Tom McClintock should emulate Donald Trump and actually take some questions in public | Opinion
The difference between the congressman representing most of Modesto and former President Donald Trump is that Trump isn’t afraid to face questions from journalists he doesn’t like, even if he often doesn’t answer them.
At its town hall interview Wednesday, CNN let Trump pack the room with hootin’ and hollerin’ supporters, turning the event into more of a rally than a serious discussion.
The Modesto Bee proposes a similar scenario to Rep. Tom McClintock.
The Republican from Elk Grove, who represents two-thirds of Stanislaus County — including most of Modesto and Turlock, plus everything east of Highway 99 except Ceres — owes it to these voters to show his face and answer questions befitting the important leadership role he was elected to serve.
He’s a busy guy, so he can choose the date and time. McClintock can livestream the event, and record and post it on his website, if he likes. Like Trump, he can try to steamroll the conversation with an inexhaustible stream of alternate facts.
The only thing we ask is a chance to ask him questions.
That hasn’t happened in the four months he’s been our representative. Not for lack of trying, on our part. For some reason, McClintock hasn’t even bothered to respond to The Bee’s invitations.
McClintock may not be endowed with the same hubris as Trump, but he certainly can talk till the sun goes down about his fave subjects, immigration policy and the debt ceiling. Both are top of mind right now — in Washington, D.C., across America and in this part of the Valley that he infrequently visits.
He doesn’t seem to care when media note McClintock’s reluctance to appear before the people in the most populated county — Stanislaus — among the eight he represents, from El Dorado County to Fresno County.
He is no Donald Trump
Readers of Friday’s print edition of The Bee will see, adjacent to this column, another penned by a fellow House Republican representing a neighboring district who is not afraid to share his thinking and explain his reasoning to constituents, even when his votes are not popular with his own party. John Duarte is also not afraid to meet with the editorial board, answering each question put to him. That’s what you call being accountable.
What a contrast.
And what a shame.
McClintock shows up only when he knows the audience will be friendly. Trump — found liable for sexual assault by a jury about the time he must have been finalizing details of his CNN interview — though appearing before a friendly audience did not control the questions he was asked by CNN. At the very least, this showed a willingness by Trump to appear in a public setting to field legitimate questions.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for McClintock.
This story was originally published May 11, 2023 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Tom McClintock should emulate Donald Trump and actually take some questions in public | Opinion."
