Ratings Envy? Trump Says that His CNN Town Hall Spurred Fox News to Cover His Iowa Cult Rally

Posted by Mark NC on May 13, 2023 at 12:32 pm. 5 Comments :

The fallout from CNN’s ill-conceived and dreadfully executed town hall with Donald Trump last week is continuing to drench the network in criticism and shame. Rather than producing an informative forum for assessing Trump, it has been widely disparaged as an in-kind contribution to Trump’s campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

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There is a growing consensus among media professionals that it was foreseeable mistake for CNN to provide Trump with a platform to spread the same tedious lies he has been promulgating for years about the 2020 presidential election that he says – without a shred of evidence – was “rigged and stolen” from him. And on pretty much every other topic Trump regurgitated his familiar distortions of reality, personal insults, and meritless self-aggrandizement. It was so awful that some of the harshest condemnations came from CNN insiders.

SEE THIS: How Horrible Was CNN’s Lie-Riddled Trump Town Hall? Let’s See What CNN Has to Say About It

Another indicator of how badly CNN misjudged this event was the elation it produced in Trump and his allies in right-wing propaganda. They were bursting with joy at what they considered to be a PR triumph for Trump. And Saturday morning Trump bragged, in a post on his floundering Twitter scam, Truth Social, that the CNN debacle had led to a major media victory for him…

“FoxNews called to inform us that they will be airing the entire Iowa Rally tonight. They saw the record numbers done on CNN and want in on the action. Also, just out, I am leading DeSanctimonious by almost 30 points in FLORIDA, and leading Crooked Joe Biden BIG! See you later in Iowa.”

First of all, CNN’s numbers were hardly records. They drew about three million viewers, which is not uncommon for special news events on CNN. And while their ratings may have spiked during the town hall, they returned to their prior low standings immediately after the program was over. Still, CNN management was so tunnel-blind that they reprimanded their media correspondent, Oliver Darcy, for being “too emotional” in his accurate reporting of the town hall criticism.

Typical of Trump’s disloyalty and short attention span, just an hour after posting his delight that Fox News would offer live coverage of his Iowa rally, he posted another comment telling his cult followers to watch it on Newsmax instead.

That may be for the best since Trump’s assertion that Fox would carry it has conspicuously not been confirmed by Fox News. This, of course, wouldn’t be the first time that Trump lied about something. According to Newsweek…

“Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday morning that Fox News informed him that the network will air the entire rally, however Fox News didn’t respond to Newsweek’s request on Saturday morning for confirmation that it would broadcast the event.”

What’s more, Fox News has not bothered to promote this alleged rally coverage of Trump’s Iowa affair. However, Fox News has been hyping their live coverage of both an event with Ron DeSantis (who coincidentally will be in Iowa on the same day as Trump), and a speech by President Biden at Howard University. So the absence of any notice of Trump’s rally is, to say the least, curious.

It is still possible, of course, that Fox News will air Trump’s rally, despite the fact that haven’t been doing so for several years now. That’s because they have been been rapidly losing viewers since the disclosures of their blatant lying revealed in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit. And even worse, Fox’s firing of their MAGA, white nationalist heartthrob, Tucker Carlson, has accelerated their ratings disaster. So they may be in a state of desperation and panic.

Finally, because Trump is incapable of making any statements that contain only a single lie, he also noted in his posting that he is “leading Crooked Joe Biden BIG!” For the record, Biden is beating Trump in most recent general election polls. But if he wants to deceive his followers into believing that he’s running ahead of Biden, let’s let him do so, and they can have a big surprise come election day.

UPDATE: Due to a tornado watch being in effect, Trump has canceled his rally. Apparently god is “woke.”

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Former NY Prosecutor Righteously Rejects GOP House Judiciary Committee’s Political Theater

Posted by Mark NC on May 12, 2023 at 1:12 pm. NO Comments :

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives has made it their mission to malign and disparage President Biden above all other political or legislative considerations. It’s an obsessive determination to poison the electoral landscape for Democrats that is succeeding only in humiliating the Republicans who are engaging in it.

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Foremost among the GOP persecutors is Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He is currently presiding over wholly contrived hearings into the activities of Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney whose investigations of Donald Trump’s hush money payments to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, resulted in a Grand Jury indicting Trump for thirty-four (34!) felonies accusing Trump of falsifying financial records.

There is no question that Jordan is staging these hearings purely as political retaliation. As part of his partisan crusade, Jordan subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan D.A.’s office. On Friday Pomerantz complied with the subpoena and showed up for Jordan’s clown show. However, he refused to answer questions, asserting his constitutional and legal ethics rights. In his opening statement Pomerantz said that…

“I am here because I respect the rule of law… What I do not respect is the use of the Committee’s subpoena power to compel me to participate in an act of political theater. This deposition is for show. I do not believe for a moment that I am here to assist a genuine effort to enact legislation or conduct legislative ‘oversight.’ We are gathered here because Donald Trump’s supporters would like to use these proceedings to attempt to obstruct and undermine the criminal case pending against him, and to harass, intimidate, and discredit anyone who investigates or charges him.”

Pomerantz goes on to explain his reasons for declining to cooperate with the “cynical histrionics” of the Committee’s GOP leaders. He cites the District Attorney’s assertions of “claims of privilege and confidentiality to protect the integrity of the pending prosecution and continuing investigation of Donald Trump.” He elaborates further saying that “The charges against Mr. Trump should be heard and decided by a judge and a jury before politicians second-guess their merits.”

Pomerantz also cites the 5th Amendment to justify not capitulating the Committee’s coercion. He maintains that he has broken no laws, but is nevertheless, “not required to answer questions if my answers might be used against me.” He adds that the law “permits me to refuse to answer questions that are not pertinent to legitimate legislative function.” He also notes that attorney-client and work product privileges may also apply to some of the Committee’s inquiries. In closing he says that…

“It gives me no joy to invoke my legal rights, but I am glad that the law allows me not to cooperate with this performance of political theater. As an American I am privileged to have the legal rights that I assert today, and I am hopeful that I live in a country that will continue to respect them.”

Jordan’s rank partisanship has been on prominent display throughout his brief tenure in the chairman’s seat. He also formed a subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government” whose sole purpose was to weaponize his congressional power to attack Democrats and run cover for Donald Trump.

SEE THIS: New GOP Subcommittee Chair Openly Admits His Only Purpose is to ‘Make Life Hell’ for Democrats

However, Jordan’s issuance of subpoenas is particularly comical considering that when he was recently subpoenaed by Congress, he impudently ignored it. So why would he expect anyone to respect his summons? Jordan is not someone who should be taken seriously. And Pomerantz responded precisely as any honorable public servant should.

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How Horrible Was CNN’s Lie-Riddled Trump Town Hall? Let’s See What CNN Has to Say About It

Posted by Mark NC on May 11, 2023 at 11:03 am. 10 Comments :

The aftermath of the ill-conceived CNN town hall with Donald Trump affirmed the most pessimistic projections offered beforehand. Trump was himself. That is to say, he was a dishonest, hostile, bloviating bully. Is there any reason that CNN should have expected anything else?

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The town hall was bad idea from the start. A reputable news enterprise would never provide such a forum to a candidate credibly charged with sexual abuse, tax fraud, election interference, and seditious conspiracy. Yet somehow CNN was comfortable with presenting this televised Trump rally, complete with an audience of “Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.” You have to wonder precisely what CNN offered Trump to get him to agree to appear on a network that he regards as “fake news” and insists that nobody watches.

SEE THIS: Trump Spills that CNN Made Him ‘a Deal I Couldn’t Refuse’ to Get Him to Do Their Town Hall

Predictably, the program failed on every level. It was neither informative on Trump’s policies, nor revealing of his principles. It merely rehashed everything that everyone already knows about him. The moderator, Kaitlan Collins, made some attempts to fact-check Trump, but not nearly enough. It was so useless that even some of CNN’s anchors and analysts were repulsed. Immediately following the town hall, Jake Tapper gave a scathing summation that concluded that “We don’t have enough time to fact-check every lie he told.” So why air it in the first place?

Jake Tapper sums up Trump's town hall: "He called a black law enforcement officer a thug. He said people here in Washington, D.C. and Chinatown don’t speak English. He attacked Kaitlan as a nasty woman… he made fun of [Carrol's] sexual assault and many in the audience laughed." pic.twitter.com/NSzVzVEApP

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 11, 2023

CNN’s media correspondent, Oliver Darcy, tweeted that “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.” And that was just the beginning. CNN published an article enumerating “8 takeaways from Trump’s CNN town hall.” And each one affirmed Trump’s unfitness for office. The article began by noting that Trump…

“…showed on Wednesday night that he is very much the same person Americans came to know in 2016, throughout his four years in office, and in the aftermath of his 2020 election defeat. […] When he wasn’t calling women names, airing old grievances or attempting to rewrite history, the former president largely dodged questions and follow-up inquiries [and that] Unsurprisingly, the mostly Trump-loyal audience lapped it up.”

Considering that analysis from CNN itself, what was the point of the whole thing? It didn’t advance the public’s knowledge or ability to assess Trump’s candidacy. The 8 takeaways were all examples of Trump’s ignorance and artifice. Let’s explore them little deeper…

“Trump makes dismissive comments about [E. Jean] Carroll.”
Trump “denied the accusations and again said he had never met Carroll. [and the audience] laughed at his jokes and other dismissive comments about Carroll.” He also called her a “whack job,” defaming her anew.
“Trump says GOP should be willing to blow up debt ceiling.”
Trump “insisted that default would be preferable to a result that doesn’t stop the government ‘spending money like drunken sailors.'” He also laughed off his hypocrisy about opposing using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge while he was president.
“Trump is vague on federal abortion ban.”
“Trump repeatedly ducked questions about whether he would sign into law a federal abortion ban, as well as after how many weeks into a pregnancy abortion should be made illegal.” He also lied that Democrats support infanticide.
“Trump doesn’t say if he would back Ukraine in war with Russia.”
“Trump refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to prevail in its war with invading Russia.” He also refused to criticize his BFF, Vladimir Putin, for the war crimes of slaughtering civilians.
“Trump says he’d pardon January 6 rioters.”
“Trump demonstrated no remorse for his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol [and] said he was ‘inclined to pardon’ many of the pro-Trump rioters who were convicted for their roles in the attack on the Capitol.” He also insulted law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol as “thugs.”
“Trump suggests family separation immigration policy could return.”
Trump said “When you say to a family that if you come, we’re going to break you up, they don’t come.” He also declined to take responsibility for destroying families.
“Trump repeats election fraud lies.”
“Trump repeated his lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election [and] would not commit to accepting the results of the 2024 presidential election.” He also hyped debunked conspiracy theories about stuffed ballot boxes and fraudulent votes.
“Trump uses same name-calling tactics.”
“When Collins pressed Trump about documents he took from the White House, he said: ‘You’re a nasty person.'” He also repeated his infantile “crazy” Nancy Pelosi insult.

Not mentioned in the article was a particularly disturbing response by Trump with regard the classified documents that he stole and hoarded at Mar-a-Lago. He offered ludicrous misrepresentations of the Presidential Records Act to justify his security breach. Responding to Collins’ inquiry as to whether he had shown the documents to anyone, Trump replied, “Not really.” Which is a long ways from “No.” He elaborated that he “had the right” to show them to anyone he wanted to. This is a near confession to criminal espionage.

A good indicator of how awful the town hall was is who celebrated the event afterwards. Media Matters collected the rave reviews from elated right-wingers. And on his floundering Twitter scam, Truth Social, Trump himself expressed his delight with the appearance, along with 18 posts from his ecstatic supporters who all considered it a triumph. Congratulations, CNN.

However, it wasn’t only CNN who thought that this noxious affair was a disgraceful embarrassment to journalism. The Hollywood Reported compiled reactions from a broad array of media analysts who concurred that the network “failed journalism and our country.” And there are more critiques here via Media Matters. Even President Biden weighed in saying pointedly that “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that?”

It’s simple, folks.

Do you want four more years of that?

If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign.https://t.co/EwCflbYn22

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 11, 2023

UPDATE: CNN’s ratings for the town hall were unimpressive. They drew about 3 million viewers, which would be an average night for Fox News primetime, and not uncommon or a special news event on CNN. But those viewers are unlikely to stick around. If they came for Trump they are predisposed to hate CNN, and will be further put off by Collins’ questioning of him.

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Tucker Carlson’s New Twitter Show Announcement is a Steaming Mess of Incoherent Contradictions

Posted by Mark NC on May 10, 2023 at 10:35 am. 1 Comments :

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the Internet. Former Fox News Senior White Nationalist, Tucker Carlson, has announced that he will be launching a new “show” on twitter. He doesn’t provide any details of how he will accomplish that, or what a Twitter show would look like, but he’s got an ego just big enough to believe that this will thrust him back into the media spotlight. He’s wrong.

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Carlson’s proposed Twitter show is his attempt to remain relevant after being banished from his perch on cable news. However, he might want to check with Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck to see if there is life after Fox for hostile purveyors of dishonest, right-wing propaganda. Like them, he would become a footnote in the cyber world hollering into the void to a diminished audience of drooling deplorables.

Undaunted, Carlson is marching ahead with his arrogant aspirations. He is reported to be pursuing affiliations with Donald Trump and Elon Musk to pump up his paltry prospects. And to that end, Carlson announced that he will take his canceled TV tantrums to Twitter. [NOTE: Musk claims that “We have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever.”] In the introductory video (posted below), Carlson said that…

“You often hear people say the news is full of lies, but that’s not exactly right. Much of what you see on television or read in the New York Times is, in fact, true in the literal sense.”

Okay. So Carlson is defending the truthfulness of most of what you see and read in the news. An interesting position from someone who has been proven to have lied brazenly and literally declared that “misinformation can be true.” However, Carlson followed that up immediately by saying that while most news reports would pass fact checks, “that doesn’t make it true. It’s not true.” According to Carlson, the news is both truthful and “At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie.” He really needs to make up his mangled mess of a mind.

Carlson says that the media’s lies are the result of withholding “perspective.” And that, as a result, “You are being manipulated.” But perspective, by definition, is opinion. It is an addendum to factual reporting that may or may not be factual. It is opinion that is most likely to be the tool of manipulation. And it is opinion that is the core of what Carlson produces. It is Carlson who is, and always has been, manipulating you.

So after asserting that the media tells the truth, except for when it lies and/or manipulates you, Carlson proceeds to insist that the media is lying virtually all the time…

“That’s what the news media are doing. In every story that matters, every day of the week, every week of the year? What’s it like to work in a system like that? After more than 30 years in the middle of it, we could tell you stories.”

Indeed, Carlson could tell us “stories,” which, ironically, is a synonym for lies. He is effectively confessing that he has lied to his audience for 30 years. And given that confession, why should he change now? So he goes on to complain that there are “limits” to freedom of speech in the media, and that “if you bump up against those limits often enough you will be fired for it.” Here Carlson is obliquely referencing his firing from Fox News without saying so explicitly. And he offers no evidence that his firing had anything to do with the limits he is alleging. To the contrary, he was terminated for reasons that had to do with his own dishonesty and hostility toward his audience, colleagues, and bosses. Carlson is manipulating you.

Carlson continues by implying that his messy separation from Fox News resulted from some sort of censorship that was imposed upon him. “You can’t have a free society,” he warned, “if people aren’t allowed to say what they think is true.” First of all, what you “think is true” is not necessarily the same as what is actually true. Once again, Carlson is confusing opinion with facts. Secondly, he had ample opportunity to say what he thought was true. In fact, that’s what got him fired. Carlson is manipulating you.

Finally, Carlson concludes with a blisteringly preposterous assertion about the state of free speech in America today:

“Amazingly, as of tonight, there aren’t many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining in the world, the only one, is Twitter [and that] Twitter is not a partisan site”

What the holy f**k? Can Carlson really believe that Twitter is the only platform in the world that allows free speech? And that it is not partisan? Under the horrifically biased mismanagement of Elon Musk, Twitter has become the platform of choice for racists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semites, and a broad array of ultra right-wing conspiracy theorists. But before you claim that that is proof that it respects free speech, consider that other more reasonable and decent voices are suppressed, shadow-banned, and tagged with so-called “community notes” that disparage those views.

Despite Carlson’s ludicrous pronouncements of Twitter’s non-partisan free for all, he closes by contradicting himself and criticizing Twitter as a place where “for the most part, the news… comes from media organizations that are themselves thinly disguised propaganda outlets. [i.e. Fox News] The result may feel like a debate, but actually, the gatekeepers are still in charge.” So Twitter doesn’t practice free speech and isn’t non-partisan after all? Carlson is manipulating you.

Carlson then calls that “a bad system,” and says that he’s “sick of it.” But then abruptly flips gears to gleefully announce that he is “bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.” The bad system that he is sick of?

Carlson’s proposed Twitter show could come at great cost to him. He would likely be breaching contractual agreements with Fox News. Dylan Byers of Puck News reports that “He will forgo at least $25 million owed to him by Fox Corp. in order to break non-compete clause.” And in anticipation of a bloody battle with Fox, Axios reports that Carlson has preemptively “accused [Fox News] Tuesday of fraud and breach of contract — and made a host of document demands that could precede legal action.” Although Fox has already lobbed some bombs of their own…

SEE THIS: Fox News ‘Demands’ that Media Matters Stop Publishing Leaked Videos of Tucker Carlson

The Fox News/Tucker Carlson divorce has hurt both of them. Carlson will lose money and access to Fox’s millions of viewers. And Fox is already bleeding those viewers. In the end, Carlson is just validating why his own Fox News lawyers defended him in a defamation lawsuit by arguing that “no reasonable person” would believe anything he said. Carlson is most definitely, deliberately, and dreadfully manipulating you.

We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023

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Fox News Prompts GOP Senator to Frame Clarence Thomas’ Documented Corruption as ‘Attacks’

Posted by Mark NC on May 7, 2023 at 1:03 pm. 4 Comments :

In recent weeks there have been numerous reports detailing the profoundly disturbing legal and ethical breaches by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. It paints a picture of a Justice deeply mired in schemes to enrich himself with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts from a right-wing billionaire with interests before the Court.

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The investigative work by ProPublica is thorough and well documented. It reveals that Thomas took luxury vacations provided by Harlan Crow, and sold real estate to him for inflated values. And as incriminating as all of the evidence was, Fox News conspicuously avoided any substantive reporting on it.

SEE THIS: Fox News Blacks Out Story of Clarence Thomas Secretly Taking Luxury Gifts From GOP Billionaire

And that wasn’t the only time that Fox News purposefully suppressed a story about the improprieties of Thomas and his family.

SEE THIS: Fox News Totally Ignores Story About Ginni Thomas Texting QAnon Nuttery to Mark Meadows

As this story developed and expanded, Fox has been continuing to downplay the criminal and ethical aspects of it. On Sunday Fox’s Senior Trump-Fluffer, Maria Bartiromo, interviewed Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. and from the outset of the interview it was clear how she wanted to frame the story.

Bartiromo: Let me get your take on these attacks against Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court…your reaction to what’s taken place to the Supreme Court.
Lee: This is absolutely dreadful. this is an attack on Justice Thomas, a good man. a good man who has risen from poverty in the Jim Crow South to a position where he is one of the most respected jurists in our nation’s history. They don’t like that. They don’t like the fact that he has the audacity to be conservative as a Black man. […] There’s not one allegation they’ve raised against him that reveals any impropriety, any wrongdoing, any violation of any law, any rule, or ethical principle.

Mike Lee on Fox News dismisses Clarence Thomas's corruption: "This is an attack on Justice Thomas … they don't like the fact that he has the audacity to be conservative as a Black man." pic.twitter.com/AV6n4Dy1gq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 7, 2023

Bartiromo’s first question literally coached the response from Lee, asking him to comment, not on the crimes or the controversy, but on “these attacks against Clarence Thomas.” And Lee took the prompting and elaborated on it in the most brazenly dishonest manner. He completely ignored every allegation against Thomas, who he described as “a good man” despite the proof of his improper conduct.

Lee sought to deflect from the charges against Thomas by attributing them to alleged racism on the part of Democrats. Never mind that there is absolutely no evidence supporting that contrived excuse. And even if there were it wouldn’t absolve Thomas of his blatant wrongdoing. By Lee’s reasoning Black conservatives should have a free pass to commit any crimes they want with impunity.

Lee went on to say that Democrats “are doing this to attack the legitimacy of the Supreme Court so they can reimage the Supreme Court according to their own preferences.” So in one respect he’s accepting that Thomas’ actions diminish the legitimacy of the Court. But more to the point, he’s forgiving Thomas and embracing the Court’s illegitimacy as acceptable. Lee is also forgetting that it was Republicans who improperly “reimage[d] the Supreme Court” by manipulating the confirmation process to deny Democrats their right to fill vacancies on the Court.

It’s astonishing how Fox News and Lee can pretend that the issue here is political criticism of a conservative Black Justice, when the evidence of Thomas’ violations of the law and ethics are so obvious. But this is what Fox News does. They are committed to exonerating right-leaning criminals, whether they are insurrections, tax cheats, rapists, or Supreme Court Justices. Because to Fox News, political ideology “Trumps” principles. And this was recognized poignantly last year by Jon Stewart…

SEE THIS: Jon Stewart Nails It: The Supreme Court is Now the Fox News of Justice

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Scaredy Trump Praises Convicted Seditionists as Patriots, Maligns American Justice as Gestapo

Posted by Mark NC on May 6, 2023 at 12:42 pm. 2 Comments :

The closer that law enforcement comes to indicting Donald Trump for his multitude of crimes, the more dramatically his fear is expressed in frantic posts to his floundering Twitter scam, Truth Social. And this week saw the conviction of five of his militia leaders – The Proud Boys – for seditious conspiracy and/or other serious felonies.

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The convictions of the Proud Boys follows prior convictions of the Oath Keepers for many of the same crimes. And all of these Trumpian mob soldiers rested their defenses on claims that it was Trump who led them to commit their treasonous acts. So it is just a matter of time before the law bears down on the mob boss. No wonder Trump’s Russian allies are reaching out to him to help…

SEE THIS: Why is a Russian Arms Dealer Advising Trump to Flee the U.S. and Take Refuge in Russia?

For his part, Trump is in a hysterical frenzy as he can’t escape contemplating the foreboding future he faces. So he responds in a cartoonishly predictable manner with furious insults aimed at his perceived foes. Trump’s insults also happen to be malicious assaults on American law and values. He began by embracing the Proud Felons who were just found guilty of heinous crimes against America…

“The DOJ and FBI are destroying the lives of so many Great American Patriots, right before our very eyes. The Court System is a RUBBER STAMP for their conviction and imprisonment. […] GET SMART AMERICA, THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU!!!”

For the record, these “patriots” are the thugs who stormed the Congress and assaulted the police officers who were defending it and the public servants inside. And the “RUBBER STAMP” was the jury of their peers, not some government overlord pronouncing a state-mandated verdict. However, Trump’s warning that “THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU,” is accurate if “YOU” are violating the law and plotting insurrection. Trump then elaborated on his hatred for the law and allegiance to the nation…

“These people are thugs and criminals who allow ANTIFA & BLM to thrive and flourish, but who use full Gestapo force to shut down opposition and Interfere in our Elections.”

Does Trump even know what the Gestapo was? The only force applied to the Proud Felons was their arrest on well-defined charges and a fair trial by jury with a team of lawyers to mount their defense. The Gestapo would have just executed the defendants in an alley and dumped their bodies in a river. Yet somehow, Trump aligns the American justice system with that of Nazi war criminals.

For good measure, Trump also posted a couple of swipes at his former Attorney General, Bill Barr, who he called a “weak & slovenly man who was ill equipped to be Attorney General.” So Trump is confessing that he appointed a “weak & slovenly man” to the nation’s highest law office. Which isn’t surprising, considering that he has disparaged most of his prior White House team in the same ugly terms.

Trump also bragged that “I got very tough with Bill Barr, and pushed him hard to do his job, but he just couldn’t overcome his fear of the Radical Left.” So Trump is admitting that he improperly pressured his AG, but even failed at that. He then posted criticism of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, who he called a “Trump Hating SLIMEBALL.” Which, minus the “slimeball” reference, would put Smith in agreement with the majority of the American people.

And that is what Trump fears most. The fact that he is despised by millions and considered to be a pathetic loser. It’s a reality that he just can’t shake off.

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Unemployed Racist Tucker Carlson is Talking to Trump About Hosting 2024 GOP Candidate Forums

Posted by Mark NC on May 4, 2023 at 12:08 pm. NO Comments :

Ever since Fox News announced that it had fired their Senior White Nationalist, Tucker Carlson (see this retrospective), speculation has erupted over what Carlson would do next to advance his brazenly bigoted, pro-Putin, crackpot conspiracy theories, and neo-fascist agenda.

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It’s only been a week and half since Fox pink-slipped Carlson, and in the interim even more evidence of his heinousness have been revealed. They include complimentary descriptions of “how white men fight” with regard to “Trump guys” brutally beating an “Antifa kid,” his seething anger over being deposed by lawyers for the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit, and even some swipes at Fox News.

On Thursday morning the Washington Post published a report that shed some light on Carlson’s next moves. And it is simultaneously shocking and predictable. The Post wrote that Carlson…

“…has aspirations of moving into a larger role that doesn’t limit him to a single medium, according to people familiar with his thinking. And he is willing to walk away from some of the millions that Fox is contractually obligated to pay him, if that would give him the flexibility to have a prominent voice in the 2024 election cycle.” […]

“Carlson wants to moderate his own GOP candidate forum, outside of the usual strictures of the Republican National Committee debate system. The idea, which he has discussed with Donald Trump, the front-runner for the party nomination, would test his vaunted sway over conservative politics. And it would take a jab at his former employer.”

Indeed, trust fund baby Carlson has plenty of family money, so he can forego some his Fox compensation in order to satiate his craving for relevance and attention. He seeks to wield the clout he’s accumulated from his media perch and convert it into political power. To that end, he has already discussed his king-maker forums with wannabe monarch, Donald Trump, and according to WaPo’s sources, Trump “has told Carlson he’s interested”

This is intriguing on multiple levels. First of all, it is generous on Trump’s part to work with Carlson who recently said that Trump is a “demonic force” and that he “hates him passionately.” That, however, didn’t stop Carlson from conducting a fluff-ball interview of Trump where none of that – or anything else negative – was mentioned.

What’s more, the notion of Carlson being given free reign to produce candidate forums following the disclosures of his abhorrent racism is unfathomably grotesque. That any Republican candidate could consider participating in his events is evidence that they all share his hateful prejudices. We already know that Trump does.

This news of Carlson’s aspirations of being a media mogul and a debate host comes on the heels of CNN announcing their own “town hall” featuring Trump, who is currently being investigated for numerous crimes, from rape, to financial and tax fraud, to sedition, to espionage. It is wholly irresponsible for CNN to gift a criminal like Trump valuable air time for him to rant unchallenged about his fantastical delusions and totalitarian dreams.

In the meantime, Trump has already indicated his intention to skip the GOP debates sponsored by his own Republican Party. “I see that everybody is talking about the Republican debates,” Trump said, “but nobody got my approval.” Really? Trump believes that his approval is required for Republicans to hold candidate debates. He is objecting to the first debate being run by Fox News because he is convinced that they are part of the radical, Marxist, Democratic, deep state, that is out to destroy him.

So Trump won’t debate on Fox News because it’s too liberal. Although he will appear on Fox programs hosted by Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. And he regards CNN as “fake news” that nobody watches. But he will show up for a Trump town hall moderated by Kaitlan Collins a former correspondent for Tucker Carlson’s Daily Caller.

And if this is getting all too bizarre and convoluted for you, rest assured that you’re not alone. It’s by design, as Trump and his right-wing cohorts conspire to confound and confuse everyone in their cult community to keep them glassy-eyed and obedient.

UPDATE: Carlson is also threatening Fox News and talking to Elon Musk about his future endeavors.

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The Crook Who Contrived Trump University Spells Out His Utterly Preposterous Education Plan

Posted by Mark NC on May 3, 2023 at 1:31 pm. 3 Comments :

Ever since the start of the rape and defamation trial against Donald Trump by E. Jean Carroll, Trump has been unusually quiet. He completely ignored the White House Correspondents Dinner, where his named was hardly mentioned. He’s said almost nothing about the 3/4 billion dollar settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems. And he hasn’t bothered to stick up for Tucker Carlson after Fox News fired him.

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In fact, Trump – who has been known to post 40 or 50 times a day on his floundering Twitter scam, Truth Social, appears chastened by his numerous legal tribulations. He has posted only five times in the past three days. Those posts included a pitch for his $95.00, self-exalting, book of letters, an attack on Ron DeSantis as ‘low-wattage,’ a promo for an interview with the pastor of a right-wing evangelical church, and a poll by the conservatively biased Rasmussen showing him beating Biden.

The fifth post was another one of his shoddily produced campaign videos (posted below). This one outlined what he contends is the “education” plan that he will implement if he is returned to the White House. And as was entirely predictably, it’s a holy mess of ignorance and incoherent babble. Trump began by asserting that…

“For many years, tuition costs at colleges and universities have been exploding, and I mean absolutely exploding. While academics have been obsessed with indoctrinating America’s youth. The time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical left. And we will do that. Our secret weapon will be the college accreditation system.”

Despite Trump’s complaint about “exploding” tuition costs, nothing in his proposal addresses that. And he has been an avid opponent of President Biden’s student debt relief initiatives. Trump does, however, advance the vacuous and unsubstantiated whining from the right about the “radical left” “indoctrinating” students.

Trump goes on to complain that “accreditors are supposed to ensure that schools are not ripping off students and taxpayers.” This is coming from the guy who was ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to students he ripped off with his bogus, and now defunct Trump University. Trump continued with his miseducation reform rant saying that…

“When I return to the White House, I will fire the radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”

As usual, Trump is hallucinating “Marxist and lunatics” hiding in every crevice and shadow. He imagines himself as something of a “ghostbuster” who will save the world from the phantasms that haunt him and the MAGA faithful. However, Trump would have no power to accomplish what he proposes. The college accrediting system involves a “triad” of non-governmental entities, as well as federal and state government agencies. It is administered by the Higher Education Act as enacted by Congress. So, true to form, Trump is blowing hot air, and his plan is no more connected to reality than his nonexistent proposals for healthcare, infrastructure, or peace in Ukraine.

Adding to his oblivious gasbaggery, Trump claimed that his plan would achieve goals that are wholly outside of the jurisdiction of federal education administration, such as “defending the American tradition and Western civilization,” “eliminating wasteful administrative positions,” “removing all Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats,” “job placement and career services,” and “implementing college entrance and exit exams.” It’s a smorgasbord of totalitarian, re-education methodology. But he still wasn’t through. He felt compelled to insist that he would punish any institution that had the audacity to aspire to equality, and to operate independently in a free country, saying that…

“Furthermore, I will direct the Department of Justice to pursue federal civil rights cases against schools that continue to engage in racial discrimination and schools that persist and explicit unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity. We’ll not only have their endowments taxed, but through budget reconciliation, I will advance a measure to have them fined up to the entire amount of their endowment.”

Trump closed by promising that “we are going to get this anti-American insanity out of our institutions once and for all.” Which would be an admirable goal if only he were referring to himself and his MAGA cult. Unfortunately, he means to banish honest and experienced educators and administrators, and to poison the education system in order to make it compliant with his noxious agenda. Which makes it all the more imperative that this cretin who claims to “love the poorly educated” never be in a position to implement his demented policies.

Trump has declared war of America’s intelligence and education and children pic.twitter.com/7YUfY8moov

— Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) May 3, 2023

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Questions that CNN Should – But Probably Won’t – Ask Trump During His Town Hall Charade

Posted by Mark NC on May 2, 2023 at 1:22 pm. 6 Comments :

CNN appears to be making good on the promise of its new CEO, Chris Licht, to make the network “more Republican friendly.” As if that were a credible goal of any alleged journalistic enterprise. What Licht meant was that he wants to try to soak up some of the ratings glow of the ultra-rightist propaganda outlet, Fox News.

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CNN’s newly adopted editorial position of patronizing the GOP is not only unethical, it’s doomed to failure. Fox News viewers have been trained to despise CNN. And why would they watch a weak pretender when they have the real Fox News to satisfy their appetite for crackpot conspiracy theories and lies? Especially considering that even Fox News is struggling to satiate their cravings for conservative delusions.

In that environment, CNN just announced that they will be gifting Donald Trump with an hour of valuable airtime to conduct what they are calling a “town hall.” but is actually a televised Trump rally. The announcement said that the network…

“…will feature the former president taking questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. […] This will be Trump’s first appearance on CNN since the 2016 presidential campaign.”

Among the absurdities of this event is that CNN is bizarrely defining “undeclared voters” as those who “plan to vote in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.” But that’s just for starters. It’s preposterous that CNN would invite someone to hold a purely political event who is currently being probed for his efforts to steal an election and stage a violent coup against the government of the United States. And it’s equally preposterous that Trump would accept that invitation, considering that he repeatedly disparaged CNN as “fake news” that nobody watches. Not to mention his lawsuits against the network.

SEE THIS: After Goofy Lawsuit Against CNN, Trump Threatens More Suits, Including the January 6th Committee

It’s unlikely that CNN’s moderator, Kaitlan Collins (previously with the Tucker Carlson founded Daily Caller), will pose any challenging questions to Trump, or make any effort to refute his predictable lies. And the gimmick of throwing the questions to the Republican members of the audience doesn’t bode too well either for this affair providing any useful information for the television viewers.

However, if Collins were interested in some relevant and probing inquiries, and CNN allowed them, here are just a few that they could – but won’t – consider.

What about…

Indictments in the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case.
Indictments for financial and tax fraud against the Trump Organization.
Trial for rape and defamation of E. Jean Carroll.
Appointment of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who has accepted gifts and cash from a right-wing billionaire.
Condemnation of his own top administration appointees at the Departments of Justice, Defense, State, the FBI, and several of his Chiefs of Staff.
Son-in-law Jared Kushner’s $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia.
Proven false allegations that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and stolen.
Promises to pardon January 6th rioters.
Georgia District Attorney Investigation for election interference and intimidation.
Special Counsel Investigation for taking and hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Special Counsel Investigation for inciting the January 6th insurrection and attempted coup.

If CNN were to tackle these subjects it would require a lot more than an hour. But not to worry. CNN will probably just let Trump ramble on incoherently on his response to the potential candidacy of Florida governor Ron DeSantis; or his ever changing views on abortion; or his whining about imaginary “witch hunts”; or Hunter Biden’s laptop; or his self-exalting claims to be the only human alive with simple solutions to every domestic and international problem; and, of course, how terribly the radical, communist, incompetent, albeit mastermind, of evil, President Biden, has destroyed the country that Trump had previously made great again.

It is wholly irresponsible for CNN to host this farce. The media has no obligation to hand over its air to traitors whose past behavior has resulted in violence. and who has shown no indication of altering that behavior. Even if such a despicable person were running for president. CNN is proving that they learned nothing from their mistakes in covering Trump in 2016 or 2020. In fact, with everything they know now, they are just making things much, much worse. and they have no excuse for it anymore.

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Trump Announces that He’s Afraid to Debate Republicans for the 2024 Presidential Nomination

Posted by Mark NC on April 25, 2023 at 1:04 pm. 3 Comments :

It is still nearly a year before any of the primaries for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. But that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump from engaging in the sort of dirty campaign tactics that have been the hallmarks of his political life. Trump has a “burn all bridges” approach to electoral politics, and he has started his rhetorical bombardment unusually early.

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The principle recipient of Trump’s wrath has been Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor is currently the only credible opponent in the GOP field, and even in his case, the term “credible” is generous. Trump has been lashing out at DeSantis with criticisms of his failed stewardship of Florida (which is hard to argue with). He accuses DeSantis of seeking to cut Social Security and Medicare, mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic, and has even implied that he is a gay pedophile. Meanwhile, Trump has welcomed all other GOP candidates into the race with open arms. There’s a reason for that…

SEE THIS: GOP Presidential Poll Reveals Why Ron DeSantis is the Only 2024 Opponent that Trump is Attacking

With the election cycle beginning to heat up, Trump is now displaying signs of his pitiful cowardice. He posted a hysterical comment on his floundering Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, threatening to refrain from participating in any Republican candidate debates scheduled by the Republican National Committee. Trump raged that…

“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them. When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Also, the Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!”

First of all, “everybody” is certainly not talking about Republican debates. Hardly anyone has mentioned them at all. But more importantly, where does Trump get the idea that his “approval” is required to hold such debates. He can decline to show up if he’s too chicken to face his opponents. But he doesn’t get to decide whether there will be any debates, or to dictate the terms.

For the record, the only network that has been identified as a host for any GOP debate is Fox News. Apparently Trump believes that Fox is a “hostile network” that is filled with “angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors.” That’s some nuclear-grade delusion right there. If he’s afraid that he will be “libeled and abused” by Fox News’ questions, what network could he possibly accept as a debate host? Perhaps Russia’s RT news channel?

Trump is also maligning the patron saint of the GOP, Ronald Reagan, whose presidential library has been selected as a debate site. Trump’s problem with that is that library’s board is chaired by Washington Post publisher, Fred Ryan. Trump doesn’t mention that both Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, are also board members, along with an array of hard right business and political figures. He also doesn’t explain how the physical location would influence the content of the debate.

It is notable that the RNC has already demanded that Republicans refuse to participate in any of the debates sponsored by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). This was done on Trump’s behalf to keep him from having to answer questions more difficult than “Were you the greatest president ever”?

Some Republicans might complain of hypocrisy considering that the Democratic National Committee recently said that they don’t expect to be holding debates for the Democratic nomination. However, these are two entirely different circumstances. The RNC is expected to have many viable candidates vying for their nomination, including governors and senators. However, the DNC presently has no other serious contenders. New age oracle Marianne Williamson and Steve Bannon’s stalking horse Robert F. Kennedy Jr. certainly don’t qualify. What’s more, it was a decision made by the DNC, not President Biden. If the DNC decides to hold debates, Biden will surely be there.

What we are witnessing is just another example of Trump’s pettiness, self-importance, and abject fear. He’s looking for excuses to evade any confrontations with smarter Republicans on a national stage that he doesn’t control. Should he follow through on his threat, the RNC should hold the debates without him. Which would actually improve their usefulness.

For his part, Trump can stage another cult rally where he rambles on interminably about the same crapola he’s been whining about for the past two years (mostly election fraud and his rapidly accumulating collection of indictments). It won’t get any media coverage other than on Newsmax and OAN. And it certainly won’t expand his support beyond his base of glassy-eyed yokels who are already indoctrinated into his cult. All of which should make for a profoundly comical season of GOP politics.

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
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Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.

The Internet's Chronicle of Media Decay

Politics

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Scaredy Trump Praises Convicted Seditionists as Patriots, Maligns American Justice as Gestapo

Unemployed Racist Tucker Carlson is Talking to Trump About Hosting 2024 GOP Candidate Forums

The Crook Who Contrived Trump University Spells Out His Utterly Preposterous Education Plan

Questions that CNN Should – But Probably Won’t – Ask Trump During His Town Hall Charade

Trump Announces that He’s Afraid to Debate Republicans for the 2024 Presidential Nomination

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