NOTEBOOK - IN AWE OF WAR
A new poll in the United States shows President Trump's approval rating is rising in the aftermath of his decision to launch military action against Syria.
The President has hailed the Rasmussen survey, showing a 50 per cent approval rating, as an indication that his administration has finally found its sea-legs.
Other polls still make grim reading for the Trump White House.
But as Simon Marks reports in the latest edition of his "Washington Notebook", the President's embrace of military action in both Syria and Afghanistan also led to a shift in some corners of the US media.
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If there is anything more disconcerting about adjusting to the fact that Donald Trump now has his fingers on America's nuclear trigger, it may be the way the US TV networks are adjusting to the fact that Donald Trump has his fingers on….erm….America's nuclear trigger.
For the first few weeks of the Trump Presidency, we were all so baffled by the way in which his White House was doing business that none of us really had much time to dwell on the awesome power within the President's grasp. After all, in the early days of his administration he spent most of his time waging war on the reporters who cover him rather than sounding especially bellicose towards America's global enemies.
All that changed on day 77 when news broke that the President had launched air strikes on Syria.
At a stroke, President Trump's actions changed the national conversation. Gone from the front pages were ongoing headlines about alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia's intelligence services. Suddenly, opportunity knocked for those session musicians who record the bass-heavy jingles and stings that accompany the US networks' coverage whenever a President engages his military.
There is of course nothing cable news in America likes more than a good war. Or even a bad one. Both boost ratings and along with them the rate cards that the networks can charge advertisers. Perm the word "war" with the name "Donald Trump" and you've got a guaranteed ratings bonanza.
On NBC's 24-hour news channel, you could see the whole thing going to their heads. Brian Williams, the former NBC Nightly News anchor who only narrowly survived what are charitably described as a series of "false and exaggerated statements" about his reporting in Iraq, found himself delivering this live gem from MSNBC's anchor desk:
"We see these beautiful pictures at night, from the decks of these two US Navy vessels in the eastern Mediteranean. I'm tempted to quote the great Leonard Cohen: 'I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons', and they are beautiful pictures of fearsome armaments making what is for them a brief flight over to this airfield".
Now, I like the late Leonard Cohen as much as the next man, and I'm a big fan of his song "First We Take Manhattan…." from which that particular line is taken. But - not for the first time - I have no idea what Mr. Williams thought he was banging on about, nor why he would feel the need to comment three times in 30 seconds about the "beauty" of America's military prowess.
Over on Fox, things were soon even worse. When news broke that President Trump had deployed MOAB - the so-called "Mother Of All Bombs" - in Afghanistan, the anchors were positively cock-a-hoop.
After showing Pentagon-released video of the attack, Fox anchor Brian Kilmeade observed: "That's what happens when a 21 thousand pound bomb explodes!"
His co-host, Ainsley Earhardt asserted: "That is what freedom looks like, that's the red white and blue".
Not to be outdone, their Fox News colleague Geraldo Rivera then chimed in: "One of my favorite things in the 16 years that I've been here at Fox News is watching bombs drop on bad guys".
Luckily for Geraldo, but unfortunately for "bad guys" and any civilians caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, President Trump shows every sign of rather enjoying his early dalliance with American military might. He did not drop a bomb on North Korea after that country's recent nuclear test, but he's itching to give it a try – hence his warning that the US will "go it alone" against Kim Jong Un unless the Chinese make headway persuading their ally in Pyongyang to abandon his nuclear aspirations.
So, we are standing by here for lots more jingoistic broadcasting as anchors and reporters who know better (I've broken bread with Geraldo Rivera and can assure you that he does) await further conflict with bated breath. "Jaw, jaw" may be better than "war, war"….but on US TV news, one is always accompanied by the other.
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