American Journalists Deemed Incompatible With 'Great' Leadership, Unlike Global Strongmen

It appears the fine folks over at the White House communications department have cracked the code: the secret to true presidential greatness lies in maintaining an air of mystique, or, failing that, an air of complete and utter journalistic exclusion. While American reporters, with their inconvenient questions about things like 'democracy' and 'fiscal responsibility,' were busy being escorted from the premises with the efficiency of a bouncer ejecting a poorly-dressed patron, President Trump was busy rolling out the red carpet for China's President Xi Jinping. Apparently, when you're a leader whose government scores a perfect 'repressive' on the international human rights scorecard, you're not just welcome; you're practically family. One can only assume the logic here is that if you can't *handle* a free press, you might as well *be* a free press – as in, free to do whatever you want without one. The media lockout, ostensibly to 'control the narrative,' instead only served to highlight the narrative that some narratives are best told without any pesky witnesses. It seems American media, bless their heart, just haven't grasped the delicate art of allowing a leader to speak uninterrupted, a skill perfected in many 'alternative' democracies around the globe.