5. People are saying Reagan & Bush Jr. weren't readers, but the evidence doesn't bear that out. Reagan's mostly read right wing media (Human Events, National Review, even Reader's Digest) but he clearly digested it and it formed his worldview.
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6. Bush Jr. also, the evidence suggests, dutifully read the popular histories Karl Rove and others gave him. He was still part of the world of literacy in a way that Trump is not.
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7. Some presidents have been great readers (TR, Woodrow Wilson, FDR,
@dick_nixon), some more casual. But again, it doesn't really matter what they read as the fact that they did read: reading giving them habits of linear, sequential thinking & abstraction which Trump lacks.10 replies 27 retweets 197 likesShow this thread -
8. Neil Postman, a forgotten prophet, is very good on the specific habits of mind that you get from being a reader.pic.twitter.com/tWeLDVaQ8L
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9. Alot the traits Trump has that some people see as symptoms of mental decline (the limited vocabulary, the non-sequitur and logical muddle, the frequent resort to slurs and crude nick-names) are more accurately seen as signs of post-literacy.
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Jeet Heer Retweeted Emily Nussbaum
10. This is a good point. Trump not only watches lots of TV. He watches the shittiest TV. No prestige TV for him, with its narrative ambitions and explorations of ambiguity.https://twitter.com/emilynussbaum/status/1113945275528351750 …
Jeet Heer added,
Emily NussbaumVerified account @emilynussbaumReplying to @HeerJeetNot just TV: specifically cable news & SNL, maybe sports. I don't think he watches any scripted television—or if he does, he hasn't mentioned it. (Other than his own retro appearances on The Nanny etc.) I'm kind of curious if he ever watched reality TV other than The Apprentice.9 replies 29 retweets 172 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @HeerJeet
he has never indicated to me that he understands what fiction is.
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I mean, he likes fight scenes too, I'm not sure he actually has liked a STORY
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Agreed, liking Weber musicals is one of the very, very few humanizing anecdotes about Trump.
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Interesting connection here: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd recorded a solo concept album inspired by Postman called Amused to Death. There’s a song on it called “It’s a Miracle” in which Waters fantasizes about Weber’s fingers being crushed by a piano lid.pic.twitter.com/ht1t5hSIYj
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