Wankery

Trump Says ‘I Am the Chosen One’ After Tweeting that He’s ‘The Second Coming of God’

Posted by on August 21, 2019 at 12:39 pm. 5 Comments :

Many people have been predicting that as the tribulations of Donald Trump intensify, his mental state will become ever more unstable and dangerous. That appears to be the case as he is battered by devastating poll numbers, a weakening economy, and chaos on both domestic and foreign matters that is pulling back the curtains on his incompetence and failure.

Donald Trump Messiah

But did anyone see this coming? In response to a question about his trade war with China, Trump looked to the heavens and proclaimed to reporters today that “I am the chosen one.” Well, maybe if he means chosen by Vladimir Putin. And while some may regard this as typical Trumpian hyperbole, it needs to be viewed in relation to his other recent commentaries.

Trump has long been known to harbor aspirations of dictatorship. He has expressed jealousy over Xi Jinping’s status as “President for Life.” He openly yearned for Putin’s power to “get rid of” the press. But perhaps most troubling is his fervent wish that Americans worship him the way North Koreans do Kim Jong Un. That’s a theme that returned on Wednesday when Trump retweeted Wayne Allyn Root, a notorious conspiracy crackpot who, among other things, was a prominent Birther and believed that the Democratic Party murdered Seth Rich. Trump’s tweets quoted Root saying that…

“President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world…and the Jewish people in Israel love him….”

“….like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God…But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for…..”

“…..all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone. And importantly, he’s good for everyone in America who wants a job.” Wow! @newsmax @foxandfriends @OANN

So Trump’s “America First” mantra is now being set aside to allow him to also be the president of Israel. Even worse, Trump is echoing the blasphemous assertion that he is the “King of Israel” and even the returning Messiah as “the second coming of God.” It’s also notable that Trump is crediting Fox News and the even more radical right One America News Network for these remarks.

For the record, Jews do not believe in the second coming. But Christians in America do. And are they really comfortable with Trump passing along these flagrantly unholy pronouncements? Is there any sacrilege that Trump can commit that will cause his pious devotees to question his omnipotence? Apparently telling more than 12,000 lies won’t do it. Nor will cheating on his three (so far) wives. Although there may be a bit of concern about his potty mouth.

Trump has previously made staggeringly irreligious remarks. For instance, when asked if had ever asked God for forgiveness, he replied that he didn’t need to because he has never done anything wrong:

“I’m trying to lead a life where I don’t have to ask God for forgiveness. […] Why do I have to repent? Why do I have to ask for forgiveness if you’re not making mistakes?”

That, of course, shows that Trump has a painfully misguided interpretation of the tenets of his own alleged Presbyterian faith, including “original sin,” wherein all are born with sin and require God’s forgiveness for salvation. But he also has a perversely delusional image of himself as infallible, a state that Christians believe only Christ had achieved. Which brings us back to these new comments wherein he regards himself as, at least, Christ-like.

In the past few days Trump has delivered abhorrent, anti-Semitic diatribes aimed at Democratic members of Congress, and Democratic voters in general. He said that they are both stupid and disloyal. That’s not only insulting, but it rekindles an old affront to Jews as not being patriotic Americans.

What’s more, it ignores the reality that American Jews are overwhelming Democratic and ardent opponents of Trump. So it’s fair to say that he hasn’t helped himself with that sector of the electorate this week. In fact, he’s just digging himself deeper into an abyss of hatred and division that Americans of all stripes will reject in November of 2020.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Blindered Trump Flunky Larry Kudlow Doesn’t See a Recession Now, Or in 2007 Either

Posted by on August 18, 2019 at 11:25 am. 1 Comments :

The past week has generated considerable concern about the state of the economy. And among the most anxious observers is Donald Trump, who knows that his reelection is dependent on being able to tout a positive outlook. However, due to his own ignorance and incompetence, the real world isn’t cooperating. The stock market is down for the third consecutive week. The dreaded “yield curve inversion,” a fairly reliable signal of an imminent recession, took place. And there’s a global slowdown in manufacturing and consumption.

Donald Trump Rally Trash

So how is the Trump White House responding to these warnings that will impact every American? They are sending out their most accomplished liars to peddle utterly false impressions of the health of the economy. Topping that list is Trump’s Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow. He’s a notorious failure whose record for accurate predictions is almost comical. The President hired him after watching his Trump-fluffing performances on Fox News.

On Sunday morning Kudlow made the news talkies circuit to blatantly mislead the nation about their economic future. His performance was notably ineffective, at least partly because he appeared to be stinking drunk, which the Internet couldn’t help but notice. More importantly, his summary of the rosy scenario that the White House is pitching could not have been more deliberately deceitful. In an exchange with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press, Kudlow engaged in this fantasy (video below):

Todd: The private sector seems to be concerned about the trade war with China, that there are some rough waters ahead. Maybe a recession, that those odds have risen. What do you see?
Kudlow: Well, I tell you what. I sure don’t see a recession. […] Most economists on Wall Street towards the end of the week have been marking up their forecasts for the third and fourth quarter. That echoes our view. What we’ve got here, consumers are working at higher wages. They are spending at a rapid pace. They’re actually also saving while they’re spending as an ideal situation. So actually I think the second half of the economy is going to be very good in 2019. No, I sure don’t see a recession.

First of all, it is patently untrue that “most economists on Wall Street … have been marking up their forecasts.” To the contrary, many have been sending up flares to warn of what they see as an inevitable decline. To be sure there are those with more optimistic views, but those types of Pollyannas have always been around just prior to the sky actually falling. Case in point…Larry Kudlow in 2007, who insisted that “The pessimistas were wrong…There’s no recession coming.” That was just a few months before the worst recession in nearly a century:

Kudlow went on to justify his horribly missed call by lying that “Every other forecaster” was saying the same thing. While he was not alone, there were some more accurate predictors, including current presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. And Warren is cautioning people to be aware of another similar downturn. Some of the indicators are economists’ estimates of third-quarter GDP growth at about two per cent, way short of the four percent that Trump promised. Also, the manufacturing sector is slumping with output that has fallen 0.4 percent in July. Plus, the University of Michigan’s survey-based index of consumer confidence fell sharply in August, reaching its lowest level since 2016.

Meanwhile, Trump is telling his glassy-eyed disciples attending his cult rallies that “You have no choice but to vote for me, because your 401(k), everything is going to be down the tubes. Whether you love me or hate me, you have got to vote for me.” So did Trump just admit that voting for him would result in an economic catastrophe? That would be uncharacteristically honest of him.

Of course, he didn’t actually mean that. He was engaging in his classic brand of fear mongering to make sure his cult followers stay frightened and in line. But the truth is that Trump couldn’t care less about the financial prospects of the American people. He is solely focused on his own interests – either personal finances or reelection – and that is what’s driving everything he does and says. His Deplorables won’t learn that until it’s too late. But hopefully they will be spared that suffering, which can be avoided if citizens come together to vote Trump out or back Congressional efforts to impeach him.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Is Trump’s Obsession with Crowd Size Masking His Latent Insecurity and Impotence?

Posted by on August 17, 2019 at 1:30 pm. 4 Comments :

On Thursday Donald Trump held the latest of his White Nationalist Cult Rallies in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was a routine outing wherein he regaled his disciples with the same old playlist of rancor and lies that comprise every Trump event. Apparently the StormTrumpers never tire of hearing him call Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, promise to build a an idiotic wall on the southern border, lie about Democrats, and brag about himself for things he never did.

Donald Trump, Toilet, Bathrobe

Another staple of Trump’s rally protocol is to deliver post-event reports about how awesome and beloved he is. The size of his crowds has been an obsession since the pitiful attendance at his inauguration. Judging by the attention that he continues to pay to this self-flattery, it’s more important than anything he says in his rambling, mostly incoherent speeches. And the aftermath of this address was no different. In an attempt to create a false impression of his indomitable popularity, it was not sufficient to post a single boastful tweet. No, it took five frantic tweets for Trump to hail the worshipful adulation of his cult followers.

The tweets covered a variety of egocentric obsessions including: a general thanks for showing up; a specious claim to record breaking attendance; another false assertion that the “Placed (sic) was maxed out”; a command to look at what he vainly called “tremendous overflow“; and finally, he reiterated, without evidence, that he had drawn the “Biggest crowd EVER,” while also whining about the media coverage, which he said was “fake” and the work of “the enemy of the people.”

Needless to say, Trump was lying about his “maxed out” crowd. And the proof of that was in video images on Fox News of empty seats directly behind him as he was speaking. Another notable problem with these tweets is that they violate federal law. While Trump is allowed to hold campaign rallies, his Twitter feed is an official platform of White House business. As such it cannot be used for politicking. Not that federal law would deter a recidivist criminal like Trump.

There is good reason for a sick braggart like Trump to be plagued by – and over-compensating for – his own inadequacies. A recent poll by his pals at Fox News found that the top four candidates for the Democratic nomination for president (Biden, Warren, Sanders, and Harris) handily beat Trump in 2020 general election match ups. In fact, Trump doesn’t even break 40 percent. He’s also trying to avoid the reality that his failed economic policies are leading the nation into the Trump Recession. All of this portends disaster for the Trump reelection effort.

Still, with the abundance of bad news that surrounds him, you have to wonder what sort of deranged mind is so singularly focused on persuading everyone that he is the subject of undying adoration. Rather than present himself as a competent steward of the government who is working hard to make things better, Trump is singing his own praises as a public attraction. This is a holdover neuroses from being a reality TV personality. Even worse, it’s Trump’s malignant narcissism that drives him to such humiliating gestures of self-acclaim.

A garden variety egotist would be satisfied with others paying him tribute. But Trump surpassed that level of psychosis decades ago. He’s a knotted ball of insecurities who knows deep down that he’s an incompetent failure. And that suppressed knowledge dooms him to an existence of flaccid impotence as a leader and a man. The problem is that it’s also hurting an entire nation of innocent victims of his ignorance and misdirected vengeance. Hopefully, we won’t have to stand for that much longer. If Trump isn’t impeached, he is likely going to suffer the ultimate humiliation when he’s voted out of office and indicted for crimes against America.

UPDATE: On Saturday afternoon Trump added fourteen (14!) more self-congratulatory tweets, mostly from random, anonymous fans slobbering over him. He’s even sicker than I thought.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Daft Trump: Comedians and Conspiracy Nuts are More Credible than the New York Times

Posted by on August 13, 2019 at 12:49 pm. 3 Comments :

The wild speculation surrounding the death of pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein continues to unravel. Unfortunately, most of the unraveling is occurring in the tangled mash of broken synapses in what remains of Donald Trump’s scattered and paranoia-racked brain. The fact that an American president has sunk into such an abyss of madness is both embarrassing and frightening.

Donald Trump

The latest evidence that Trump has stepped off the sanity train is his defense for having retweeted a preposterous rant by a lunatic conspiracy crackpot. The tweet alleged that Bill and/or Hillary Clinton were conspirators in the death of Epstein. To add fuel to that fire, Fox News embraced this lunacy in an effort to provide cover for Trump. But on Tuesday Trump rushed to his own defense with a bizarre tirade that was littered with lies and appalling foolishness (video below). Speaking of the original tweeter, Terrence K. Williams,Trump said:

“He’s a very highly respected conservative pundit. He’s a big Trump fan. And that was a retweet. That wasn’t from me. That was from him. He’s a man who has half a million followers and he’s respected. And as you know, Bill Barr wants to do an entire investigation of the whole Epstein Matter.”

First of all, Williams is neither highly respected, nor a conservative pundit. He’s an aspiring comedian and devoted Trump cultist. So he is indeed a “big Trump fan,” which speaks to his poor judgment. Secondly, Trump seems to think that having retweeted Williams’ idiocy relieves him of any responsibility for it. But Trump himself affirms his agreement with the tweet, so whether he wants to admit it or not, he owns it. Trump then goes on to suggest that Williams’ 500,000 Twitter followers is some sort of validation for his blather. If that’s true, then Stephen Colbert – with 18.6 million followers – should be the next Secretary of State. This just shows that our reality TV president is still obsessed with ratings.

Finally, Trump says that his disreputable Attorney General, William Barr, is investing all of this. Really? Barr is investigating the Clinton murder allegations? That would be a troubling signal that our justice system has completely collapsed. To be fair, at least, Barr would also need to probe the possibility that Trump was the mastermind behind Epstein’s death. After all, Trump had much greater access and opportunity, as well as far more to lose if Epstein talked.

Also on Tuesday morning, Trump was asked outright if he thinks the Clintons were involved in Epstein’s death. He replied, “I have no idea.” Let that sink in. The President of the United States is allowing for conjecture that a former president, and political foe, committed murder. He went on to implicate Clinton with allegations about trips on Epstein’s plane. What Trump isn’t saying is that those trips were often to attend charitable events, and there is no evidence of any hanky panky. Unlike what we know about Trump’s pussy-grabbing, porn star chasing, and Miss Teen America dressing room invading.

Trump also isn’t saying how many times he flew on Epstein’s plane and partied with Epstein in New York and Florida. There may not be as many plane rides because Trump has his own plane. But their relationship is well documented and much of it revolved around affairs with young women.

While the President regards Trump-fluffing comedians as “highly respected” pundits, he continues to malign professional news enterprises. He quote-tweeted a notorious wingnut from Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post saying that the New York Times is “no longer a news organization. It is now an agenda driven organization out to change the Country (for the worse!).” What’s more, Trump retweeted several posts from Breitbart, felon Dinesh D’Souza, and the disgraced and pathetic hack, James O’Keefe. So what we have residing in the White House is a psychotic conspiracy theorist who values cheesy comics and propagandists over experienced journalists. Is it any wonder why the nation is so ashamed of Trump?

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

HOLY CRAPOLY: Trump Retweets Deranged ClintonBodyCount Epstein Murder Conspiracy BS

Posted by on August 10, 2019 at 5:09 pm. 2 Comments :

Just when you think that it couldn’t get any worse, Donald Trump proves that there is no bottom to the abyss of his loathsome cretinism. On a day that has been consumed by reports of the “suicide” of Trump’s long-time pal and pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, the president sinks lower than even his staunchest critics might have imaged.

Donald Trump

The Twitter feed of the President of the United States of America currently features a posting that promotes a disgusting conspiracy theory about Bill and Hillary Clinton that accuses them – without any evidence – of multiple murders. The post goes on to baselessly suggest that the Clintons are also responsible for the alleged suicide of Trump’s wingman, Epstein. The tweet that Trump has blasted out to his 62 million glassy-eyed followers was composed an alleged “comedian” named Terrence K. Williams, and asserts that “#JefferyEpstein had information on Bill Clinton & now he’s dead. I see #TrumpBodyCount trending but we know who did this!” It also features the hashtags “#ClintonBodyCount” and “#ClintonCrimeFamily.”

This would be horrendous if it were a posting on the account of Alex Jones’ Infowars (which has been banned from Twitter for advocating violence and other violations of the site’s terms and conditions), or some other crackpot who regularly spews ludicrous and imaginary bullshit. But it’s unbelievably nauseating that the President is so lacking in integrity, decorum, and decency. It’s further evidence (as if any more were needed) that Trump is unfit to serve in this office, or to even clean its toilets.

It’s also notable that Trump is not the only person to sink to these noxious depths in his administration. Lynne Patton is a regional administrator at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (and former wedding planner for Melania). She posted on Instagram that Epstein had been “Hillary’d,” with a hashtag that read “#VinceFosterPartTwo.” So apparently this is a coordinated effort on Trump’s part.

For the record, Epstein has had relationships with numerous prominent people, including politicians and business moguls. But the nutcases who are trying to smear the Clintons and others on the Democratic side are having to reach back decades for those angles. Yet they ignore that the person who is currently occupying the White House was close to Epstein for years and partied with him frequently. So while there is plenty of slime to spread around, only Trump is currently in a position of power that could have had both motive and opportunity to commit some foul deed.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Nevertheless, I’m not accusing him of anything other than being a slime bucket who gives credence to the nastiest unproven allegations. And as president he is not only demonstrating his own repulsive character (or lack thereof), he is staining the office that he was never fit to hold. There simply aren’t words strong enough to convey what an odious waste of flesh he is and how urgent it is that he be removed from office and sent to prison. And fortunately, there is a cell that just became available.

Serious Question: Is Donald Trump the Nastiest Phuckwit to Ever Stain the Presidency?

Posted by on August 8, 2019 at 9:06 am. 9 Comments :

On Wednesday Donald Trump defied all of of his critics – and coherent rationality – to visit the grief stricken cities of El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. These communities have already suffered unbearable tragedy and loss of life. The prospect of hosting a president who is best known for the obsessive self-interest of a malignant narcissist seems like an unfair additional burden. Particularly since it’s his own reckless ravings that contributed to the slaughter.

Donald Trump Red Face

Unfortunately, Trump lived up to his loathsome billing. On a day when all he had to do was plaster a concerned look on his mango-tinted mug, shake a few hands, and wish people well, Trump failed utterly to fulfill his temporary duty as Consoler-in-Chief. He turned every stop on his self-serving photo-op tour into either a wholly inappropriate political harangue or an exaltation of himself and his perception of the universal love that he thinks he deserves.

Trump apparently already forget his own words from a White House address to the nation two days prior when he said that “Now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside and find the courage to answer hatred with unity, devotion, and love.” And in the spirit of turning that sentiment into the disingenuous bunk that he surely believed it to be, Trump lashed out in barrage of bombastic and belligerent tweets that reeked of callous insensitivity and conceit. He began with a typically immature swipe at Joe Biden:


As an affirmation of his increasing senility, Trump’s nicknames for his opponents get more childish and unconnected to reality as he ages. Here he was reacting to what may be Biden’s most passionately delivered speech since he announced his candidacy. It was an accurately critical review of Trump’s fatally flawed character, but all Trump saw was an enemy being mean to him, so he went haywire. Shortly following that he began sputtering about some slight he imagined by elected officials in the cities he supposedly came to comfort:


Notice that his recollection of the visit was entirely limited to how beloved he thinks he is. From there he found it necessary to whine about not being sufficiently flattered. Of course, this was another affair that he warped into an unrecognizable mush in his mind. Neither Sherrod Brown nor Mayor Whaley ever said anything remotely similar to what Trump alleged. Now his paranoia has him inventing criticisms that never happened. Not to worry though. Trump still had plenty of wrath to dispense. And this time it was aimed at Fox News anchor Shepard Smith.


The line that Smith crossed was to forcefully condemn white supremacy and the culture of hate. That irked Trump because he is still trying to pretend that none of that exists, even while he is it’s national spokesman. This led to yet another assault on a local Texas Democrat, Joaquin Castro.


This is one of those times that Trump pounces on someone without ever telling anyone why. It’s just a blind scattershot of bile. In this case Trump was upset that Castro had posted a graphic on Twitter that identified some Trump’s donors. It’s telling that being pegged as a Trump supporter is so distressing to those supporters, and to Trump, that it requires this sort of counterpunch. They’re acting like they were outed for supporting Hitler (and that’s not too far off). As the day wore down, Trump found it necessary to again remind everyone how much he is adored:


To top off his day of vitriol and egomaniacal vanity, Trump posted a tweet that could only be regarded as his determination to kill the bipartisanship he recently pretended to advocate, along with an overt threat:


Calling the Democrats “disgusting” isn’t going to help him get support for his legislative agenda. But it isn’t any worse than when he retweeted a meme a few days ago that said that “Democrats are the true enemies of America.” What was that he said about bipartisanship a couple of days ago?

When Thursday morning rolled around it found Trump still in an ornery mood. But it also revealed a measure of distress and fear so intense that he actually admitted to watching MSNBC and CNN. Of course it was in the process of whining impotently about their coverage, but not citing a single thing that was wrong. It was just an eruption of pure mentally unbalanced malice toward the free press.

In addition to the above examples of Trump’s nauseating lack of character, diplomacy, and decency, he posted a trio of cheesy propaganda/campaign videos compiled from his visits with grieving families and victims. This is not only a corrupt misuse of taxpayer funds for political purposes, it is an abuse of the trust and decency that the suffering people of El Paso and Dayton deserve. They should not be exploited as extras in Trump’s self-promotional PR videos where he is seen smiling inappropriately throughout as they grieve.

It is quintessentially Trumpian to not be able to control his worst impulses for one damn day in order to allow some healing to occur. Rather, he made his own vileness the story of the day again. But why should any of that bother Trump, who is focused so intently on retaining his crown as the nastiest phuckwit to ever stain the U.S. presidency. But he needn’t worry. If it makes him feel any better, he’s got that prize locked up.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Donald Trump Jr Admits on Fox News that Daddy’s Rhetoric Can Incite ‘Fringe Crazies’ to Kill

Posted by on August 7, 2019 at 2:53 pm. 2 Comments :

Most objective people recognize that the language used by national leaders can profoundly influence their followers. That’s especially true of cult-like movements wherein the leader is regarded as infallible and claims to be an omnipotent figure who know more than anyone about everything and is the only one who can fix every problem. Sound familiar?

Donald Trump Jr

Nevertheless, Donald Trump’s apologists have been frantically trying to absolve him of any responsibility for the hostilities that erupt from his careless rhetoric and hate speech. His Republican colleagues, and the fluffers on Fox News, refuse to concede that ranting endlessly about immigrants and refugees as rapists and invaders will have any impact on Trump’s glassy-eyed disciples. That’s true even after the El Paso massacre where the shooter left writings that were indistinguishable from Trump’s public tirades.

Among the diversions used by Trump’s defenders is that the gunman in Dayton, Ohio, might have had some more liberal leanings. Even if that’s true, it’s a bizarre effort to draw a false equivalency between the two events. Unlike the El Paso situation, the Dayton shooter never even hinted that he was motivated by any political person or ideology.

This is where Donald Trump Jr comes in. He appeared on his father’s favorite Fox News program, Fox and Friends (video below), to commiserate with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes about how the President is the real victim in all of this. The TV bitch session repeatedly portrayed Trump as a good-hearted, well-meaning uniter who only wants everybody to get along. But at the same time Junior went out of his way to malign Daddy’s critics. He focused particularly on Rep. Joaquin Castro, chairman of Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the brother of Julian, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president. Castro had posted a graphic on Twitter that listed some of the San Antonio area’s donors to Trump’s campaign. So Junior lashed out in huff saying…

“That list sort of screams like the Dayton, Ohio, shooter’s list. When a radical, left-wing politician, who’s polling at about zero percent, does this for either attention or a call to action, it’s pretty scary. I mean, that was the same thing that the Dayton, Ohio shooter did.”

The same thing? Not quite. The President uses abhorrent language that was intended to make weak Americans fear migrants as potential assailants who are out for blood. He characterizes them as subhumans assembling to either take over America or destroy it. The only thing Castro’s tweet did was identify people who support Trump. Apparently they aren’t especially proud of that decision. To the contrary, Junior and the Fox hosts agree that merely being associated with Trump’s reelection effort is so reprehensible that it makes them potential targets for murder. That says more about what they think of themselves than anything else.

Think about that. People in Texas – IN TEXAS – are worried that being a supporter of Trump will cause them harm. There don’t appear to be any Biden (or Sanders, or Warren, or Harris or…) supporters that have that fear. And to be fair, neither do most of Trump’s supporters. This expression of fear by Junior and Fox is an utterly dishonest charade intended to disparage Castro and some nebulous conspiracy of allegedly hostile lefties. But when Junior was asked whether the list of Trump donors might really cause someone to hurt any of them, he conceded that it wouldn’t, except under certain circumstances:

“Perhaps not to reasonable people, but the fringe crazies on both sides – and we saw that in the last week, right? You have fringe crazies on all sides. They see that.”

Wow! This is exactly what people have been saying makes Trump’s racist harangues so dangerous. The possibility that some of his Deplorables would act out violently, believing that they were fulfilling his wishes. And Junior is now admitting that unstable people could take the words of his father as an inspiration to commit unlawful and violent acts. It’s precisely the charge that has been leveled at Trump. And it’s the same charge that Junior, Fox News, and the rest of Wingnutia, have been been so fiercely denying. Now, despite the fact that it doesn’t fit their narrative, it is being forthrightly validated.

Junior went on to whine (just like Daddy) about the tribulations of politics. “Our people,” he said, “don’t weaponize the political system the same way. We don’t do the organized boycotts that the left does.” He obviously isn’t paying much attention to his father who has called for numerous boycotts. But then there isn’t really much reason to listen to Trump when he lies so frequently and brazenly, In fact, just this morning, when asked by reporters if he regrets any of the harsh and divisive rhetoric he uses, he said that “No, I think my rhetoric brings people together.” Umm…nevermind. There is simply no satisfactory response to that degree of delusion.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

False Equivalencies: Trump Tries to Smear Others with His Rancid and Inflammatory Rhetoric

Posted by on August 6, 2019 at 1:09 pm. 0 Comments :

In the wake of multiple episodes of horrific gun violence over the weekend. Donald Trump has scrambled to find, not solutions, but shelter from the well-deserved criticism crashing over him like a tsunami. His defenders in politics and punditry deployed in formation to praise their infallible Dear Leader and smear those who dared to question his radiant presence.

Donald Trump

Leading the charge was Cadet Bone Spurs himself. He posted a tweet that sought to deflect from his deliberately hostile language that incited the El Paso shooter. And he drew support from Fox News by quoting the Trump-fluffers on Fox and Friends who asked “Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook?”

Well, no. President Bush never did that. But that’s only because Obama never did or said anything that could remotely be interpreted as incitement to commit any violent act. Trump, on the other hand, does that nearly every day. And this was typical of the charges that have been levied against anyone who sees a rational connection between Trump’s tirades and the murderers who take up his call to arms. Among the StormTrumpers attempting to shield him from censure is his Senior Alternative Fact Dispenser, Kellyanne Conway, who has had just about enough:

“I’m hopping mad this morning because I see very little, scant coverage of the fact that this Dayton shooter has been confirmed as having a Twitter feed that was supportive of Antifa, that was supportive of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders.”

First of all, the Twitter account in question has not yet been confirmed as belonging to the Dayton shooter. But more to the point, there has been significant of coverage of this Twitter feed by every major news outlet, including Trump’s nemesis, CNN.

However, the budding narrative that Sen. Warren, or any other Democrat, should bear any responsibility for the shooting is absurd. It’s proof that the right has exhausted any substantive arguments they might have had to defend Trump, so they’re resorting to this lunacy. Trump’s inspiration for the El Paso shooter is evident in his own words and deeds. He has called immigrants “criminals” and ‘rapists.” He leads his cult rallygoers in chants telling elected representatives – women of color who are American citizens – to “go back” to where they came from. He refers to refugees as “invaders.” And the writings of the shooter explicitly refer to Trump as an inspiration. But none of that is the case for the Dayton shooter and any connection to any liberal politician or media personnel.

The Republican rightists have also tried to compare murders in Chicago or Baltimore to the mass shootings in El Paso. That is another blatantly false equivalency that ignores reality. The Chicago area crimes are generally gang-related and inspired only by rivalry and/or greed. But the El Paso shootings are acts of terrorism with specific goals to invoke fear as a weapon to make social change. What’s more, local officials and law enforcement work vigorously to reduce the incidents of violence in their communities and to enact reforms when available. But the Republicans in Congress have spent decades obstructing any efforts to reduce the incidence of domestic terrorism by white nationalists.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

These efforts by Trump and his media mouthpieces to introduce bogus comparisons between obviously disparate crimes are evidence of their callous disregard for the truth and for finding real solutions. It’s proof that Trump’s call for unity is an insincere charade intended only for media consumption. And until they can take responsibility for their words and actions, and renounce the inflammatory rhetoric that they have used so often, it will be impossible to take their pleas for bipartisanship seriously.

SRSLY? Trump-Bot on Fox News Says ‘I Don’t Remember Us Electing an Angry President’

Posted by on August 2, 2019 at 1:12 pm. 6 Comments :

A few weeks ago Donald Trump whined about his State TV network (aka Fox News) hosting a couple of town halls with Democratic presidential candidates, saying that “Something strange is going on at Fox, folks.” It might have been a little strange, except for the fact that Fox predictably used the appearances to disparage them in every segment that followed.

Donald Trump

However, Trump is probably over that momentary episode of angst now that he can see Fox faithfully fulfilling its mission to exalt him and brazenly lie on his behalf. Fox’s overt adoration of Trump was displayed in yet another staged “interview” of one of their stable of Trump-fluffing contributors. This time it was frequent Fox shill, and disgraced, ousted GOP House Speaker, Newt Gingrich. In a segment about the recently broadcast Democratic debates, Fox called on Gingrich to provide his relentlessly partisan analysis. And his opinion of where the Democrats are going wrong couldn’t have been more asinine (video below):

Gingrich: It was amazing the level of anger you got out of Bernie Sanders and Sen. Warren. I mean, these are really angry people and it was kind of amazing to watch them. It’s the opposite of how people normally win the presidency. You watch Barack Obama with a big smile. You watch Ronald Reagan with a big smile. I don’t remember us electing an angry president literally in my lifetime.

Newt Gingrich is either suffering from a severe case of selective amnesia, or he is deliberately peddling some of the most ludicrous lies ever told on Fox News. First of all, while Sanders and Warren (and all decent human beings) are often noticeably upset with the abhorrent words and deeds of Trump, they were also hopeful and positive and bearing bright smiles.

More to the point, while Gingrich’s “amazement” that Democrats are “really angry” fails to put their mood in context to the horror of Trumpism, his inability to recall the election of an angry president is downright delusional. Donald Trump is America’s ranking rage-aholic. He has a temperament range that runs from outrage to fury. The only time that he isn’t in the midst of a frothing tirade is when he’s stroking his own bloated ego.

Trump uses his anger mainly to malign his critics. He routinely taunts them as “stupid, ugly,” or other similarly infantile insults. His rants are purposely intended to incite hatred, division, and distrust among otherwise united citizens. And yet he has the audacity to charge that “The rage filled Democrat Party is trying to tear America apart.” He recently retweeted a meme that said that “Democrats are the true enemies of America.” Nah, he aint angry at all, is he?

So Gingrich can’t remember the election of an angry president even though the current one that he obediently reveres is a seething cauldron of bile and hostility. And despite Gingrich’s blindness to Trump’s acid acrimony, Trump himself regards it as an asset:

To put it mildly, Gingrich and Fox News are such glassy-eyed disciples of Trumpism that they have lost all connection to reality. In the very segment where Gingrich claims Democrats are angry, Fox runs runs video of them smiling at the debate. And Fox also had a chyron that affirmed Trump’s anger that read “Trump Tears Into ‘Radical’ 2020 Democrats In Ohio.” Which was portrayed as a show of strength.

Another example of this dementia inducing adulation took place on Trump’s favorite Fox program, Fox and Friends. Co-host Ainsley Earhardt sought to gaslight (or more accurately, “Foxlight”) her viewers with a comparison of Trump to Joe Biden. She said that “They’re both rust belt people though. They’re both, like, blue collar workers that have money, but blue collar.”

WHUT? To be fair, no ever ever accused these “Curvy Couch” potatoes of being Mensa members. But Earhardt has to know that Trump was born to a wealthy father in New York City, while Biden was a middle-class kid from Scranton, PA. This purposeful lie, as well as the ones by Gingrich, can only be taken as deliberate attempts to mislead the easily confused Fox News audience who seemingly yearn to be lied to. And the profiteers and propagandists at Fox know enough to give the Deplorables what they want.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Thanks Fox News, for Exposing Trump as a Failure at Nearly Everything He Promised

Posted by on July 31, 2019 at 11:04 am. 4 Comments :

Following the first round of the second set of Democratic presidential primary debates, Fox News thought they had found a way to advance their mission of disparaging the Democratic Party and it’s candidates. They didn’t go quite as far as Donald Trump did (who tweeted that “Democrats are the true enemies of America”), but it was still pretty damn awful.

Donald Trump, Fox News

The only problem with Fox’s anti-Democratic post-debate banter was that they ended up inadvertently slamming their own guy. In a segment on Fox and Friends, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes were especially enamored of 1% candidate John Delaney, mainly because he was criticizing other Democratic candidates who actually have a chance of winning and facing Trump in the general election.

Ainsley Earhardt of Fox and Friends interviewed Delaney (video below) and effusively praised him for countering Elizabeth Warren’s proposal for Medicare for All. They played a clip of Warren righteously blasting the allegedly “pragmatic” Delaney. “I don’t understand,” Warren asked, “why anybody goes through all the trouble of running for the President of the United States, just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for.” Earhardt then went on to say…

“I thought it was very practical what you were saying last night. I thought you did a good job with that because we all knew that kid in school that beat you when you were running for student body president because they promised to put snack machines in all the classes. You know that’s not gonna happen. But the kids hear that and they vote for that person. […] I don’t understand why people run and then they promise stuff and then it never happens.”

First of all, if Earhardt doesn’t understand why candidates make campaign promises, she needs to go back to doing local news in South Carolina and writing children’s books. Secondly, she has no basis for asserting that Democrats will not fulfill their promises to expand healthcare, particularly since President Obama already proved that they can do it.

However, the biggest blunder of Earhardt’s tantrum was her complaint about people who “promise stuff and then it never happens.” She could not have provided a better description of Donald Trump if she were the chair of the Democratic Party. Let’s explore a few of Trump’s broken vows.

Trump promised his own healthcare plan that he said would cover every American for much less than it costs now. Not only has he not delivered, he hasn’t even offered a draft of a plan. He promised to build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. That’s been a running joke for over two years now. He promised infrastructure construction and repair, but came up empty even though Democrats support it. I could go on.

OK, I will. He promised progress on trade, then imposed tariffs that only hurt American consumers. He promised denuclearization, but North Korea, Russia, and Iran are all expanding their programs after his bumbling missteps. He promised to eliminate the budget deficit and the national debt. But the deficit has grown by billions and the debt is now over $22 trillion dollars, thanks mostly to Trump’s tax giveaway to corporations and the wealthy.

The reality is, as noted by PolitiFact, that only 16 percent of Trump’s campaign promises were graded as “Promises Kept.” The other 84 percent are distributed between “Compromised, Broken, Stalled,” or “In the Works.” That is hardly a record that anyone should be proud of. And even by his accounting Trump has been a dismal failure.

Although Trump does deserve credit for some notable successes. For instance, he has succeeded in dividing the nation, emboldening racist hate groups, cozying up to foreign dictators, fouling the planet, appointing corrupt government officials, suppressing voters, and advancing an economy that works only for corporations and the rich, while average Americans struggle. But at least we can all be grateful to Fox News for pointing out how horribly Trump has failed and why no one should even consider voting for him.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.