! He commented on her looks: You look so smart and good.
"What are you looking for? What kind of a position? Come up here, you look so smart and good," Trump said. "Do you mind if I do a job interview right now?"
Watkins, who came to the stage wearing a media credential, told Trump that she did "design," "briefs" and "all kinds of decorations." Trump then passed her along to one of his aides, and told the crowd: "If we can make a good deal on a salary she's probably going to have a job."...I wonder if the whole thing wasn't planned and staged. In this C-SPAN clip of her talking to reporters afterwards, at 3:58 — for what it's worth — she says it wasn't planned.
Trump himself was asked about his exchange with Watkins after Monday's press conference.... "I felt good about her," Trump responded "I looked at and I have a gut instinct. We're allowed to have that. I looked at her. She asked a positive question.... She seemed like a good person to me."
There's a controversy about why Watkins had press credentials. In that C-SPAN clip, at 0:45, she's asked who she writes for, and she calls herself "a freelance artist." She says "I submit stories and submit like on posts and blogs and everything else." So... new media.
Can new media get press credentials? (Can I get press credentials?) I don't see what's wrong with a campaign deciding it wants to give bloggers press credentials and to let them ask questions. John McCain used to do conference phone calls with bloggers in his 2008 campaign. And new media is a big part of Trump's campaign.
But I can see why mainstream journalists like Byers would resist upstart intrusions into their profession... even as mainstream Republicans resist the upstart intrusion that is Trump.
And by the way, here's an article about Alicia Watkins from a year ago — pre-Trump campaign — in HuffPo/Oprah Winfrey Network:
Alicia Watkins is a retired Air Force staff sergeant who proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan. She risked her life for the freedom of others, survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, and watched her colleagues die. But it wasn’t any of her combat experiences that broke Watkins’ spirit; it was the fact that she retired from the military and found herself homeless....It's interesting to see Watkins and Karen Attiah (the woman in the previous post) — both black women in the field of journalism — going big in Trump media on the same day. Coincidence?
“I have traumatic brain injury, I have post-traumatic stress disorder, I have a spinal cord injury,” she says. “It’s a hard road. I would love to be able to work today. I have offers, I have people that are willing to help me, but they all have to take a backseat to my health. As much as I want to work, I have to acknowledge that I am a casualty of war.”
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52 comments:
Part of Donald Trump's appeal is his f**k PC attitude.
The Trump opposition seems to be going in the wrong direction.
When the big gaffs didn't work against Trump, do they think going "small ball" will work better against him?
I really don't see either of these instances hurting Trump, particularly among black women.
With this hire, and with the Gary Busey and Dennis Rodman endorsements, Trump has wrapped up the brain-damage vote well in advance of the Cleveland convention.
"“I have traumatic brain injury, I have post-traumatic stress disorder, I have a spinal cord injury,” she says."
Chuck said...
"With this hire, and with the Gary Busey and Dennis Rodman endorsements, Trump has wrapped up the brain-damage vote well in advance of the Cleveland convention."
Classy, Chuck. The woman suffered injuries in our Armed Forces and you make her a brain-damage joke for political points.
Keep trying to keep people from Shitting in the Caviar.
I am Laslo.
Trump's 'sweetie' sounded avuncular (don't laugh). On the other hand, didn't Obama call a reporter sweetie in a condescending way on his campaign? Where was the outrage then?
The man whose leadership made the Old Post office into a World Class Hotel project happening at all and two years ahead of schedule needing staffing staff to open in September happens to appreciate good people when he sees them.
Why not? He has 50 years of experience being a realist and a strong Christian who knows a good human spirit when he meets one at a prvidential moment . That is not a psychic ability. It is the mind of Christ that real Christians are used to. ..the one that has won Trump the Evangelical vote...the Mormon vote the opposite.
For six months we have seen Trump make these right moves with a timing that astounds us.
I looked at her.
4 Ways To Challenge The Male Gaze
"The male gaze, which refers to the lens through which mostly white, heterosexual men are viewing the world, is a lens of entitlement."
Let's see... veteran, well presented, with the guts to get out and ask. If I had a large enterprise like Trump, especially one that had to staff up quickly, I'd feel pretty confident I could find a spot in my organization for her. Nice move by Trump.
Plus, the answer, probably, is that he DIDN'T have a specific veteran's outreach program. (Most places don't). This way, he got to answer the question in a much more positive way.
Trump is extremely quick on his feet.
My biggest concern with him is he doesn't know how to use staff. He's obviously very effective in his own field of real estate development, where he's better at it than anyone he hires. He's a bona fide expert at it. Yes, there are people harping on his four bankruptcies out of hundreds of entities. But they're idiots.
As soon as he gets outside of his comfort zone, though, he can't get away with snap decisions like that. His instincts serve him well in real estate development. He has fingerspitzengefeuhl like crazy in that field.
As president, going by instinct and shooting from the hip rather than letting your staff work through a decision making process will murder you. And get a lot of other people literally killed along the way.
Once again Chuck proves himself to be a total sleaze, who has absolutely no business telling anyone else what candidates are acceptable.
Dutch Oven Republican.
Newsflash: The way that people, even men, look plays a role in whether they get hired.
Reality intrudes once again.
Is this another thing we have to lie about?
Chuck, made to look crude and crass by Laslo Spatula. That's a feat Chuck.
On Imus, Nat Candido doing a "halftime report" on the show called easily-offended Dagen McDowell over, "Come over here, sweetheart." That made the bit. Sept 29, 2014 8:05am
The easily offended are fun.
Some of the posters on this site need to get out and mingle with real people. Unless they are afraid their first impression on the powerful will reveal their shallowness and lack of leadership. It's in their eyes and stature that separates the sheep from the sheepdog. I am a vet and I doubt if some on this site would run to the sound of gunfire and I wouldn't trust them covering my back. Trump may not be a vet but I trust his instincts. leadership and courage is earned not given.
This was simply a recognition by Trump of a courageous warrior spirit. One that that makes decisions endures pain and completes her duty. Those people are rare finds. And that kiss was a kiss from one courageous warrior to another honoring kiss. She needed that job and she reached out and touched Trump with a faith he would be real to his commitments to help disabled veterans restore their life.
But if you must slander and destroy the very best, then make Trump out as a sexual pervert. Making that accusation takes one to know one too. .
IIRC, that whole angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin thing was about figuring out whether God operates in a world limited by time and space. When I was a little kid, I wondered whether God could just make something happen or whether He had to make something else happen first and then that thing would cause the other thing and so on.
Anyway, Donald Trump has long had the clout to make things happen. It's kind of weird getting to see him, in action, exercising that clout.
fingerspitzengefeuhl
Fingerspitzengefühl is a German term, literally meaning "finger tips feeling" and meaning intuitive flair or instinct, which has been appropriated by the English language as a loanword. It describes a great situational awareness, and the ability to respond most appropriately and tactfully. It can also be applied to diplomats, bearers of bad news, or to describe a superior ability to respond to an escalated situation.
Awesome! The German language has some fabulous word concoctions that in one word precisely sum up a complex thought.
Thanks for expanding my vocabulary today.
Stand up and take a bow, Chuck -- you are truly the class of the GOPe!
Professor, it's obvious you've been in academia all your life; you're a little obsessed with the "woman" angle. I don't know if you're trying to make Trump fit into your and Hillary's sexist mold (although by the direction of your posts, it doesn't seem so) or if you just can't help yourself.
Don't get me wrong, we younger women appreciate your and Hillary's "pioneering" but it just seems over the top now.
Air kiss. Oh MY how dare he! Trump must be a nazi.
I don't know if you're trying to make Trump fit into your and Hillary's sexist mold (although by the direction of your posts, it doesn't seem so) or if you just can't help yourself.
Althouse is interested in modes of propaganda, and asserting the superiority of female over male reasoning methods.
Wonderful. I call bullshit. This stinks so bad, I expect to win in the end. I thought the Trumpkins were enamored with political incorrectness. Guess not.
Here's more of Dylan Byers at CNNMoney:
the crowd: "If we can make a good deal on a salary she's probably going to have a job."
The Trump campaign, which handled credentials for the press conference, initially told CNNMoney that Watkins worked for "a site called Troops Media which focuses on military and veterans issues." When told that there was no evidence of any such site on the Internet, the Trump campaign said it would look into the matter.
...
In 2010, Watkins, then a homeless veteran, was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Last year, the show followed up with a "Where Are They Now?" feature in which Watkins said she had been accepted to Harvard University on the G.I. Bill.
She went to Harvard? What was her degree program? Did she graduate, while on a GI scholarship? (What did the federal government pay for that?) Why is a Harvard grad looking for a hotel service job?
Late Monday afternoon, after this reporter tweeted that Troops Media did not seem to exist, CNNMoney received a call from a woman who identified herself as Alicia Watkins who said she would send an email explaining "why Troop Media is no longer on the Internet as of today."
The woman, who said her phone was about to run out of battery, hung up while being asked if she still wanted to identify herself as a reporter. The woman called from a blocked number and did not leave any contact information. The promised email has yet to arrive.
Questions, questions.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has yet to respond to an email asking why Watkins was given media credentials.
Trump himself was asked about his exchange with Watkins after Monday's press conference.
"What we just witnessed here is pretty remarkable. I mean, this is a complete stranger who came up and you offered her a job," a reporter asked.
"I felt good about her," Trump responded "I looked at and I have a gut instinct. We're allowed to have that. I looked at her. She asked a positive question.... She seemed like a good person to me."
I just want to know, in plain English, a few things. Where was she, in the Pentagon, on 9/11? There were thousands of people there. They didn't all suffer PTSD. Secretary Rumsfeld, you may recall, was there. Rumsfeld was helping people at the edge of the crash site, before security personnel pulled him away from the scene.
What was the nature of her service in Iraq and Afghanistan? Is that where she suffered the onset of PTSD? Why?
What was the nature of her discharge from the service? Why did she retire when she did?
How and why did she become homeless upon her return to the US?
What was her academic record that got her admitted to Harvard? (I've already asked what her degree program was, and whether she graduated. What is that story?) Why did that not lead to a job?
What are her credentials as a journalist? Why did the Trump campaign give her credentials? What is Troop(s) Media?
I am assured of one thing; there will be oppo-researchers and investigative journalists on both the right and the left that will check every supposed fact in this story.
I expect that this will be exposed as a staged event. A fraud. And a fraud involving an African-American woman is still a fraud. It isn't any less of a fraud because of race, or status as a veteran.
Stay tuned.
"and asserting the superiority of female over male reasoning methods."
Oh, so maybe that's why she voted for Il Duce.
Chuck
Know the difference between a fraud and a bit of theatre?
The staged question from Alicia Watkins is the ONLY question that Trump took, according to Rebecca Cooper, who covers hotels, restaurants and retailing for the Washington Business Journal:
While Trump wouldn't answer my question about the second restaurant, the hotel's director of marketing, Patricia Tang, did. “Soon,” is all we got on that front.
She declined to comment on whether both restaurants will be operational when the hotel opens in September. Trump Hotels has been searching for new restaurant tenants after celebrity chefs José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian pulled out of the project following Trump's disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants on the campaign trail last year. One replacement, BLT Prime, from the BLT group of restaurants, has already been named.
The only question Trump did take on the hotel was from Alicia Watkins, a military veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who asked if the hotel would prioritize hiring veterans. Trump said he’d see if they could find a job for her at the D.C. hotel.
Michael said...
Chuck
Know the difference between a fraud and a bit of theatre?
Yes. And the press doesn't like to get played in either one. The press does not take kindly to people playing "reporter," and going to the head of the reporter-line. The press doesn't like having their role made into a joke. The press does not like having their profession turned into "theater" for somebody else's benefit.
I won't need to lift a finger in any of this. The press will take this story apart because, I expect, they are going to be royally pissed.
Can I get press credentials?
Why don’t you try and see what happens? I for one would be interested to read an account from your point of view as a journalist covering the Trump campaign trail. For instance, I would trust your objectivity about the behavior of the crowds inside the rallies, about the Trump entourage, etc. Would you be allowed to moonlight? Take a sabbatical.
Below is a link to a couple of entertaining women that I would like to marry but they wouldn’t be interested. Either one would do.
http://tinyurl.com/zrkuxsz
Some women, normal women, will even smile and act gracious when a man opens the door.
It's all part of Boy-Girl Relationships 101 that has been co-opted and corrupted since the dysfunctional revolution.
Why don’t you try and see what happens? I for one would be interested to read an account from your point of view as a journalist covering the Trump campaign trail.
I agree. Of particular interest to me would be your impressions of the press covering Trump.
Wow! Chuck is so determined to discredit Trump that he has decided that he must destroy Watkins. She is living proof of Trump's goodness and social skills combined at levels seldom seen from a smarmey politician. But those are the skills witnessed to us to be Trump's usual style by many men and women who have known him for 30+ tears.
It's too late to slander Trump to those who know him well. And that now includes most Americans.
Chuck can be forgiven for hating Trump out of the usual competitive male jealousy and envy. But Chuck can never be forgiven for planning to destroy Watkins.
The press does not take kindly to people playing "reporter,"
Chuck has got that correct at least. They are very protective of their guild and always willing to cooperate in excluding anyone who intrudes into their prerogatives.
But a law professor who teaches constitutional law at UW Madison and is a woman would probably be acceptable to them, at least until they figure out that she is at least aware of the water they are swimming in.
The press doesn't like having their role made into a joke. - Chuck
Well not by the wrong sort anyway. Hillary can rope them as they walk and herd them like goats at a rodeo.
Biden staff locks reporter in a closet:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370371/Vice-President-Joe-Bidens-staff-lock-journalist-closet-stop-talking-guests.html
Good times.
tim in vermont said...
The press doesn't like having their role made into a joke. - Chuck
Well not by the wrong sort anyway. Hillary can rope them as they walk and herd them like goats at a rodeo.
Fuck off, Tim. There are conservative journalists who have done a good job of exposing the Clinton Operation. They work for the Weekly Standard and the National Review, and a hundred others like them. Judicial Watch. Citizens United. It's their work that you are probably reading, to get your daily dose of anti-Hillary news.
You and I could well agree that the mainstream media is not good at the job of shedding light on the Democratic Left. And that fact is surely NOT news. It's not news to you, or me, certainly.
And yet mostly, those smart, motivated Movement Conservative journalists that I mentioned first, are not buying Trump. They've done a good job dismantling Hillary, and now are doing a good job of dismantling Trump. Too bad that Hillary's core constituency of angry racial activists, union leaders and aging Democrats can't be shaken. Just as it's too bad that Trump's 35% plurality of angry white laborers, Howard Stern/Sean Hannity fans, and birthers also cannot be shaken.
In the media I am consuming, neither Hillary nor Trump is "herding" anybody.
Chuck said...
With this hire, and with the Gary Busey and Dennis Rodman endorsements, Trump has wrapped up the brain-damage vote well in advance of the Cleveland convention.
You know. You need to cut out these comparisons.
You guys are fielding Hillary Clinton and some senile old guy who has never had a job.
pointing fingers isn't something you should be doing.
just sayin'.
And yet mostly, those smart, motivated Movement Conservative journalists that I mentioned
Continue to produce moronic screeds about how Trump followers need to find forgiveness in their hearts for the GOP leadership, tell everyone that maybe those working-class whites are evil and need to die after all, and call his supporters Trumpkins and unprincipled scoundrels cause they are just that smart.
Chuck: For all your intense analysis, you missed the obvious fact that if it had been actually staged, the woman would have had a much better answer when he asked what she did (or what she was looking for, whatever it was). Her answer was lame and embarrassing -- she would have had at least a coherent answer if it were planned. Duh.
(Adding Chuck to the list of logically challenged. Oh, wait...he's already on there. Never mind.)
Rusty; you are saying that I am a Democrat? A liberal plant of some kind? You just can't wrap your head around the fact that there are Republicans who hate Trump?
You'll find out soon enough in a general election. But that will result in the election of the woman we both don't want to be President.
Chuck said...
"Rusty; you are saying that I am a Democrat? A liberal plant of some kind? You just can't wrap your head around the fact that there are Republicans who hate Trump?
You'll find out soon enough in a general election. But that will result in the election of the woman we both don't want to be President."
It doesn't matter what affiliation you are. If you do anything that puts Hillary in a better position to beat Trump you are wrong. Without casting the aspersions on your background specifically that you like to cast on others; in general I would guess a lot of nevertrumpers are democrat operatives.
"I wonder if the whole thing wasn't planned and staged. In this C-SPAN clip of her talking to reporters afterwards, at 3:58 — for what it's worth — she says it wasn't planned".
Hmmm, cynical questioning of a straight forward declaration. Yet, at other times in this blog, I note a position of: He says, so why would be doubt.
Could there be a pattern?
She appears to be a nice person, and Trump appeared to have made a spontaneous and decent gesture to her predicament. I would let it rest there, but I'm sure that those wonderful people in the press will investigate further.......Their zeal to do so will reflect more on their bias against Trump than their quest for truth.
The press doesn't like having their role made into a joke. - Chuck
You're about 30 years too late, Chuck.
Planned or spontaneous?
"What difference, at this point, does it make?"
Wow. That phrase does work for everything.
I think she said "wreaths" not "briefs".
Achilles said...
...
It doesn't matter what affiliation you are. If you do anything that puts Hillary in a better position to beat Trump you are wrong. Without casting the aspersions on your background specifically that you like to cast on others; in general I would guess a lot of nevertrumpers are democrat operatives.
Wait just a fucking minute. After Trump's conducting a vicious, personally-destructive, ad hominem, scorched-earth primary campaign -- which isn't over, and in which Trump is not yet the nominee -- you are warning me to play nice because otherwise it might hurt the Republicans' chances in November?
If Trump is the nominee, he'll be on his own. After ridiculing and scorning Republican "donors," I expect the Dems to have a monstrous fundraising and spending edge. After his long string of stupid comments, the usual media supporters of Republicans won't be there to back Trump up. If they sense that Trump is a danger to their chances for re-election, Republican Senate and House candidates will run away from Trump. It may not do them any good; but it sure won't do Trump any good.
Trump has been behind Hillary Clinton by significant margins beyond the margin of error in 43 of 45 national polls according to reports I've read. By all accounts, Trump's favorability rankings in various polls are in historically-negative ranges.
I do think that having won some state primaries has made Trump's supporters, many of whom are effectively new to politics, vastly overconfident.
"Professor, it's obvious you've been in academia all your life; you're a little obsessed with the "woman" angle."
She's been a woman even longer. That might be a factor.
"I do think that having won some state primaries has made Trump's supporters, many of whom are effectively new to politics, vastly overconfident."
Not as overconfident as the supporters of the losers in those primaries though.
I call me wife Sweetie.
She seems to like it.
Should I stop?
Like Joe the Plumber, her life will be torn apart and every detail published on the internet. The public has a right to know, of course.
Now, Obama's entire life story? Well, he wrote two books about himself, so there's nothing worth looking into...
Rules rules rules rules and more rules. Haven't we had enough of rules? Rules rules everywhere. This isn't about calling him out. This is etiquette regulation. If the government can't do it then we don't need scolds telling people how to "police" anyone and everyone's friendly and completely unobjectionable interactions. Enough.
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