The Great Himself

Ego is a poor substitute for self confidence. -- Pug Mahoney

   Loyalty seems to be a one-way street for the current president. Not to the Constitution, but focused on personal, total, absolute, unquestioning and obsequious devotion to Himself.
   And since he does not get that from the press corps, for the second year in a row he has declined an invitation to the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner.
   Instead, he showed up at a re-election campaign rally in a small town in Michigan -- not coincidentally named Washington -- with a huge Trump 2020 banner at the entrance.
   He has a history of rewarding those who kiss his ring (metaphorically, of course) by granting them a Cabinet position despite a lack of experience or competence in any field related to the new job.
   But journalists don't work that way, a lesson that The Great Himself has yet to learn. Reporter loyalty is to the Constitution and to the people, whether they be citizens or newcomers, a duty guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution.
   He has attacked journalism as "the enemy of the people." On the contrary, news media's duty is to the people, not to any political or government leader. Another distinction that this champion of one-way personal loyalty has not learned.
   Journalists cannot and will not pledge personal loyalty to this president, or to any other, regardless of the ranting and threatening and insults that come in a steady stream.
   It's no coincidence that a campaign-style rally was scheduled for the same hour as the correspondents' dinner in the nation's capital. It's worth noting, moreover, that the rally is based on the assumption that Himself will be available for a second term. There is no guarantee of that, much less that he will be re-elected.