Trump and Johnson following a pattern

You mean Boris prevented the SO's from speaking? Grief I must have missed that,
Was this on TV? Or interview for the papers?

Sorry going to bed. Read later on.

Namsnanny did you watch the briefing of 28th May? Questions directed for Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance were blocked by Boris. Yes I think they were relieved not to be put on the spot, but BJ absolutely blocked them answering.

Both Trump and Johnson are evasive shallow individuals. Johnson appears to be a puppet of the Vote Leave operation, he avoids serious questions related to Brexit and his government has suppressed many facts. They have denied a democratic revisit of Brexit, back in 2016 they didn't expect to win so had no viable plan, they still have no viable plan. Boris rules by Sound Bites with little substance behind them.

Trump is a different character, though sound bites like "America First" do attract disaffected voters just as "Get Brexit Done" does over here. However, elections in both countries have evidence of outside interference coupled with outdated electoral systems. Opposition is stifled, protests disregarded, and it is always someone else's fault. Let's blame China or the EU and not recognise our own fallibility.

Yes, have noticed that and now the quashing of the press. The government is seeking to dictate the agenda. It's not working.

Not only did he ban his ‘sidekicks’ from answering he actually muted Laura Kuenssberg.

Yes, in answer to the OP, both Trump and Boris are stifling free speech and democracy. They are birds of a feather. Far right and proud of it.

(Both rather dim too. God knows how Boris managed a degree...hmm..???)

What nonsense!Johnson did not ban the scientific advisors from speaking, he told the journalist it was unfair to try and get them to talk about political decisions and the sci advisors agreed readily that they had no wish at all to be embroiled in politics.Was it Peston, can’t remember? He wanted them to answer questions about Cummings.
As for Emily Maitliss, ( another Peston/ Kuennesberg) who thinks she is more important than anyone on her show, she was meant to be impartial in her questioning.Yes, ask probing questions but stay impartial and not hostile.Many people rang and emailed to complain to the BBC.

lemongrove I totally agree with you post.

Lemongrove , I think you should be worried about this .
I watched the briefing and thought that there was a definite
blocking by Johnson .
The journalists were asking the questions that people wanted
answering. Johnson always blocks or rambles round anything he either doesn't want to answer or that he doesn't know.
As Prime Minister he has a duty to the country to keep them fully and well informed. He seems not to understand that and he is not helped by the nodding dog approach of the cabinet, who are also developing this inability to give a straight answer.
What is he afraid of ?

All I can say that this time next year Trump could be gone but we are stuck with the awful Boris for some time.

E Maitliss was not removed by the Beeb - she asked for the night off. B Johnson is bad, but he is not in the same league as trump. I think Johnson has a brain, but isn't using it how he should. trump doesn't have a brain.

Somebody shut Laura Kuenssberg up?
Give that man a medal !

Journalists including those at the BBC are entitled to express opinions when they disagree with politicians. It is there job to get answers from politicians who do their best to ignore anyone who questions them. Biased may be, but aren't we all biased especially when we feel that Cummings, Johnson, Trump etc. have gone too far,

I belong to several pro-EU facebook groups in particular Scientists for the EU, Open Britain and now Campaign to Rejoin the EU. They do tend to be ranting shops where people agree with each other. There are probably pro-Brexit groups to which I not belong.

Granset has a spectrum of different views and also we generally are pleasant to each other. Many of you want me to stop going on about Brexit. Rather than being asked to put up and shupt up I would appreciate constructive debate explaining why Leavers voted Leave and in the cold light of today why they still feel it is best to Leave. Then I may be persuaded to change my views.

Individuals have the right to change their minds, so why were millions denied the right to a "People's Vote" on Brexit. The winning margin was narrow, around 3 million voters from 2016 have since died, about the same number of younger voters are now eligible to vote on their future.

The solution to Northern Ireland is far from satisfactory. You will loose your EHIC card, farmers will be poorer, fishermen who have a case did sell quotas. We really do understand so much more than we did in 2016. Just tell me who aside from Cummings, Gove, Johnson and Rees-Mogg will benefit from Brexit.

Perhaps if journalists were not so aggressive and gave people a chance to answer their questions, politicians might be more co-operative. It seems to be the policy to immediately put them on the defensive, which doesn't make for a good interview.
On the odd occasion that the journalist is polite and chatty (Huw Edwards, Joanna Gosling) they get a much better response from the person being interviewed.

Johnson's behaviour at the briefing was outrageous. Whitty and Vallance lost all credibility - shown to be yes men.

The public health message has gone. I live in a part of the country that has so far seen very low rates of infection - in other words there are very few of us who have had the virus, so there will be low immunity. The beaches are packed, people have been told they can drive wherever they like for childcare, and scientists have been gagged. I suppose the only positive is that in refusing to answer it showed they don't agree with Cummings' actions.

My son is working for track and trace - I am hoping I can persuade him to count the number of times he gets told to fuck off each day.

Also lots of very usually moderate people (including myself) refusing to download the app because that's such a mess. Our death rate is going to be even more shameful than it already is.

^I watched the briefing and thought that there was a definite
blocking by Johnson^ Prof Vallance was asked afterwards how he felt about it westendgirl and he replied ‘as a civil servant we are supposed to be apolitical and neutral in our responses so I was glad not to have to answer’. So, not worrying at all!

Emily Maitliss
@LKTranslator
·
21h
Turns out I've broken one of the BBC's rules on impartiality which is as follows:

Rule 42.1(b) Staff must not report factual information which casts the Conservative Party in a bad light or conflicts with our organisation's mission to preserve the status quo.

I am so sorry x

The scientists were there to give their scientific opinion and advise, not to be asked their opinions on political matters. They were quite right not to become embroiled in anything other than that for which they were employed and Boris was quite right to make sure that is exactly what happened.
Furret I'm not sure that many of us have a classics degree or are actually fluent in Latin and ancient greek! This degree would have required an oral exam as well as written. Not easy to get someone else to do it for you, which I think is what you were suggesting!
Wonder why there's no inquiry into Ian Blackford?!! I think what he did bearing in mind his wife's ill health was eminently sensibly , but surely it must break the spirit of lockdown as did Stephen Kinnock and by all accounts others too. Why all the fuss about DC and clearly no one else?!!

I am not sure you are correct about an oral exam . I believe there may be a viva which is different.

I find your breathless admiration for a charlatan who can speak two dead languages but is unable to put a coherent sentence together in his own language, just a wee bit nauseating, Jw. Not to mention unconvincing of his supposed 'cleverness'. Try giving us some concrete examples of his 'cleverness' that relates to the modern world...particularly to this current crisis.

Ian Blackford went HOME to Skye and ISOLATED for 14 days ,its all there for you to see.He didn't go on a jolly ,he went home to work on his farm .

Cheap laughs about shutting a woman up? Really. Very antidiluvian ??

JW expressing my bewilderment that he managed a degree when he's obviously not that bright. Very odd.
Yes, most likely a Viva not an oral. What was Stanley's old college?

Some people were always aware of the charlatan, and we can’t say we weren’t warned.