--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donald Trump creates word salads. And…" description: "\"Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find meaning in it. Journalist..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/masha-gessen-2322_choices_donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-tha_139446.png" --- # Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to… ![“Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find meaning in it. Journalists don't have a choice about reporting what the president says. I find the idea - "Let's not write about his tweets" - to be absolutely ridiculous…” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/masha-gessen-2322_choices_donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-tha_139446.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/masha-gessen-2322_choices_donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-tha_139446.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/415/masha-gessen-2322_choices_donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-tha_139446.png) > “Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find meaning in it. Journalists don't have a choice about reporting what the president says. I find the idea - "Let's not write about his tweets" - to be absolutely ridiculous. I mean, he's the president! Of course, we have to write about his tweets and look at what they mean. The problem is, they're hollow. But we don't have the option of ignoring what he's saying because he's president. That's damaging to language, and to journalism.” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political rhetoric that lacks substance erodes public discourse and burdens journalists with meaningless content. **In simple terms:** Empty political speech harms language and journalism. Key Takeaway Demand clearer communication from leaders. Themes politics media communication Mood critical concerned Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - news reporting - political analysis - media criticism - public speaking - education Key Concepts public discourse journalistic ethics information overload Questions to Reflect On - How can journalists convey meaning without amplifying emptiness? - What responsibilities do leaders have to clear language? A Different Perspective Even if speech is nonsensical, ignoring it can cede influence to misinformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I write my own tweets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-write-my-own-tweets/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [Donald Trump creates scapegoats in Muslims and Mexican immigrants. He calls for the use of torture. He calls for killing the innocent children and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/donald-trump-creates-scapegoats-in-muslims-and-mexican-immigrants-he/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I think it's so scummy when 'friends' write tweets about each other, if you have a problem then be a real friend and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-s-so-scummy-when-friends-write-tweets-about-each-other-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ We had the clip of \[Donald\] Trump saying: I'm not president of the globe. I'm president of the United States.\[Ronald\] Reagan would have never… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/we-had-the-clip-of-donald-trump-saying-i-m-not-president-of-the-globe/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [The election moment is merely the American public saying, "We'd rather you be President than that guy." That's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/the-election-moment-is-merely-the-american-public-saying-we-d-rather/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [The Republican Party is saying that the president of the United States has bosses, that the union bosses this president around - the unions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/the-republican-party-is-saying-that-the-president-of-the-united/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [I'm not saying all Trump supporters are deplorable, but I am saying that the president of the United States has got to measure his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-navarro/i-m-not-saying-all-trump-supporters-are-deplorable-but-i-am-saying/) [Ana Navarro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-navarro/) > [Isn't it a little strange the FBI director has a private conversation with the president. Instead of saying to the president, Mr. President, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ruddy/isn-t-it-a-little-strange-the-fbi-director-has-a-private-conversation/) [Christopher Ruddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ruddy/) > [“There are over 1.5 billion tweets generated every 2 days and over 30 billion pieces of content shared each month on Facebook (Kiss Metrics).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kramer/there-are-over-1-5-billion-tweets-generated-every-2-days-and-over-30/) Bryan Kramer > [Even my trolls have started taking the trouble to spell their Tweets correctly, which is thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rinder/even-my-trolls-have-started-taking-the-trouble-to-spell-their-tweets/) [Robert Rinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rinder/) > [People with more than 50,000 tweets should officially be declared as Senior Citizens of Twitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/people-with-more-than-50-000-tweets-should-officially-be-declared-as/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [If you follow my tweets, you know, my attention and anxiety have been increasingly focused on the plight of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sacca/if-you-follow-my-tweets-you-know-my-attention-and-anxiety-have-been/) [Chris Sacca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sacca/) > [ If I say something about David \[Bowie\], I get 1000 tweets, if I say something about my business just a few! The more personal,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-abdulmajid/if-i-say-something-about-david-bowie-i-get-1000-tweets-if-i-say/) [Iman Abdulmajid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-abdulmajid/) > [“If you really wanna be a part of my life, you will get wet with the rain of tweets, be ready for that too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balakoteswara-panchakshari/if-you-really-wanna-be-a-part-of-my-life-you-will-get-wet-with-the/) Balakoteswara Panchakshari > [People bring up tweets that I don't even remember, and my general response is, 'I don't know if I said it. I probably said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-cernovich/people-bring-up-tweets-that-i-don-t-even-remember-and-my-general/) [Mike Cernovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-cernovich/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-is-the-first-time-since-1993-that-russians-have-come-out-into-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [For years I was the only publicly out gay person who was not a full-time gay activist: my position as a quasi-foreigner gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/for-years-i-was-the-only-publicly-out-gay-person-who-was-not-a-full/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Since 9/11 we have somehow come to accept the 'radicalization' narrative, which basically holds that people become terrorists through a series of consecutive, traceable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/since-9-11-we-have-somehow-come-to-accept-the-radicalization/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Explore all 171 Masha Gessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find meaning in it. Journalists don't have a choice about reporting what the president says. I find the idea - \"Let's not write about his tweets\" - to be absolutely ridiculous. I mean, he's the president! Of course, we have to write about his tweets and look at what they mean. The problem is, they're hollow. But we don't have the option of ignoring what he's saying because he's president. 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