Covering President Trump’s first 100 days

“Walls to protect us and to bring us together.” — 1

The evening of Friday 20, January 2017

Text Message

John Editor: You got in. Good. How is the atmosphere???

Eliot Trout: Strange. Busy. Superficial.

John Editor: Save the it for your column. Except for the last one.

Eliot Trout: Column??

John Editor: YES!! CONGRATS

John Editor: Forgot to tell you about your promotion.

Eliot Trout: Is this a result from my November article ?

John Editor: Everything is a result of your article.

John Editor: Go have fun. Looking forward to your report.

Eliot Trout slipped his phone into his pocket and scanned the faces in the crowd. His tuxedo felt stuffy and his cuff links were tight on his wrists. This was the first time Elliot wore a tuxedo. He had no choice, the new administration required formal wear for anyone attending the inaugural ball.

Everyone of political and media significance was in attendance. The political power of Washington, D.C. descended in New York City‘s’Trump Tower. The invite list was the most sought after and despised in American history.

Eliot stood alone at the corner of the bar sipping a glass of water in one hand and with his other hand in his pocket. Elliot was the only credentialed press from a a small local newspaper. He was a reporter of over 35 years at the Fairfield Gazette. Fairfield Ohio had a population of less than 50,000.

Elliot at age 63 was blessed with good health since he stopped smoking over 20 years ago. His hair was bushy with a majority of it grey. His mustache matched his hair. His low key demeanor made him appear more as a grandfather than a White House reporter. He knew he was out of place. He was standing in a celebration of America’s political power because of an editorial he wrote.

It was his first and only editorial in his stagnant career at the Gazette. His editorial was written as a satire of a future of a Trump Presidency, but was interpreted as hope and became fuel for the campaign and their supporters. The day before the election, Donald Trump traveled to four battleground states — Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump used a portion from the editorial “Walls to protect us and to bring us together.”

This was proclaimed from Trump’s mouth 52 times on the eve of the election. He was down 9 points nationally and down at least 5 points in each battleground states. As election night grew late, the map began to change. Ohio was the first to fall to Trump. Then Pennsylvania. Then Wisconsin. All close margins of victory. Florida was the last one to fall. Trump surprisingly lost Georgia and Utah but kept the traditional blue states.

As the election night moved to the early morning of the next day, Mr. Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes. Trump took the stage in the same Trump hotel with supporters in an hour and half speech covered on all media outlets.

Twitter exploded. Almost literally exploded. It shut down in the early morning, due to issues with servers. As Mr. Trump spoke and celebrated, protests began in front of the White House and in large cities.

There was no concession speech from Hillary Clinton. A team of lawyers were working to fight the ballots. A week later Hillary Clinton accepted defeat with the the following tweet:

“I thank my supporters for fighting the good fight for America. In spite of the election results I will continue to fight for working Americans — H”

It was her last tweet and she quietly disappeared to her home in Chappaqua, New York.

Eliot woke up the next morning to the headline from the Cincinnati newspaper (it served the distribution for Fairfield and provided wider selection of national stories)

“Trump wins and vows to build and bring us together”

Under the Cincinnati newspaper was the Fairfield Gazette newspaper. The Gazette ran the same headline from the Cincinnati paper and included a rerun of Eliot’s editorial.

Elliot went to bed around 9pm the night of the election, not thinking that a 750 word satirical editorial had any impact outside of Fairfield, Ohio. He didn’t even vote that day. He hasn’t voted since Watergate.

“Oh yes, the Trout article. I don’t think it had any impact. Really, a newspaper that has no weekend circulation and an editorial bordering on science fiction impacting this election. No.” NBC political news anchor, Andrea Mitchell scolded her young producer as she went back to working on her second martini.

“Brilliant writing. It didn’t win the election but help the campaign provide clarity to the American people” said a joyous Sean Hannity, the popular conservative television and radio host to a balding middle age white man who had provided large amounts of fundraising for the campaign. He nodded in agreement.

Another conservative but generally sober minded pundit, George Will was consoling the editor of the data analytical political website 538, Nate Silver. Silver had boldly predicted the landslide victory of President Obama over Mitt Romney in 2012.

“Nate, politics are more or less predictable, but populist movements are harder. Don’t take this hard.”

“The data models moved so quickly, I couldn’t see it coming. We found ourselves trying to catch up with changes and to far behind to predict.”

“The say the editorial in Indiana played a role. I don’t believe some futuristic gibberish can sway an American electorate. I focus on the rise of a strong White American middle class who were getting left behind. Also, the Democratic base that felt too comfortable in the polls that didn’t vote.”

“Ohio.”

“What. What do you mean Ohio”

“The editorial was in Ohio. A key battleground state.”

Eliot would overhear this type of conversations and debates on his editorial. No one noticed that the author of the controversial editorial was across the bar or seating next to them, or standing next to them as they commented.

Eliot’s article didn’t have a picture of him. Elliot was not on facebook, did not have a twitter handle nor any other social media. The only image found on the internet of Eliot Trout was a picture of him interviewing a person who had just voted in Fairfield, Ohio during the 1972 election.

Eventually, The Fairfield Gazette provided media outlets with a photo of Elliot Trout’s employee badge. The picture was 10 years old. The photo was Elliot with the same dower look and less grey hair. The first time when the media tried to go to his house to get a comment and photo, they didn’t believe it was the Eliot Trout.

“Mr. Trout will be returning tonight around 6pm, can I take message?” Eliot told the mostly twenty something reporters. They texted their bosses and set-up for a 6pm live shot. They never answered Eliot.

Eliot packed his bags and asked his editor he planned to cover the campaign and election from the road. He requested and an advance and a promise of secrecy of his whereabouts. The editor easily obliged.

Eliot preferred to be anonymous. Those who don’t seek influence or power in Washington politics, become invisible. There are those who once they lose power become invisible in other ways. They go back to living in Chappaqua, New York.

Eliot moved through the ballroom becoming a shadow and listening to all types of rumors and thoughts on the new administration.

“He hasn’t announced it, but I on a credible source, Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General, Gingrich as Special Advisor and Governor Rick Perry heading his new revamped Border Patrol Agency”

“Is it true he plans to redecorate the White House. I heard he has having a bust of his image made for the Oval Office.”

“The President of Mexico placed a call to congratulate President Elect Trump, and Trump didn’t respond. I heard he sent him an invoice for the estimate to build the wall.”

He stood in front of a large television, replaying the inaugural speech from Trump. It was four hours long. The longest on record. There was no teleprompter which made a hungry media more anxious.

He asked for a hand held microphone and walked around the Capitol talking and occasionally glaring at the former President Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton who were part of the dignitary for former Presidents and there families.

“My oath to you. We will build a wall to bring us together. Protect and unite.” the crowd roared. It was the largest gathering for a Presidential inauguration.

Protests circled around the Capitol. After the marathon speech, He boarded his private helicopter that made a dangerous landing by the Capitol.

Eliot sighed at the replay of the speech. He was glad he was invisible.

“Mr Trout. Mr. Trout!”

A young man with two smart hands in each hand came up to him.

“Mr Trout it is great to have you at this event. I am the Director of Communications for President Elect Trump.”

Eliot was not invisible anymore but felt naked. Conversations around him ended abruptly, as the guests near him started to take photos of Eliot from there phone.

“Mr. Trout can you please follow me.”

Eliot grabbed the young man’s hand and started to walk at a fast pace trying to escape.