The Record, other media failed miserably to report support for U.S. health-care law

A cartoon by Dave Granlund, above, explores charges that President Trump is acting like a dictator. 

Cartoonist Ed Wexler's "Donny's Daddy?" suggests Trump is in awe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who allegedly helped elect the tax-dodging New York billionaire on Nov. 8.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The groundswell of support for President Obama's Affordable Care Act seems to have come out of nowhere.

That's because until a month or so ago, when Donald J. Trump moved to repeal the 2010 law, all The Record did was channel Republicans' racially motivated attacks on what they cursed as "Obamacare," a word newspaper headline writers came to love despite the bias it reflects.

Today, Staff Writer Lindy Washburn reports repeal of the law may expose 810,000 New Jersey seniors on Medicare to "higher out-of-pocket costs," end $4 billion in federal spending in the state and cut 86,000 jobs (1A).

On another issue dominating the front page -- Trump's crackdown on all illegal immigrants, even those who haven't committed crimes -- when will the Woodland Park daily finally investigate the glacial legal immigration system (1A)?

The path from Green Card to citizenship often takes up to 5 years, and the system is so complex many legal immigrants hire lawyers they can't afford to help them navigate the forms, and repeated requests for information. 

In fact, the bureaucratic legal immigration system is believed to be a major cause of illegal immigration.

Old man Trump

Trump turned 70 last June and became the oldest person to hold the office of president about a month ago, so some commentators are blaming his age for all of the crazy things he says.

Black History Month began Feb. 1, but the president only visited the National Museum of African-American History and Culture on Tuesday.

USA Today reports Trump denounced anti-Semitism, even though his campaign attracted "an unusually high number of anti-Semites and white nationalists" (9A).

And in the annual proclamation on International Holocaust Day this month , Trump forgot to mention the 6 million Jews who died.

Jet-set food

Food Editor Esther Davidowitz should be ashamed of Tuesday's front-page promo and her breathless report on Gourmet Inflight Catering of Wood-Ridge.

The Better Living cover showed CEO Harry Purut holding the "smoked salmon tray" served to celebrities and "other multi-millionaires" who fly on private jets.

Big deal. Don't we eat much of the same food? What's the point of the story, except to give the caterer free advertising?

Davidowitz even managed to get in a plug for the Italian-American restaurant run by Purut's partner and chef brother-in-law.