SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Pointless distractions undermine worthy goals

Mar 8, 2017, 8:36 PM

Trump...

This is the first time I can remember a White House Press Secretary saying Congress should fact-check the president. (AP file photo)

(AP file photo)

President Trump is committed to pursuing so many worthy goals – tax reform, border security, economic growth, choice in education, strengthening the military – that it’s a shame that he allows himself to be distracted by dubious concerns and trivial issues.

Four days after his well-received speech to Congress, he shifted attention to an unsupported claim that Barack Obama tapped the Trump Tower phones. If there is any substance to this charge, it should have been exposed by law enforcement officials or Congressional investigators, not by the president himself in a Saturday morning twitter storm.

In his speech to Congress, Trump made an encouraging call for bi-partisan cooperation, but attacking his still-popular predecessor as “bad or sick” can hardly help the cause of consensus or reform.

The White House needs a major staff shake-up to refocus the administration on changes that matter to the American people, rather than re-fighting campaign battles that were settled by Trump’s November victory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, interacts with people at the monument to merchant Kuzma Mi...

Associated Press

The Kremlin hopes the US election shake-up won’t shift Trump’s negotiations on Ukraine

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This NOAA satellite image shows the magnitude of the storm moving inland from the Pacific Ocean. (P...

Ted Buehner, KIRO Newsradio Meteorologist

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Associated Press

US military says it fired on commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach blockade

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11 hours ago

FILE - President Donald Trump waves alongside Dana White, president and CEO of UFC, as they arrive ...

Associated Press

Trump says he’s asked UFC’s Dana White to be his press secretary. No one will say if he’s joking

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Associated Press

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Associated Press

Israel’s president taps opposition candidate Eisenkot to form a government, in setback for Netanyahu

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Pointless distractions undermine worthy goals