October 25, 2017

Rejecting Critics, Trump Brags of Ivy League Credentials and “Great Memories of All Time”

“I’m a very intelligent person.”

President Donald Trump continued to defend himself from the ongoing controversy over his phone call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, telling reporters in an impromptu press conference on Wednesday that he was “really nice to her.” He explained that not only was he equipped with a chart listing Johnson’s name, but relied on his own  memory—”one of the great memories of all time”—as evidence that he did not botch the phone call as Johnson’s family has repeatedly claimed.

“I respect her, I respect her family, I certainly respect La David—who by the way I called ‘La David’ right from the beginning,” he said outside the White House. “Just so you understand, they put a chart in front—La David, says La David Johnson.”

“No hesitation,” he added. “One of the great memories of all time.”

Earlier this week, Johnson’s widow, Myeshia Johnson, confirmed a congresswoman’s account that Trump did not remember Johnson’s name when he called to offer his condolences. She also confirmed his controversial remarks that her husband “knew what he signed up for.”

On Wednesday, Trump also blamed the media for unfairly painting him as an “uncivil” president. 

“People don’t understand: I went to an Ivy League school,” he said. “I was a nice student. I did very well. I’m a very intelligent person.”

The press conference follows Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)’s surprise announcement the day before that he would not seek another term. In a blistering speech from the Senate floor, Flake pointedly denounced the president for his “daily sundering of the country” and disregard for the truth. 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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