"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant." — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

 The American media are the enemy of the American president and the American people, and they have indeed grown arrogant.  "The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself," Sun Tzu wrote.  Those of us who have been watching President Trump's daily press briefings on the COVID-19 virus have not been surprised at the appalling disrespect the reporters show the man.  They have behaved this way since Trump became a candidate for the office of the presidency.

As the world now grapples with this pandemic, each day, the president and his team patiently explain to these people everything they know to date, and then he takes questions.  Nearly every question is an attempt at a gotcha moment.  They read part of a statement the president made, often an edited statement, then challenge him to defend that which needs no defense.  He has defeated them, but they have yet to realize it. 

Our not intrepid press corps nearly operates on the premise that the president came late to the crisis when in fact he was on it from moment one, as soon as the truth of it emerged from China too late.  The WHO, NIH, and CDC were each wholly unprepared, having spent their billions on social justice projects and studying drunk monkeys.  Not one of those three agencies saw the virus as a potential pandemic — not in December or January.  Trump did.  It is those institutions and the irresponsibility of previous administrations who bear the blame for the shortages of medical equipment and supplies, Gov. Cuomo in particular.

But every question from this press corps is meant to impugn the president's handling of this global event.  These people make fools of themselves day after day and are apparently too dim to realize that fact, so they show up the next day and embarrass themselves again.  They ask questions that simply cannot be answered at this point.  They ask for speculation, then attack him for speculating.

The president mentions a possible successful treatment, and they denounce both him and the drug — which has so far turned out to be very successful.  No matter how many times he explains that the team is doing its very best to come up with appropriate guidelines as new data are revealed, they seem to think Trump should be able to answer the unanswerable.  Like a gaggle of hyenas, they shout at him, each asking the same questions over and over again.  He patiently answers or has one of the virology experts present address the question, but no answer pleases them.

Each one of them wants to catch him in a mistake so the clip of their question will go viral.  But what has gone viral is the absolute inanity of these people and Trump's restraint and aplomb before them.  Most people could not, would not put up with such a despicable colony of weasels. 

Since the moment Trump became the candidate, the media set out to destroy him.  They were overwhelmingly confident that they could do exactly that.  They had always been successful in such endeavors before.  From the Billy Bush tape to the Russia collusion hoax, the Ukraine phone call, impeachment, and now this virus, they have not let up for one moment.  But he has confounded them.

"Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances." —Sun Tzu

What is almost hilarious is that the media never learn from their many mistakes.  Trump wins almost every time.  He is most certainly winning this time.  Many millions of Americans are watching these briefings and seeing firsthand just how rude and disrespectful most of the "reporters" in the room are.  There may be a few who show respect and are interested in learning something.  The rest are mere little yappy dogs trying to nip at Trump's ankles and getting nowhere.  He skillfully exposes them for who and what they are: ignorant and noxious.  They want nothing more than to hurt the man who has handled this crisis far better and more aggressively than any other world leader.

The fanatical media have more than demeaned themselves; they have rendered themselves irrelevant.  Americans who are watching are disgusted by their obvious and relentless attacks on the man.  No wonder the president's approval ratings are climbing.  We are seeing a man adept at solving problems and getting things done and watching the media that are a barrel of monkeys willing to destroy the country to take him down.  Bill Maher has been wishing for a recession for a few years now.  Our media defend China and try to ruin their own president!

What makes these briefings so entertaining is when the president calls them out for their dishonesty.  He has a steel-trap mind and remembers what he has said.  When they twist or edit his words, he knows it and humiliates them.  But they seem not to realize they are being humiliated.

President Trump has been teaching us all.  It is only the men and women of the media who fail to learn.  Donald Trump, as John Perazzo has written, is a superb and unappreciated president. 

"Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate." —Sun Tzu

This is that moment.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab.