CNN's Brian Stelter tries to imagine how we would view Trump as leader of another country

Brian Stelter imagines Trump as a foreign leader

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/CNN)

"Here's a mental exercise to apply to the news in the Trump age: What would you think if this were happening in some other country?" CNN media reporter Brian Stelter asked Sunday night. He pointed to Trump demonizing immigrants, lying frequently, accusing his political opponents of treason and the media of being the "enemy of the people," saying we have to get rid of judges, and selling access via his private clubs.

Then there are the foreign governments trying to curry Trump's favor with big expenditures at Trump hotels and the companies and lawmakers jockeying to get messages to him on his favorite TV shows, Stelter said, not to mention the "widespread acceptance of the fact that he likes TV shows more than his intelligence briefings — but only shows that fawn over him."

Most of this is happening right out in the open, and it is so ubiquitous that "some news outlets barely take notice of the never-ending errors and gaffes and embarrassments" — like saying wind turbine noise causes cancer or repeatedly mispronouncing "origins," Stelter said. "People mostly just shrug it off, like he's the guy at the end of the bar just blowing off steam, or like he's an old man shaking his fist at a cloud. But how would this be covered if it were happening in a different country? What if all the U.S. reporters were peering in as foreign correspondents trying to cover Washington right now?" You can watch his mental exercise below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.