While brainstorming story ideas, members of AP’s White House team noted a pattern: President Donald Trump frequently makes head-turning proposals that dominate headlines—even when there’s little chance they’ll become reality.
Reporter Will Weissert’s takeaway from that conversation was to take a direct, critical look at some of Trump’s most eye-popping statements and proposals—and track where they stand now. As he dug into the reporting, Weissert found a recurring theme: Trump often makes the seemingly impossible feel plausible simply through repetition and media amplification.
The resulting story stood out not only for its content, but for its form. Structured in a visually accessible, “chunky” format, the piece allowed readers to move through Trump’s proposals and their outcomes with clarity and ease.
It was, in essence, an accountability story told in a fresh way—revealing how political theater can shift public narratives even when policy doesn’t follow.
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