ICYMI:
Will it NEVER STOP? Jeez- even NPR Morning Edition can't help putting a pro-Trump spin on an issue.[1] Many other news outlets are also spinning it as a win for Trump. Newsflash- it's NOT!
This article focused on the recent conflict between Trump and Columbia's president Gustavo Petro. There were two elements to the dispute. The first dealt with the nature of the flights and treatment of the detainees. The second was the social media back and forth between Trump and Petro.
The flights: the Trump administration began shipping returned immigrants in military cargo planes handcuffed with no water or ability to use the bathroom. This was what Columbia protested. Columbia protested the use of military rather than civilian aircraft as well as the inhumane treatment of Columbian citizens. For background, the Biden administration had already been returning Columbian nationals back to Columbia with no issues or conflict with the Columbian government. But Biden did so via commercial flights which are far less expensive than the performative use of military aircraft. And the returnees were not handcuffed, denied water nor denied the use of bathroom facilities on the flight. In other words, human beings treated as human beings. But for MAGA-Trump- cruelty and displays of macho toughness are the point.
So President Petro exacted a concession from Trump to treat the returnees humanely before accepting their return to Columbia. This is a win for Petro NOT a win for Trump no matter how much bluster he frothed at the mouth over tariffs. Yet every news headline displayed the issue as a Trump win.
Social media: This is where it gets funny, IMO. Trump obviously is well known for his blathering all-caps tweeting. Petro fired back on social media and while the NPR program presented it as Petro "losing his cool" it was in reality Petro thumbing his nose at Trump by using similar hyperbole and grandiosity in his texts. His mimmicking was actually mocking. Kudos Petro!
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