ELECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump appears to be throwing spaghetti against the wall in the run-up to the midterms — and seeing what he can get journalists to choke down. Earlier this month, he promised a 10 percent middle-class tax cut before the election in November, even though Congress wasn’t in session. He ordered troops to the border with Mexico to prevent a caravan of migrants from entering, yet that group is months away from reaching the U.S. And on Tuesday [10-30-18], he proposed ending birthright citizenship via executive order, which virtually all legal experts agree would be unconstitutional. A pattern has emerged: Trump’s proposals are usually reported quickly — often credulously passed along in headlines and tweets — before thorough vetting later yields more skeptical reports.”
–Jason Schwartz and Michael Calderone, “Press struggles with amplifying Trump’s pre-midterms claims,” Politico, October 30, 2018 10:11 pm