We’ve talked about the distractions already, and I’m sure they’ll come up many more times in the coming years. Now let’s talk about how to get past them. I know it’s hard to do, but one tactic is likely to work better than any others: ignore them. Ignore him. Let him pout, rant, spout and sputter. Here’s a suggested dialogue for the news, whether they are talking with Trump, his press secretary, or one of his Breibart heads:

Trumpian: “the President believes there are 3-5 million illegal votes out there for Hillary and this needs to be investigated.”

Appropriate response: “that’s complete BS and you know it. Nice try at distracting us from what’s really happening. Now please answer the question about Russia. We imposed sanctions after they invaded Ukraine, a sovereign country and potential ally. What has changed since that time that we are now cozying up to them and potentially lifting sanctions?”

Trumpian: “well, we won the election, and would have won bigger if…”

Appropriate response: “let me cut you off right there. Did you miss the part where we’re calling you on your insane BS and ignoring  you unless you answer the questions? Would you like to talk about the change of policy on Russia now?”

Ok, the media should probably get rid of the BS parts and just ACTUALLY ignore the BS and push past it. The polite way to do this might be: “That sounds fascinating, but it is totally unsubstantiated. Please bring it up again when you have a shred of proof. Now back to the actual issues that the country cares about…”

Trump, his advisors and the Republican leadership in Congress have brought up a number of very real policy proposals that are VERY dangerous for the American people, and some of them may be dangerous for our republican democracy. We need to keep the focus on these and not let them distract us. No matter how much red meat they give us to chew on, and no matter how tempting it is to respond on a daily basis.